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HVAC/ELECTRICAL/PLUMBING
HVAC/ELECTRICAL/PLUMBING MONEY SAVING & BUDGETING TIPS
When it comes to heating and air conditioning, most savings come from trying to run your system as efficiently as possible. This topic is covered under the “Heating & Cooling” heading in the “Energy & Utilities” section. However, there are some additional things that can be done to reduce the maintenance cost of your heating and air conditioning systems and improve performance.
1. If you have a forced air heating and/or air conditioning system, it is an absolute must to replace air filters on a regular basis before they get very dirty.
a. Dirty filters not only cause additional dust in your home but, more importantly, dirty filters cause additional energy usage, because the fan has to work harder to blow the air out of the vents. Also, when the fan has to work harder than it is designed to do, it often will fail much earlier than normal, resulting in an expensive repair. So, clean or change those filters.
b. Filters are usually either located as part of the blower unit for your system, or are located in one or more of the intake vents inside your home. In either case they are easy to get to and change.
c. Unless your filter is an unusual size, replacement filters can usually be bought
at home improvement stores. If it is an unusual size you may need to go to a heating
supply store. Filters come in all different filtering capacities, depending on how
finely you want to filter the air. Generally a mid-
2. If you have a forced air system, it may not be working efficiently because you have leaks in your duct work, causing much of the heat and air conditioning to escape before it gets to your rooms. Try turning on your system and, where accessible, inspecting the duct work for leaks. Fix all holes and seams that are leaking with a good tape recommended at the home improvement store. Interestingly, you should not use duct tape, since this will not stay adhered over the long term.
3. If you have a heating system that uses hot water radiators, sometimes the supply pipes will get air inside and reduce the efficiency of your system, as well as cause noise in the pipes. There is generally a valve or valves down near your heater, or perhaps on the radiators, that can be used to “bleed” this air out of the system. This is easily done once you learn how. Consult your owner’s manual or research it on the Internet.
4. To improve efficiency, make sure your air conditioner/heat pump outside is not surrounded closely by shrubbery that blocks air flow. Trim shrubs away from the unit. Also, make sure the drain pipe that removes condensation from the blower unit is not blocked where it drains on the outside of the house. This pipe is usually PVC pipe with just an open end and will drip water when the air conditioner is running.
5. If your air conditioner/heater stops blowing air or stops producing hot or cool air, check the following before calling an expensive repair technician.
a. Check your thermostat to see if you have it set properly to heat or air conditioning, and the temperature is set properly. If the thermostat is electronic, determine if it is “powered up.”
b. Check all circuit breakers or fuses that control your heating/air conditioning systems. The out side compressor, inside heater, the fan that blows the air and even the thermostat may be on separate circuits, so make sure you check them all.
c. If the outside compressor or inside blower is not running, there is often a switch at the unit that can be turned on and off. Check to see if somehow this switch has been turned off.
d. If you have gas or oil heat, and everything seems to be running but the forced air or radiator is not hot, check to make sure no one turned off the gas or oil valve at the heater.
6. If you do have to call a repair technician, keep in mind the following:
a. The heating/air conditioning business has some very honest and reasonably priced
companies. It also has some very highly-
b. Make sure the technician explains to you exactly what repairs are required and why. Ask them for a breakdown of parts and labor cost. Do not be shy about questioning the estimate, particularly the cost of parts, which some companies are known to inflate. If you think their price is too high, ask them to lower their price.
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