With the spring season rolling in, you want to welcome the warmer weather with a well-kept home. This means performing seasonal cleaning and maintenance, especially after all the winter snow and ice, which may have affected your furnace installation or outdoor HVAC unit.
Part of the maintenance you’ll be doing on your home is to ensure that its exterior as well as the landscaping remain intact. Proper maintenance will also provide more insight into how you can help your home consume less energy, especially since you’ll be using your air conditioner more often to keep you and your family cool indoors. That said, the start of a new season is a great opportunity to improve your home’s energy efficiency!
If you’re looking for ways to consume less energy and save more money at home this spring, Bill Reynolds Heating & Air Conditioning, a trusted specialist in air conditioning and heating service, shares some cost-effective tips you ought to be aware of here:
Check the seals around your windows and doors. Any drafts from your windows and doors will cause warm air to leak into your home’s interior and allow cold air from your HVAC unit to escape. This isn’t very efficient for your home’s energy consumption, so make sure that leaks and drafts from your windows and doors are properly sealed with caulk or weatherstripping materials to block unnecessary airflow. This is especially necessary if you’ve experienced harsh winter weather and your home has sustained damage.
Have your HVAC unit inspected and cleaned. Make sure your outdoor unit is cleared of any dust, leaves and small debris. Vacuum or spray the condenser fins to remove any remaining dirt, and have your air filter replaced as needed. Also be sure to have it checked by a trusted air conditioning repair technician as part of routine maintenance. If any issues with your unit are spotted, make sure to address them immediately to prevent more costly repairs later on.
Open your windows and use ceiling fans. While there are some days that are hotter than others, if temperatures are mild and manageable, consider opening your windows to let in the breeze from the outdoors. Opening your windows will create airflow that naturally cools your home so that you don’t have to use your air conditioner.
You can also use your ceiling fans more often, which can raise the temperature on your thermostat up by four degrees while also lowering your energy bills and maintaining indoor comfort. Just make sure to switch the direction of your ceiling fans; they should be turning counterclockwise to force cool air down into the room to help keep it cool.
Manage your home’s airflow. It’s easy to keep your windows open and use your ceiling fans more often, but if you want to let in more cool air, you’ll want a faster way to get the warm air out of your house. Make use of your home’s exhaust fans even on very warm days to force out the warm air. You can also do a bit of rearranging with your furniture to keep them away from your HVAC system’s baseboard or registers. Doing this will decrease obstacles that can impede airflow and improve indoor air quality and circulation. It also decreases the workload your HVAC system needs to be able to handle in order to keep temperatures within comfortable levels.
Check your home’s roof and siding. It’s important that your roof and siding don’t have any loose shingles or holes. This will help prevent any cool air from your HVAC unit from escaping your home. Your home’s exterior may have sustained some damage over the winter caused by ice, small leaves and branches, and even melted snow that’s seeped through the roofing system. If you leave your roof unchecked and unrepaired, the exposed areas on your roof and siding will force your HVAC system to work harder than it should, resulting in higher energy bills. Your HVAC unit may also break down more often, leading to an air conditioning repair that could have been prevented.
Check your water heater and conserve hot water. To do this, turn down the thermostat on your water heater. While many manufacturers automatically set water heater thermostats to 140°F, you’ll hardly feel any difference if you set yours to 120°F. In fact, doing this will also help you avoid scalding yourself in the first few moments after you turn on your hot water. It will also increase your home’s efficiency, and if you don’t actively use your water heater, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your home’s energy bills! Another way to increase your water heater’s efficiency is to drain a quarter of your tank each year to remove sediment and debris.
Have your refrigerator gasket checked. Professional air conditioning and heating service technicians are aware that refrigerators account for almost 14 percent of the average homeowner’s electric bill. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, refrigerators use more electricity than any other kitchen appliance. This puts it right behind the HVAC system as your home’s number one appliance in electricity usage!
While it isn’t normally an option to turn off your refrigerator, you can at least ensure its components are in peak condition so that it doesn’t consume any more energy than it needs to. While you may need a trusted technician to perform this job, you can still check the refrigerator gasket yourself.
The refrigerator gasket is the rubber seal around the inside of the door that’s responsible for keeping the cold air in. Any crack found in the gasket will allow warm air to enter your refrigerator and cause it to have to pump more cold air to maintain the temperature. This means your refrigerator will work harder than necessary, which will increase your monthly energy bill.
Have your ductwork checked. If your home’s ductwork isn’t sealed and insulated properly, the resulting air loss will make your HVAC system work harder and consume more energy. In fact, it can increase your system’s energy consumption by up to 30%! Make sure you have your ducts checked by a professional HVAC technician to ensure your ductwork is properly sealed and insulated.
When it comes to air conditioning and furnace installation, you can count on the services offered by Bill Reynolds Heating & Air Conditioning. You can reach us at (440) 946-7863, or you can contact us by filling out our convenient online form.
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