You hear a lot about energy efficiency these days, and for good reason: keeping an energy efficient household is going to save you money and ensure you’re being kind to the planet! But what does it mean to be energy efficient? This is something a lot of homeowners aren’t sure about.
In a nutshell, being energy efficient generally means taking steps to keep your home’s energy waste to a near zero level. This doesn’t necessarily mean using less energy, but it certainly means ensuring you’re not wasting it! A basic example would be turning off the lights in a room when you leave it—you’re not using the lights, so turning them off saves energy, thus making you more energy efficient!
Now, in our light switch example above, it’s easy to recognize energy efficiency… when it comes to measuring the efficiency of an HVAC installation in Polk County, TN, however, it’s much harder to tell if your unit is using its energy to the fullest. Luckily, there are a few ways to spot energy waste in your home and there are steps you can take to ensure you’re keeping that loss to a minimum when it comes to your HVAC units. Let’s take a look:
- Keep a keen eye on your energy bills each month and, if your energy company provides it, look at a breakdown of where your energy is going. Pay close attention to heating and cooling costs in tandem with this. If you notice a rising trend in energy costs as well as heating and cooling, it’s a safe bet that your HVAC installation in Polk County, TN is falling behind efficiency standards. If your unit is older, it might be time to talk about getting a replacement; if it’s newer, repairs are likely in order.
- Pay attention to peripherals! When was the last time you had your windows replaced? What temperature do you keep your home’s forced air set at? It’s things like this that provide opportunities for increased energy efficiency. Drop that thermostat a couple of degrees and see if your heating and cooling costs drop with it! Adjusting your peripherals and paying attention to your surroundings could yield a lot of insight about your home’s efficiency overall.
- Do you hear your furnace or AC unit kicking on frequently to try and sustain the temperature in your home? This is a major sign of inefficiency and one that’s going to lead to a lot of energy waste. Have a contractor determine the cause of frequent starts and stops and remedy that situation as quickly as you can to raise the efficiency of your HVAC installation in Polk County, TN.
- Stay up to date on routine maintenance and have a qualified contractor test your installations each year. This will immediately give you insight into the condition and function of your unit, which usually correlate to efficiency. When your existing installation has worn out its welcome, it’s time to look for something newer and more efficient.
The prospect of paying to have your unit serviced, repaired or even replaced might not seem appealing to you in the name of efficiency, but when you consider the alternative is literally dollars wasted in energy costs, the numbers start to add up in favor of efficiency quickly!