Home heating and air conditioning are excellent for indoor environmental comfort. It aims to provide suitable thermal comfort and tolerable indoor air quality. The home heating and air conditioning systems are a vital part of every residential structure. The following practices are some of the things to consider and will help you get the most from your systems:
Purchasing a new system
Over time existing heating or cooling system ages, and you should consider buying a new one. Investing in a new system helps improve the efficiency and saves on electric bills. The choice of your system is determined by:
- House’s size
- Local climate
- Heating and cooling usage
- Amount of insulation.
Efficiency ratings
The efficiency rating is determined by how long it can heat up or cool a given space. The amount of electricity used also determines the efficiency rating. There are two measures of air conditioning efficiency. They are the energy efficiency ratio and seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The two rates equal to the cooling output of a system over its power consumption. The seasonal energy efficiency ratio measures the whole season’s efficiency. But energy efficiency ratio calculates the immediate efficiency.
System Maintenance
A regular checkup for your systems can help increase their life. It also helps reduce your costs by five to ten percent. System maintenance includes the following practices:
- Consider hiring a professional technician to check for proper functioning. The technician should inspect the heating systems before the fall. The air conditioners should be examined in spring.
- Consulting the manual: The manual contains details on the system’s upkeep and maintenance. Thus, it should help you know how to handle the systems.
- Sealing duct leaks help control dust and humidity.
- Checking for wrongly connected and crumpled ductwork
- Ensuring the area around the system is clean.
- Replacing or cleaning the air conditioner filters when the season is at the peak.
Choosing the right size for your heater or air conditioner
The size of your heater or conditioner determines your energy bills. It also determines the capability to cool or heat your home. Choosing an oversized heating or cooling system can cause:
- Thermal discomfort
- Noise
- Low-quality indoor air and molds
- Cost inefficient
The disadvantages above make choosing the right size important.
Best Practices
You can save up to ten percent on heating and cooling. This is through adjusting your systems while you are away or sleeping. You can lower your utility cost and increase energy efficiency. The following practices help achieve low utility costs and higher energy efficiency.
- Insulating and air sealing
- Letting in the sunlight through the heating seasons
- Closing the air restraint when you are not using the fireplace
- Keeping the air outlets unobstructed and clean
- Placing heat resistant radiator reverberators between the radiators and the exterior wall.
Types of cooling and heating systems
There are many heating and cooling systems that you can consider before buying one. They include:
- Central air conditioners: These are residential air conditioners. The higher its seasonal energy efficiency ratio, the less the energy consumption.
- Room air conditioners: The most preferred has an energy efficiency of ten or higher. Higher energy efficiency helps you save on energy.
- Ductless mini-split: It functions as the central air conditioner in a few ways. The ductless mini-split is more efficient and quiet too than the central air. It is not suitable to work without other cooling units like windows.
- Swamp cooler: the swamp cooler uses a different technique from other air conditioners. Nonetheless, it achieves the same goal. It is recommended in more airy areas.
- Air source heat pumps: The air source heat pumps have both heating and cooling abilities. It is recommended you get one with a seasonal energy efficiency ratio of fourteen and above.
- Unlike the rest, furnaces use natural fuels like oil and gas to generate heat for your home. The annual fuel efficiency measures the extent of heat delivered to your house equated to the amount of energy supplied to the furnace. The regular yearly fuel use should be eighty-five percent and above.
