Any proper home, apartment building, or a public building like a bank or school will have a number of systems in place and running, from its lighting to running water to its heating and air conditioning, but the problem is, when a building’s AC or heaters get dirty, clogged, or are simply very old and outdated, they can rack up huge energy bills due to their inefficiency, and heating and cooling costs can grow out of control. This is something that any modern homeowner would want to avoid, but a homeowner can take action. Hiring repair services to fix or replace parts of a home’s AC or heating can be done at a fair price, and what is more, money can be saved over time if a new heating and air conditioning unit is efficient enough to lower the home’s energy bills enough, that system can pay for itself over time. In fact, this can play a part in the overall “going green” initiative to reduce emissions due to power plant use. An environmentally conscious household can become an energy efficient home with an up to date HVAC system in place, since its energy usage will be lowered. On top of this, installing solar panels (which involve different contractors) can be done, and this can easily help a person reach his or her energy efficiency goals, and public buildings can do this, too. Low-flow shower heads and toilets are environmentally conscious as well, helping preserve fresh water.
Energy Waste
Any dirty or worn out HVAC system is not environmentally conscious at all, nor is it good for a person’s electric bill. An incorrectly installed system is bound to fail this standard; it has been found that an improperly installed heating and cooling system may lower the home’s energy efficiency by 30% or so, and with residential electricity demands due to grow 115% by the year 2035, this can amount to a lot of wasted power of too many households have shoddy HVAC systems in them. And given how 50% or more of a home’s energy goes toward heating and cooling, if enough homes become environmentally conscious and save on power with better systems, that can translate to a lot of saved power and reduced emissions from power plants. Installing solar panels on enough homes can do even more good for the environment, since solar energy creates no waste or pollution whatsoever.
What can go wrong? Even if the HVAC system itself is in fine condition, drafty windows or doors can leak air, and this means losing cool air in summer and warm air in winter, forcing the heating and cooling system to work overtime to compensate, meaning more electricity used. The same is true if a home’s roof or walls have poor insulation, or if a home’s windows do not have blinds to keep out hot sunlight. Even simple drapes can help save power, since they won’t allow a room to get too hot, and thus the air conditioner is not overworked. And things may get worse if the heating and cooling system itself is the problem. The blower fans deep in the system may get coated with grime and lose power, and the ducts may tear and leak or air squirrels might build air-blocking nests in them. The outdoor unit may fail, and enough dirt and grime on the air vents can impede air flow, forcing the system to overwork itself.
Solutions
In the case of a very old system, its components may fail modern standards of energy efficiency, so replacing an aging system entirely is often the best bet, and newer models will have energy efficient home solutions to cut back on the power bill, especially since the “go green” movement is younger than some of the oldest AC systems. Ecofriendly home technology as a whole is a broad concept, ranging from a more efficient HVAC system to installing solar panels to using low-flow toilets, sinks, and shower heads to reduce strain on existing water tables and aquifers. A newer, but merely dirty system can be cleaned out if contractors are hired, and very dirty or damaged components such as the blower fans or circuit boards will be replaced as needed. The energy savings make it a good investment.