Anyone who wants to learn how to save money on their heating and cooling bills, and who doesn’t? – should become familiar with the term Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rate (SEER) as part of an overall strategy to improve the energy efficiency of your home. (SEER is the energy efficiency rating of a residence or small commercial business.)
Consider the example of Bill and June. Bill and June own a 40-year-old, one-story, 2,000-square-foot home in rural Florida. He doesn’t like high humidity, while she hates high air conditioning bills even more, but they both don’t know what to do. What improvements could Bill and June make to their house to reduce the cost of their utility bills?
Here are five energy efficient home improvements and their benefits.
HVAC Heat Pump Upgrade
Most homes built in the 1990s, 1980s, or earlier have HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning) systems with SEER ratings ranging from 6 to 10 or 11. By contrast, a newer, higher-end HVAC system energy efficiency will have a SEER rating of at least 15 – and up to 22.
Even a new HVAC system with a rating of 15 can be expected to save a homeowner 20-25 percent on heating and cooling bills compared to a previous system with a SEER less than 12. Regardless of the size of the home or the specific upgrade, Seeking as high a SEER rating as possible should be the deciding factor for any homeowner.
Add a smart thermostat to your HVAC system
Smart thermostats are one step ahead of programmable thermostats. Programmable thermostats save energy and money by lowering the temperature in your home while you’re away or while you sleep, but raising the temperature to maximize comfort during peak times when everyone is home.
Smart thermostats take this concept a step further by connecting to the Internet, often through a Wi-Fi clip, but also through other devices. Smart thermostats can be adjusted remotely via smartphone apps. Talk about easy! In addition, smart thermostats offer 15-20 percent savings according to the US Department of Energy.
upgrade hot water heater
Conventional storage tank water heaters waste energy by keeping your water hot even when you’re not using it. Tankless water heaters, on the other hand, run on demand: heating water only When you need it. Smart hot water controllers are an aftermarket add-on that provide all the energy savings of a tankless water heater and the convenience of a conventional storage tankless hot water heater. Adding a smart water heater controller can even be a DIY upgrade.
Like any upgrade, exact power savings will vary. Still, the US Department of Energy reports that homes with tankless water heaters or smart water heater controllers can be 24-34 percent more energy efficient than homes with traditional water heaters.
What about gas vs. electricity? One is not “better” than the other, but depends on the availability of heating. If you have natural gas lines where you live, then a gas water heater will make more sense than an electric one.
Change HVAC filters frequently and flush water heaters regularly
Air conditioning filters should be changed every month no matter how often (or how little) you use the air conditioning. The fan moves air throughout the house regardless of whether the air is on, and the moving air eventually becomes dirty air, so replacing it every month is still a good idea.
As for the hot water heater, you have the option to clean or rinse. Cleaning the filter is easily done by simply removing it and blowing it out with a compressor.
It is even more important to flush the water heater regularly. Flushing prevents sediment buildup that can block the heater’s electrical element or gas burner. Over time, this not only reduces energy efficiency, but can even cause the heater to fail prematurely.
Some in the HVAC industry recommend annual flushing, but doing it every four months is an even smarter precaution. A flush water heater will heat the water faster, and a more energy efficient heater costs less money to run.
Install a smart HVAC controller
Modern houses are often built as tight as possible, but a well-built house is not necessarily a well-ventilated house. If a building is “too narrow”, indoor air quality suffers. Without proper ventilation, defined as the exchange of indoor and outdoor air, contaminants such as radon, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other contaminants can accumulate, potentially leading to serious health problems. This can be especially true in small commercial businesses that may have many harmful chemicals in the air; a nail salon would be an example. To prevent this, current standard building practices include adding an always-open fresh air duct to the HVAC system.
Unlike a ‘smart thermostat’ that automates temperature settings, a smart HVAC controller, as its name suggests, controls and integrates every aspect of the HVAC system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) for maximum efficiency.
Smart HVAC controllers connect to the ductwork system and use indoor and outdoor sensors to automatically turn off air conditioning when temperatures are comfortable, bringing fresh air inside and exhausting stale air with its pollutants outside. Essentially, IOQ is addressed 24/7. In addition, Smart HVAC controllers improve energy efficiency by ventilating the building only when necessary to improve IAQ, closing the fresh air duct, and resealing the building airtight when IAQ is good. Smart HVAC controllers also minimize compressor and heater operation by using outside air to adjust indoor air temperatures whenever possible.
It’s no surprise that adding a smart HVAC controller often results in the biggest heating and cooling cost savings, in some cases as much as 30 per cent savings.
Addressing these five energy upgrades, and making sure to use as high a SEER rating as possible for each one, will maximize the efficiency of any home or small business, whether it’s Bill and June’s house or YOURS.
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