By Adrianna Noton
The average homeowner in the United States spends over 2200 dollars per year for heating and air conditioning. For many the cost to keep the temperature comfortable puts a strain on the household budget. Fortunately, there are several things that can be done to lower the cost of utilities.
Insulate the home. While most homes built within the past 40 years have had insulation installed during construction, older homes may not be insulated. In addition, there are new guidelines as to the amount of insulation needed in the home. If your home does not meet the new guidelines, adding more insulation can help to lower the cost of HVAC bills.
Ensure all ducts are sealed. In many homes, the ducts have lost their integrity. As a result, the air that the homeowner pays to heat of cool is being lost into attics or crawl spaces where it does not help to make the home more comfortable. Sealing ductwork ensures that this air is delivered to the place it can do the most good.
Insulate ducts. When energy was cheap, homes were often built with simple uninsulated ducts. These ducts allowed loss of much of the energy used to heat or cool the home. Now that energy is much more expensive, insulating the ducts can reduce the amount of energy that is wasted. Talk with a HVAC contractor about the practicality of insulating the ductwork in the home.
Install weather stripping. Weather stripping and door sweeps can prevent drafts that make the home feel colder in the winter. There are several types of weather stripping available and most can be easily installed by the homeowner.
Consider window upgrades. Older single paned windows are energy wasters. There are several options to upgrade the windows to a double-glazed or even a triple-glazed window. In addition, in homes where double-glazed windows are installed, if moisture collects inside the windows, they have lost their seal and less efficient than they could be. It may be time to replace the existing windows with newer ones.
Have the HVAC system serviced regularly. Homeowners can change filters regularly, but for peak efficiency, the unit needs to be maintained. Every year a system is not maintained, it becomes less efficient. A HVAC contractor can perform the necessary maintenance to ensure that the unit is working at top efficiency.
Consider installing a new HVAC system. There have been great strides toward higher energy efficiency in the past ten years. In many instances, installing a new system will pay for itself in a couple of years due to the energy savings made possible. In homes that do not currently have a central forced air unit, there are options to maintain the temperature of the home that do not require installing ducts.
While heating and air conditioning can make your home much more comfortable, it can also be very expensive. Homeowners should consider the above steps that can help to make their home more energy efficient. The energy that is saved affects the homeowner?s pocket but also has an impact on the world.
Offering a custom range of home repair services in Heating, heating and air conditioning Whitby, and heating and air conditioning Oshawa. We are Durham?s most trust home contractor service.
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