How Does HVAC Maintenance Improve Energy Efficiency?

Regular home maintenance keeps the appliances in your home running smoothly, which in turn improves energy efficiency and saves you money. Heating and cooling your home uses a lot of energy, so regular HVAC maintenance is key.

How to Improve HVAC Energy Efficiency

Simple changes to your home and attention to your HVAC maintenance schedule will help your HVAC system run energy efficiently. Here are some tips to keep your system running efficiently.

Protect Your HVAC Unit

Just because your HVAC unit is located outside doesn’t mean it’s immune to the elements. Shading it from the sun can keep it from overheating in the summer and using too much energy to cool your home. Keep it away from trees and bushes, though, falling leaves and debris can clog the system and hinder airflow. You can do careful cleaning of the unit yourself, but if the unit is very clogged or damaged, it’s time for professional HVAC maintenance. 

Schedule Seasonal Check-Ups

You should schedule HVAC maintenance every spring and fall. In the spring, it’s important to check for damage from ice and snow that may have happened over the winter to ensure that the system is ready to supply your home with air conditioning in the summer. Check again in the fall to clean out any debris and make sure the system is ready to heat your home all winter. 

Change The Air Filter

In order to ensure that clean air flows unhindered through your HVAC system, you need to change out your old air filter for a clean new one. Check the filter every month and also when it looks dirty. How often it needs to be changed will depend on many factors, including whether you have pets, how much dust and pollen gets into your home, and other things. If your filter is clean, but the air quality in your home is still poor, consider calling a professional to check if you need HVAC maintenance. 

Watch Your Thermostat

Keeping your home at the same temperature all year round doesn’t save as much energy as you might think. Instead, try setting the thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer and a few degrees lower in the winter. Even just two or three degrees will make a difference. This reduces the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures and reduces the amount of energy your HVAC system uses.

Use Fans To Aid Your HVAC

If the air in your home feels stale or isn’t heating or cooling evenly, use fans to move the air around. Air vents can only propel air so much, so using a fan, a ceiling fan or a portable one, can improve the feeling of the air in your house, even if it doesn’t change the temperature of the air. Ceiling fans should spin counterclockwise in the summer to force cool air downwards and clockwise in the winter to pull cool air up toward the ceiling.

If there’s no air coming out of your vents at all, or your vents just aren’t blowing the way they should, consider bringing in a professional for some HVAC maintenance to keep the air in your home moving. 

Seal Ductwork Well

If your home’s ductwork is leaky, you’re losing air to your walls, basement, and attic, and your HVAC system needs to use more energy to circulate the air in your home. Part of your regular HVAC maintenance should be checking your ductwork for leaks.

Take Advantage Of The Greenhouse Effect

Keeping your blinds up on sunny winter days allows your home to be warmed by the sun, lessening the amount of work your HVAC system needs to do to heat your home. In the summer, though, keeping the curtains drawn can help insulate the cooler interior of your home.

Do You Need HVAC Maintenance?

Contact Stack Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric in Cleveland, Ohio! We are Cleveland’s HVAC experts and have an HVAC maintenance program you can join. We want you to know that your family’s safety and comfort is our number one priority, as it always has been. We are taking all necessary precautions and following CDC guidelines to keep our customers and employees healthy. We’ve been serving the Cleveland area for over 40 years, and we’re not going anywhere. Give us a call at (440) 937-9134 or visit us on our website today and find out what we can do for you!