There are a lot of things you need to know when it comes to HVAC if you’re a homeowner. While HVAC solutions are pretty much recommended, not everyone has quality units or systems installed for heating and cooling, and numerous people still spend more than they should on their homes using window units that aren’t as cost efficient. However, if you don’t have a system in your home, you probably should get one, and you may want to make a dedicated program and schedule for regular maintenance with an HVAC company in order to keep your system operating at the best.
Here are Some Tips for Your Home
- Perform Maintenance Regularly – As mentioned above, don’t skip regular maintenance checks. Over time, HVAC systems lose their energy efficiency and will start to wear down. If you’ve had the same central air unit for example for more than 10 years, you may want to have some maintenance done on it, air conditioning repair or replace it.
- Use Your Thermostat Right – Optimize your HVAC system so you’re using your thermostat correctly. If you’re not home, you don’t need your HVAC unit running full blast. Not only does this cost more, but it causes your system to work more than it should. While you may enjoy coming home to a warm or cool home, this method is very non-energy efficient and can shorten the life of your unit.
- Weatherize Your Home – You need to seal every little nook and cranny or hole in your home that is letting in cool air. Usually, you, and even your HVAC team can do a professional and high quality walkthrough to ensure you have everything covered. If not, adding extra insulation and sealing off escaping air can make your system work better, and keep your HVAC system from constantly running.
- Insulate Your Home Better – Older homes have the highest tendency to lose heat and cool air because of poor insulation. Be sure to have your home inspected or checked and don’t hesitate to get more insulation stuffed in there.
- Use Energy Efficient Thermostats – As mentioned above some thermostats are programmable, and they have Energy Star recommended settings. Use them!
- Keep Filters Clean – Filters often need to be cleaned and checked routinely about once a month. You can actually change them out or if you have a reusable one, clean it every month to maintain the best air flow through your unit, resulting in better efficiency and health of your system.
- Use Your Window Treatments – You can help use window curtains, and blinds open during the day to let natural heat from the sun in, and close them at night to keep cool air out. Do the opposite in the summer.
- Maximize Window Usage – Make sure to also use your windows when it’s not too hot or cold outside to help regulate temperatures. Put your AC on auto or turn it off and open windows if it’s not too hot during spring and summer months (such as in the evenings when it cools down) so you’re not overworking your AC and save some energy.
Conclusion
These are some of the most practical tips that you can use to your advantage to not only save the life of your system, but also allow there to be less work on your end, and even your HVAC technician that you use. If you’re overworking your system more than you should, not only are you going to have less time to use it, but you will have much higher energy bills and will require more maintenance.
