Are you a homeowner who recently looked at your monthly utility bill and nearly fainted due to rising energy costs? Have you quickly begun to search for ways to lower your bill and limit your energy used without impacting the comfort or health of anyone in the home?

At Expert Services- Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we’re here to help. We offer a wide range of heating and air services that will make your HVAC system more efficient and more affordable to operate, from new furnace or air conditioning installation to several major areas of HVAC repair. Let’s go over several areas you should prioritize when it comes to improving your home’s energy efficiency, including a few you can handle on your own if you desire.

Thermostat Choice

For starters, if your home doesn’t already contain a programmable thermostat, you should strongly consider upgrading to one. A programmable thermostat, as the name suggests, allows you to program heating and cooling needs ahead of time, rather than requiring manual adjustment in the moment.

If the home is empty for eight hours every day while you work and the kids are at school, you can program the thermostat to take it easy during these hours, saving you money. Not only this, but a programmable thermostat adds years to various pieces of HVAC equipment by lowering their day-to-day strain.

HVAC Equipment

Speaking of HVAC equipment, let our technicians inspect your major areas and determine if it’s time to replace any older components. Newer models are exponentially more efficient than those made even a decade or two ago, and you’d be shocked how quickly you’ll recoup the cost of replacement through lower energy bills.

Door and Window Sealing

If you have older doors or windows, be diligent about checking for leaks or any small gaps. Use weather stripping or caulking to fill any such areas, or consider replacement doors or windows if gaps are especially significant.

Appliances

Some of the top energy eaters in your home? Large appliances such as your fridge, washer, dryer, microwave or dishwasher. If any of these are older models, particularly those that are not ENERGY STAR certified, strongly consider replacement using approved appliances that will use much less energy.

Insulation

A single layer of insulation, either to the attic or the roof itself, can provide enormous energy savings in the form of heat or cool transfer limitation. You might be very surprised how much easier things become for your HVAC system when your home is properly insulated.

Lighting Changes

Finally, consider more efficient lighting formats for another small drop in energy usage. Halogen incandescent lights are a popular and effective option here, as are LEDs or CFLs. Each of these options cost a bit more up-front, but easily make up their cost in the energy savings you experience.

For more on making your home more energy efficient through a few basic HVAC and other tweaks, or to learn about any of our plumbing or heating and air services, speak to the staff at Expert Services- Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

HVAC and Other Tactics for Cutting Home Energy Costs