You want your Clearwater, Florida, home as energy efficient as possible. Whether your goal is to reduce your home’s carbon footprint or your overall energy bill, there are ways to optimize your home’s energy usage. There are many energy efficiency myths. Here we discuss seven of them.
Decreasing Temperature Will Cool the Room Faster
You walk into a warm room and immediately crank your thermostat to ten degrees lower than you actually want for the temperature of the room. You might think that telling the system you want it cooler than you do can cool the room faster. The temperature setting on your thermostat is more about signaling your system when to kick on and when to stop running. It will take the same amount of time to cool it no matter what you set the temperature to.
Closing Your Vents Saves Energy
Your HVAC system is designed to balance the comfort of each room in your house and is powerful enough to send air to all areas of your home. When you close off your vent or register, you’re simply putting additional strain on the rest of your system as the air that should go out of the closed vents and registers is being pushed out into the other rooms. You still use the same amount of energy and also put additional strain on the other vents.
Running a Ceiling Fan Cools Down a Room
Fans are good at circulating air and helping people cool down. Many people believe a fan keeps a room cool so their air conditioner can run less. The fan itself doesn’t change the temperature of the room but instead creates a breeze to help people feel cooler. Running a fan in an empty room doesn’t do much to conserve energy. It can help when you’re in the room because it makes you feel cooler so you don’t crank down the AC more.
Installing New Windows Automatically Reduces Energy Use
Homes are often equipped with single-pane windows that are considered highly inefficient. They are often too thin to properly insulate your home, and they usually don’t fit snug, creating gaps for air to escape. There’s a misconception that upgrading to a new single pane window can help improve efficiency when the truth is you get little energy reduction for the cost. The energy savings on single pane is by plugging any gaps around the window.
The additional way to gain the energy-saving benefits of installing new windows in your home is by choosing dual pane, Energy Star-rated options. It’s also important to note the amount of energy you save with new energy efficient windows also depends on the size of your home, the number of windows, any overhangs, and making sure everything is sealed well.
Increasing the Temperature When Away Won’t Save Much Energy
It may seem that raising the temperature in your home only five to ten degrees does little to save you on energy, but by increasing the temperature by even a couple of degrees while you’re away, you might see as high as a 10% difference on your utility bill. You can program your thermostat to return to a more comfortable temperature when you arrive.
Turning Off Electronics Uses More Energy
Electronics such as gaming consoles, computers, and television are energy hogs, drawing energy the entire time they’re plugged in, even if they’re in sleep mode. There’s a myth that your electronics use more energy to turn on and off than you would leave it on. In truth, your electronics draw significantly more energy if left on, so it’s best to turn them off and unplug them when not in use.
All New Homes Are Energy Efficient
New can often be misconstrued as more energy efficient. The efficiency of a home largely is due to its design and construction more than its age. If a homeowner chooses to build their home with efficiency in mind, it’s more likely to be efficient only when using energy efficient materials and appliances.
Are you looking for more energy-efficient HVAC solutions for your home? Contact Pinellas Comfort Systems at (727) 315-0791 today. One of our specialists can match you with the energy efficient HVAC solutions you’re looking for.