Don’t Fall for These Myths About Energy Saving

Most homeowners these days are looking for ways to conserve energy, both for the good of the planet and to save money on utility bills. But knowing how to save energy without succumbing to energy-saving myths is the hard part. Following are some tips for separating fact from fiction when it comes to saving energy in your Orlando-area household.

Myth: It’s best to leave your home at a comfortable temperature 24/7 than to adjust the temperature up and down during the day.

Fact: It’s true that wide variations in temperature settings can be counter-productive, but setbacks for several degrees up or down (depending on the season) is an obvious way to use less energy. There’s no reason in the world why a modern home should be left at a comfortable temperature setting all day long when everybody’s at school or work. A programmable thermostat allows you to program energy-saving setbacks ahead of time.

Myth: The main purpose of your heat pump or furnace’s air filter is to clean the air in your home, and that’s also the main reason why it’s imperative to replace the filter frequently.

Fact: The main purpose of most HVAC air filters is to screen out airborne particulates that might settle on your heating and cooling equipment. This erodes efficiency and wastes energy, while stressing the machinery. As for changing the filter regularly, keeping it clean allows for smooth airflow through your forced-air HVAC system. This has the same benefits as keeping dust and debris away from the machinery.

Myth: Close off any unoccupied or unused rooms in your home to lighten the workload on your HVAC system and save energy.

Fact: While closing off one or two small rooms probably has minimal impact, any more than that can cause problems for your heating and cooling system, which has been designed to serve your entire home, not part of it. Closing off rooms also can result in air that’s moving in dead-end ducts springing leaks in the ductwork.

For more advice about saving energy, please contact us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Ribah/Shutterstock”