Saving Money With Home Utilities
Any proper house today will not only be comfortable and safe to live in, but it will involve hardware that enables the owner to save money over time. Today’s energy bills may be lowered when energy efficient technology is installed to help save money, and this hardware takes a number of forms. Heating and cooling costs can be cut quite a bit, and thus save money, when the right windows, HVAC systems, and insulation are put in place. How might today’s homeowners get an eco-friendly cooling system put in place and save money?
Heating and Cooling
It should be noted that the effort to save money is largely centered around the use of the home’s heating and cooling system, and nearly half of a typical home’s electricity use goes to the heating and cooling. If the HVAC system is overworked or damaged or dirty, it will use up a lot of extra power and drive up the homeowner’s electrical bill. Sheer dirt may cause the issue, since this can impede air flow and force the system to work overtime to meet its heating and cooling quotas. For example, rats and squirrels may break into the home and build nests in the air ducts, blocking air flow the whole time. The outdoor AC unit may get choked and clogged with dust and pollen over time, and the system’s blower fans may get coated with grime as well. These blower fans are essential for moving air, so if they’re dirty, their output is weakened and they must work overtime. Or, the system may be damaged, and holes in the air ducts leak warm or cool air. A very old furnace must work overtime to provide enough hot air, and a very old HVAC system in general was never even built with modern energy efficiency in mind.
Therefore, a homeowner may save money in the long run, and get better climate control, when they hire professionals to clean off the hardware or replace damaged or very old components. In some cases, this may even mean overhauling the entire system with a new one that is indeed designed with modern energy efficiency standards in mind. New systems may have more features, too.
Insulation
Even if the heating and cooling utility isn’t dirty or damaged, the home may leak a lot of warm or cool air if the insulation in the walls or attic are thin. Warm air can escape in winter, and cool air leaks out in summer. However, hiring professionals to apply new spray foam insulation may lead to lowering heating and cooling costs by as much as 20%, a fine way to save money. This allows spray foam installation in the walls and attic alike to pay for themselves, and make for a more comfortable home. Smaller spray foam jobs can be handled alone, and a homeowner can find the right spray foam supplies and protective gear from the right retailers. Larger jobs call for professionals who can even remove sections of drywall so that they can apply spray foam in the space in between.
Windows and Doors
A home might also be energy-inefficient if its windows and doors are not up to standard. Old, ill-fitting windows and doors are known for leaking air, and these drafts allow warm air to escape in winter or cool air to leak right out in summer. That, and bare windows are a liability even if they have no drafts. Bare windows can admit a lot of hot sunlight that can warm up a house, forcing the air conditioner to work overtime to compensate (and thus drive up the electric bill). In winter, bare windows can leak warm air fast through bare glass, drafts or not.
Window treatments are the solution, and they allow homeowners to save money in the long term just like spray foam insulation. Windows may have blinds or automated screens installed on them, and such window treatments may block hot sunlight from entering the home during spring and summer. Drapes can keep warm air in a home during winter and also serve as decorations, but they should be kept far away from open flames. As a bonus, blinds and drapes serve as privacy measures and can keep strangers and burglars from spying on valuable items inside a house.
