Saving Money With a More Efficient Heating and Cooling System


One of the best ways to save your family some money is to use an efficient heating and cooling system for your home. Unfortunately, the heating and cooling system in many homes is very inefficient. You’re probably using as much as 55% of your home’s energy bill on heating and air conditioning. When you shift to a more efficient heating and cooling system, you can significantly reduce that energy bill overall. Here’s what you need to move to a heating and cooling system that will save you money.

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1. Energy Vulnerabilities in Your Home

First off, you’ll want to know where you’re losing thermal energy in your home. This may be areas where inside air is escaping or areas where outside air is coming inside. Unfortunately, there are many places in your home where this may be occurring.

  • Duct Register
  • Top Plate
  • Plumbing Vent Stack
  • Vent Fan
  • Sill Plate
  • Dryer Vent
  • Doors
  • Windows
  • Gaps in Walls 

Of course, there are other areas as well. Additionally, your home may not have all of these. However, it’s a good idea of what you might be having problems with. This can also showcase how wide your thermal efficiency problems may be, which can make it much easier to understand a path to fixing them.

2. Maximizing Your Thermal Efficiency

What can you do to make your home more efficient overall? Maximizing thermal efficiency is all about enhancing your home’s overall thermal efficiency and tackling the biggest problems that you currently have. Here are a few moves you may be able to make, along with an estimate of about how much you may be able to improve your home’s thermal efficiency.

  • 5-30%: Sealing Air Leaks With Caulk, Spray Foam, and Weather Stripping
  • 10%: Using a Programmable Thermostat to Use Less Electricity While Sleeping
  • 12-33%: Installing Storm Windows
  • 15%: Adding an EnergyStar Gas Furnace
  • 20%: Crawl Space Insulation and Encapsulation 

Some of these actions have a very significant percentage range. This is because your home’s thermal efficiency may vary dramatically depending on certain elements. If you’re already having problems with air leaks, you’ll be much closer to the 30% mark; if this isn’t a big problem for your home, you’ll probably be closer to 5%.

3. Understanding the Value of Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is a good move for a variety of reasons. You’ve probably heard people tell you that it’s better to use less energy in your home, but do you really know why? Understanding your home’s energy efficiency measures can actually be beneficial in a variety of ways. Here are a few of the ways that energy efficiency can benefit you.

  • Lower Utility Bills Mean That Your Updates May Pay for Themselves
  • State and Federal Tax Credits May Be Available for Your Home Insulation
  • An Energy-Efficient Home Is Good for the Environment
  • Your Living Spaces May Be More Comfortable With Improved Thermal Performance 

Clearly, energy efficiency is good for a number of reasons. It means you’ll have to pay less, you’ll have a more comfortable home, and you’ll have a lower impact on the environment. No matter which angle you look at it, this makes for a pretty convincing argument in favor of switching to an energy-efficient method of heating and cooling.

Conclusion

The process of heating and cooling your home is complicated, and it’s obvious that there are a number of things that you’ll need to pay attention when you’re crafting a better heating and cooling system for your home. However, it’s also undeniable that an energy-efficient heating and cooling system is better for everyone involved. Whether you just care about reducing your expenses or you’re an environmentally conscious individual, heating and cooling is one method to making things better for everyone.