Tips on reducing your heating and cooling energy costs.

Purchasing new equipment if you are thinking about replacing your old equipment, or you are building a new home, you need to be aware of both the initial cost and the operating cost of your air conditioning equipment. While many people base their decision to purchase air conditioning primarily on the initial cost, over time the higher efficiency equipment may actually save the difference in the initial cost many times over. Air conditioning and heating equipment is a long-term investment in your home. The average service life of residential equipment is about 12 to 15 years. so, whileyou pay the purchase price only once, the operating costs continue for many years to come.

Cooling air conditioning equipment is rated by a formula called S.E.E.R., or seasonal energy efficiency rating. it is a rating of the amount of cooling delivered for the amount of energy used. a higher SEER rating means a more efficient unit. the federal government currently mandates that manufacturers produce equipment with a minimum 10.0 SEER rating. some equipment is rated up to the mid-teens.

The savings you may realize can be calculated by using the formula below. you may need to get with your contractor for some of the information required.

capacity (btuh ) cooling load ------------------ x -------------- seer hours --------------- 1,000 x electric rate(kwh) = annual operating cost

As an example, a 4-ton unit (or 48,000 btuh) with a seer of 10.0, an electric rate of 9 cents per kilowatt hour, and a cooling load location requiring 1200 hours of operation would look like this:

48,000 1,200 ----------- X -------- X .09 = $518.40 10 1,000

If you did the same calculation with a 13.0 seer rating, the annual operating cost would be $398.80, saving you $133.60 per year. over the average 15-year life of a system, that's more than $2,000 in savings!

In cooling mode, a heat pump works exactly like a regularcondensing unit, so the savings in this example would be the same.

Heating:

Gas furnaces are rated in a fashion similar to air conditioning equipment, but under a different system called A.F.U.E., or annual fuel utilization efficiency. AFUE is expressed as a percentage related to efficiency. Like air conditioning, the higher the rating, the more efficient the equipment will be. currently, the federal minimum is 80.0% afue and some furnaces are rated into the upper 90 percentile.

Ask your HVAC contractor or builder for more information and a comparison of the initial cost versus the cost of operation.

Existing equipment:

Whether you've just installed a new system or it's several years old, there are many things that can be done to reduce the cost to operate air conditioning and heating systems. These include upgrading certain components of your system as well as things you can do at your home to prevent energy loss.

One of the simplest changes you can make is to upgrade to a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat does exactly what it's name implies. Basically, you can "tell" the thermostat what your typical schedule is -- when you're at home and when you're not -- and the thermostat will adjust its settings up or down at the set times. It also includes settings for when you go to sleep and when you wake up. By cycling the thermostat setting, the equipment will have a lower run time resulting in less energy used. Programmable thermostats are available in several models with features to fit your lifestyle. They are simple to program and for the times when your schedule changes, easy to override or change. your hvac contractor can help you decide which model is right for you.

It has been proven that air conditioning equipment will perform at top efficiency for a longer period of time if the indoor evaporator coil is kept clean. The filter in your furnace or air handling equipment is in place to try to accomplish this, but most economy grade filters will only take care of larger particles of dirt, lint and some other airborne particulate. To do a better job, it makes sense to invest in a more efficient type of filter. The choices are many, and include pleated disposable filters, high efficient media filters, electrostatic filters, and electronic air cleaners. (With some electronic air cleaners, tests have shown to save 10 to 15 percent of the operating costs over the life of the system.) Some of the filters are made to be exact replacements and will typically fit right in place of your old filter. Others may require a more involved installation process. contact your HVAC contractor for assistance.

Performing maintenance tasks on your home can add up to real savings on your energy bills. Heat gain/loss through doors, walls, windows, attics, crawl space, and other areas are robbing you of some of the dollars you pay for operating your cooling and heating systems. Here are some things you can do to prevent losing your cool:

Be sure to have adequate insulation in your home. Check all areas that are accessible including the attic. Attic insulation is typically easy to add. Other areas, such as outside walls may be more difficult to access.

Seal around windows, doors, electrical outlets, and any other places that could be a source for an air leak. Outside your home, use a high quality caulk to seal around all windows and doors where the frames meet exterior siding or brick. There are probably many other areas of your exterior that may need to be caulked as well. If you have any loose glass panes in a window, use a glazing compound to reseal them. It's a good idea to check and repeat these processes every few years as needed. Inside your home, use weather stripping and gaskets to seal around the moving parts of windows and doors and around electrical outlets. Your local hardware store should have everything you need to do a good job.

If you have trouble keeping doors closed, like children running in and out and rarely paying attention, automatic door closing devices are available in a variety of styles and price ranges. See your hardware store or door and window dealer for help.

Storm doors and windows can add an extra "layer of savings" to your home. These help by preventing air loss around your doors and windows as well as by trapping a layer of air, which gives you additional insulation value.