Every home or business owner has asked himself that question at least once in their lives. “Why is my electric bill so high?”. The answer is almost always the same, they are either heating or cooling their home excessively or inefficiently.
Temperature control accounts for about half of the energy consumption in an average American home. That means that Air conditioners and boilers are probably responsible for fifty cents of every dollar in your energy bill.
Living in a comfortable temperature is going to be expensive no matter what you do, but there are things that you can do to help lower that bill. The first thing you can do is use the sun to help heat up your home. Always open your blinds and shades to let sunlight in during the winter months. It may seem inconsequential but it really does help.
The opposite applies during the summer months, keep your blinds closed, and if you can install cellular blinds.
Cellular blinds use air pockets inside their honeycomb design to help insulate your home from the outside world’s temperature. Installing them can reduce the heat transfer from your windows by up to 50%.
Efficiency is key.
An important thing to keep in mind is efficiency. Keeping your environmental control devices running at top efficiency should be your first priority when trying to bring the electric bill down. That means that you have to make sure filters are clean, the radiators aren’t clogged or obstructed in any way.
Make sure both your AC and your furnace are serviced and tuned by a professional at least once a year. More often than that if you have hair pets running around your home or business.
Also, try to set realistic temperature goals. Setting your AC to 64 during the height of summer means it will never stop working. It will be stuck striving to achieve the impossible goal you’ve set for it. Setting it to 76 or 78 will allow it to turn off periodically, which can save a considerable amount of energy.
You can also help by choosing the right heating system for your home’s climate. Depending on your situation, a gas furnace may be a better option than a heat pump, but that might not always be the case.
As a general rule of thumb, gas furnaces are usually better in colder regions where the winters are more extreme. Heat pumps are just as, if not more efficient in milder winters. They also offer the benefit of not having to install gas lines to operate them and they are safer since you don’t need to continually monitor CO emissions like you have to with gas furnaces.
Gas, on the other hand, is usually cheaper than electricity, even if the installation cost is usually higher. So it is important that you choose the right system for your location and the right size for your space as well.
If you are looking for professional boiler rooms and want help deciding which would work better for business, we would be happy to help you find the one that would work best for you.
