How to Lower Your Heating and Cooling for Savings Now & Later

Lower Your Heating And Cooling Load For Savings Both Now And When You Replace Your System

Jan 5, 2012
outside-of-home

Heating and cooling costs represent the greatest portion of a typical energy bill for most homeowners. You can save money on energy costs by lowering your home’s heating and cooling load.

The heating and cooling load of a home is the amount of energy required to keep that home at a comfortable temperature. Several factors influence the load of a house, including leaks, ventilation system, insulation and the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. Addressing these issues will help your HVAC system run efficiently and save you money. Even if you intend to replace your system in the near future, reducing the heating and cooling load of your home will help the new system pay for itself much faster:

  • Check for leaks around windows, doors, pipes and vents and the joints between the walls and ceiling or floor. Use caulk, spray-foam insulation or weatherstripping to repair leaks.
  • Have your duct system inspected and repaired by a qualified ventilation expert. The inspector will repair any leaks between duct joints, replace any old duct tape and check for missing insulation.
  • Replace windows with Energy Star-rated windows or use storm windows to prevent heat or cooling loss through windows. Use blinds and curtains to add additional window insulation.
  • Inspect and maintain your furnace and cooling system once a year. Replace filters, coolant and fans to maximize efficiency.
  • Add additional insulation to the attic, walls and floors of your home if your insulation’s R-value is substandard. Use the Department of Energy’s guide to determine how much insulation is necessary in your region.

For more information about lowering the heating and cooling load in your Orlando-area home, contact us at Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning.We can help seal and insulation your home, maximizing energy and cost savings for your HVAC system.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about heating and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Rinaldi’s services Orlando, Florida and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

Heating and cooling photo via Shutterstock