Are you ready to save money on your utility bills? It turns out that homeowners in Lakewood Park, Florida, unknowingly make several common HVAC mistakes that can skyrocket their energy costs. Here are seven bad HVAC habits that can cause your energy bills to increase substantially:
Setting Your Thermostat Too Low
Your air conditioner can only keep your home about twenty degrees cooler than the temperature outside. This means that if it’s 90 degrees outside, your air conditioner can only cool your home to about 70 degrees. If you set your thermostat below the 70-degree mark, your air conditioner will run all day futilely attempting to cool your home to your desired temperature. As a result, it’ll skyrocket your energy bills and create a huge strain on your AC system.
Neglecting to Schedule Preventive Maintenance
One of the best ways to keep your air conditioner running efficiently is to have it serviced regularly. During a preventive maintenance visit, an HVAC service technician will inspect, clean and service your unit, making sure that it’s functioning as efficiently as possible. Forgetting to schedule this important visit means small problems that drive up utility bills may go undetected until they become larger and more expensive to fix.
Forgetting to Change Your Air Filter
Changing your air filter is vital to the health of your HVAC system. A dirty air filter affects indoor air quality and makes it difficult for your HVAC system to circulate conditioned air through your home. This drives up utility bills and makes your system work harder than it should.
Air filters are easy to change, and replacing them every month or so will give you the best results. If you have a smart thermostat, it’ll send you an alert when it’s time to change your filter.
Failing to Program Your Smart Thermostat
If you have a smart thermostat, take the time to learn how it works and program it. Smart thermostats allow you to schedule temperature changes throughout the day. As a result, your system will only run when necessary. Failing to program your thermostat means that you wasted money on your initial purchase and that you’re not taking advantage of the energy savings smart thermostats provide.
Ignoring Air Leaks
Air leaks around doors and windows allow conditioned inside air to escape and outdoor. air to enter. This forces your HVAC system to work overtime to keep your home comfortable. Keep air where it belongs by using weatherstripping to cover air leaks around doors, and caulking to fix air leaks around windows. Go a step further and make sure any unfinished areas of your home, such as your attic, are insulated well.
Relying on an Inefficient AC System
If your air conditioner is over 20 years old or the wrong size for your home, it’s probably driving up your energy bills. Older systems aren’t as efficient as newer systems, meaning they’re more expensive to operate.
Oversized units short cycle. They start up too frequently and don’t run long enough to adequately dehumidify your home. Short cycling increases your energy bills while leaving you with an uncomfortable living environment. Undersized units aren’t big enough to effectively heat or cool, so they run all day and night attempting to get your home to your desired temperature. Replacing an inefficient unit will give you a comfortable home and lead to lower energy bills, helping you recoup some of your replacement costs.
Closing Registers and Vents
Your HVAC system is designed to heat and cool a certain amount of space. Closing vents and registers alters the amount of space available for the system to heat and cool, forcing it to act like an improperly sized unit. This can either shorten or lengthen run times, increasing energy costs and straining the system. Placing furniture too close to vents and registers can cause the same issues, so be careful with furniture placement.
Ready to replace your unit or schedule a preventive maintenance appointment? Give the HVAC professionals at Barker Heating and Air Conditioning a call at 772-562-2103 today.
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