Make Some Resolutions for 2023 to Save Energy at Home
With the new year just beginning recently, it’s not too late to make some New Year’s resolutions for your home’s heating and cooling systems. If you commit yourself to take some simple steps, you’ll be surprised at how much energy (and money) you’ll save in 2023 and in future years. Smart and conservative energy-saving practices in a residential setting are a gift that never stops giving.
Try These Steps for Saving Energy in 2023
• If you haven’t already, get a programmable thermostat installed in your home. These devices allow you to program temperature changes to match your household’s daily and weekly schedules. With energy-saving program(s) scheduled, worrying about adjusting the thermostat before you leave the house or go to bed for the night will be a thing of the past.
• Inspect your furnace, AC and/or heat pump’s air filter every month, and change it when it looks clogged with dust. Think of a way that you’ll be reminded that it’s time to check the filter – perhaps a reminder on your smartphone, or a note on the calendar, or link the filter check to some other monthly task, such as paying the gas or electric bill. Whatever strategy you decide upon, make sure you write the date of installation on the new filter, so at least you can tell when you inserted it into the heating or cooling equipment.
• Replace inefficient, old-style incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star-rated CFLs and LEDs. Each time an older bulb burns out, replace it with one that will use less energy and last longer, ultimately costing less money to use.
• Use window coverings (curtains, drapes, blinds, shades, etc.) to help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. On sunny days this winter, open curtains on the side of the house that receives direct sunlight. Solar energy will raise the temperature in that room by several degrees. Plus there’s nothing more relaxing than dozing off in a sun-warmed room on a cold February day. (Your cat or dog already knows this.) Later, once the sun goes down, close the curtains to add a layer of insulation against the outside cold. During hot weather, close all curtains and shades to the blazing outside sun. This will delay the moment when your AC has to kick on. It might take perseverance to remember these adjustments, but it should become reflexive after a while.
More Resolutions to Follow in ’23
• During relatively moderate weather in late spring through early fall, use natural ventilation (open windows) to cool your home in the mornings and evenings. This relieves some of the pressure on your AC to provide all the cooling. One effective strategy, if the outside weather allows it, is to cool your home with outside air overnight, then close up the house as soon as the sun starts heating in the morning.
• Schedule twice-yearly preventative maintenance on your heating and cooling systems – once for heating, in the spring for your A/C and the fall for your furnace or heat pump. This will enhance energy efficiency, performance and safety, while cutting down on breakdowns and premature failure of equipment.
• Use ceiling fans to help your home feel cooler in the summer (with the blade rotation at the default, counter-clockwise setting), and for redistributing warm air that collects near the ceiling in the winter (clockwise setting).
• Get in the habit of turning off lights and ceiling fans when you leave a room. While most people know why turning off lights in an emptied room is a good idea, they assume that leaving the fan on will keep the room feeling cool or ventilated. Not true. In most cases, running a ceiling fan in an empty room accomplishes nothing but wasting energy. The cooling effect of the fan is immediate, and occurs as soon as a person turns on the fan.
• Find a quality local HVAC contractor whom you can trust to perform work on your heating and cooling system promptly, effectively, at a reasonable cost, and with solid guarantees, no matter where you live in the greater Cincinnati area. This is whether you need heater installation in Madeira, air conditioning repair in Loveland, or seasonal HVAC maintenance in Milford.
By no means are these all the steps that you can take in 2023 and future years to save energy and money in heating or cooling your home. Resolve to think of some other steps that you can take to accomplish these goals.