The Three Components of Energy Efficiency for your
Home Comfort System
Many of the choices we make everyday have the power to affect our impact on the planet, none have the power to make a greater difference (positive or negative) than how we choose to regulate the energy consumption of our homes or businesses.
No individual system can more dramatically affect your energy consumption than your Home Comfort System.
Whether you choose to ignore the proper installation, operation and maintenance of your home comfort system, or be proactive in it’s care, No component in your home has a greater potential for positively or negatively impacting your budget or your impact on global energy consumption.
The energy efficiency of your home comfort system is basically affected in three ways:
Choice of Equipment
Indoor comfort systems come in several different forms all having to do with transferring heat energy. These different transfer media include air to air, geothermal, hydronic heat, steam, electric, gas and on and on.
Though there are many different types of systems making equipment choice a confusing task the most helpful piece of advice we can give is Remember the Efficiency Ratings.
Efficiency ratings will usually come to you in two forms and that is all you have to know.
SEER Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio
This is a number that describes how well an air conditioner works, the higher the number, the less energy it takes to run the system SEER is calculated by dividing the amount of cooling provided by the equipment (BTU’s) by the energy consumed (Watts) during a specific set of seasonal conditions. This is a number you should pay very close attention to.
HSPF Heating Season Performance Factor like SEER, HSPF is calculated by dividing the total heating output by the total electric power used, once again the higher the number the better it is for you the consumer.
Installation
According to industry groups ASHRAE ( American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) and ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) over 90% of Home Comfort Systems are improperly installed, this manifests itself in several ways units improperly sized, ductwork leaking or improperly sized, system balancing,(making sure the right volume of air is serving each area), improper commissioning or startup, all resulting in decreased efficiency, improper space conditioning and shortening equipment life.
Maintenance
Even if equipment is properly installed when it operates in outdoor environments that provide a variety of hazardous conditions it gradually decreases in efficiency overtime the only way to keep your equipment operating at peak efficiency is regular professional maintenance.
A scheduled intentional maintenance program performs three functions.
- It keeps your equipment running as close to factory design efficiency conditions
- Reduces the likelihood of annoying peak season failures that result in loss of cooling or heating at times when it is most needed.
- Extends equipment life ensuring you years of trouble free service, extending the payback you receive from the increased efficiency savings.
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