Showing posts with label HEATING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HEATING. Show all posts
Nov 18, 2014
With the nights getting longer, the days colder, and snow on the horizon, there's no denying it: winter's on its way. While it doesn't technically arrive until next month there's already a pretty strong chill in the air. As energy prices continue to rise heating your home this winter could be very expensive. To help you cut costs, we've compiled a list of simple measures you can undertake to make your home more energy efficient. Spending less on your energy bills means you'll have more to put towards your heating costs. Check out our list below and start saving today.
1. Be smart about when you use your major appliances - Did you know there are peak times for energy consumption? A time is considered peak when there's consistently more energy being consumed during that period. It's more expensive to use energy at these times. For many areas peak times are on weekday mornings and early evenings. Using your major appliances in off peak times can go a long way on your energy bill. Be conscious of when you're running your dishwasher or doing a load of laundry.
2. Don't let the heat out - Seal your windows, doors, and any cracks in your foundation. It's harder to heat a home where cold air has a lot of entry points. Closing them up will keep the heat in and the cold out, and it also helps to protect against bugs and rodents.
3. Think first - Before you open the refrigerator think about what you'd like. Standing with the fridge door open for a few moments may not seem like a particularly wasteful or expensive habit, but it adds up. Pausing to decide what you'd like to eat before opening the fridge is a simple but effective way to reduce energy consumption.
4. Switch to energy efficient bulbs - Choosing the more energy efficient version of any appliance or system will help to lessen the energy usage in your home. That said, energy efficient appliances are expensive and it's not often that you have to replace these items. However, you do have to replace your light bulbs on a more frequent basis, and their energy efficient counterparts are available for a very reasonable price. If you're due to replace any of your major appliances definitely select an energy efficient model. If not, get energy efficient bulbs the next time you need them.
We've outlined some very straightforward and non-invasive actions you can take to make your home more energy efficient. Would you be interested in reading about more complex measures homeowners can try to make their properties even more efficient? Let us know below.
1. Be smart about when you use your major appliances - Did you know there are peak times for energy consumption? A time is considered peak when there's consistently more energy being consumed during that period. It's more expensive to use energy at these times. For many areas peak times are on weekday mornings and early evenings. Using your major appliances in off peak times can go a long way on your energy bill. Be conscious of when you're running your dishwasher or doing a load of laundry.
Image via House & Home
Consult your electric company to learn exactly when your area's peak times are.
2. Don't let the heat out - Seal your windows, doors, and any cracks in your foundation. It's harder to heat a home where cold air has a lot of entry points. Closing them up will keep the heat in and the cold out, and it also helps to protect against bugs and rodents.
Image via Apartment Therapy
3. Think first - Before you open the refrigerator think about what you'd like. Standing with the fridge door open for a few moments may not seem like a particularly wasteful or expensive habit, but it adds up. Pausing to decide what you'd like to eat before opening the fridge is a simple but effective way to reduce energy consumption.
Image via House & Home
4. Switch to energy efficient bulbs - Choosing the more energy efficient version of any appliance or system will help to lessen the energy usage in your home. That said, energy efficient appliances are expensive and it's not often that you have to replace these items. However, you do have to replace your light bulbs on a more frequent basis, and their energy efficient counterparts are available for a very reasonable price. If you're due to replace any of your major appliances definitely select an energy efficient model. If not, get energy efficient bulbs the next time you need them.
Image via NPR
We've outlined some very straightforward and non-invasive actions you can take to make your home more energy efficient. Would you be interested in reading about more complex measures homeowners can try to make their properties even more efficient? Let us know below.
Aug 21, 2014
How smart is
your house? It might seem like a silly question, but with so many technological
advancements over the past few years, our homes now have the capability to get
smarter and smarter. While we’re not quite talking about a robot butler for
every household, there are some new, neat ways to control the systems in your
house. If you feel like getting a little space-aged in your home, check out the
cool gadgets below.
1. Baffle burglars - Lock your door with your smartphone using the Goji Smart Lock. See who comes to your door, share key codes with guests (permanently or for a specified amount of time), and lock and unlock your door from anywhere in the world.
Image via Goji
2. Light up your life - Use your smartphone, tablet, or computer to adjust your lights with Philips Hue. Hue's wireless LED lights and multi-platform app let you take your home lighting to a new level. Turn your lights on, off, to a different setting, or to a different color altogether. The free app makes it easy to do from anywhere, so you can always set the mood.
Image via Hue
3. Be "thermosmart" - Heat or cool your home the better way with the Nest Thermostat. The Nest Thermostat learns your heating and cooling habits so it can anticipate the temperature you'd like, and power down when you aren't home. It boasts being able to, when properly programmed, reduce your heating and cooling bills by 20%. You can also access it remotely using your smartphone or tablet.
Image via Nest
4. Chill out - Cool your small space with the Aros smart window air conditioner. Aros works a lot like Nest, where it learns from your schedule and preferred settings, so it can quickly conform to your needs. You can also use it to not only save money by being more energy efficient, but also to stick to your budget - you can set it to stop cooling beyond a certain dollar amount.
Image via Aros
5. Lighten your load - Do laundry the better way with 6th Sense Live. 6th Sense Live lets you start and stop your laundry anywhere, anytime, with your smartphone or tablet. It will also advise you of the best times to do laundry based on energy prices, let you know whether or not you should be adding more detergent to your load, and notify you when your laundry is done. Whirlpool also offers 6th Sense Live technology for dishwashers and refrigerators.
Image via Whirlpool
Need help keeping your home looking as smart as the appliances in it? Get inspiration at any Marketplace Events home show. Check out the shows coming up in your area - US shows and Canadian shows.
It's also a really smart idea to like us on Facebook. Not only will you get updates and information on our home shows, you'll also get access to exclusive ticket deals. Right now when you like us on Facebook you can get two tickets for the price of one to the home show of your choice.
Dec 10, 2013
Looking to improve your home’s energy efficiency?
Ever find yourself reaching for a
sweater even when the heat is cranked? Or sweating your AC’s inability to keep
the August heat outside? Unfortunately, the problem could hide anywhere, from
insulation to a drafty door―or even an inefficient heating and cooling system.
Take
the EPA’s home assessment test and if your Home Energy
Yardstick score is below five—your home energy use is above average and you’re
probably paying more than you need to on energy bills.
To get interactive energy tips or compare
your home’s energy use to similar homes across the country visit; myhomeenergyexperts.com.
___________________________________________
Carrier is the official sponsor of both our Great Big Home + Garden Show
and our NEW Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo!
For 2-for-1 tickets to either show, click here!
Dec 2, 2013
Whether it's weekly, monthly or annually, there are several things you can do to maintain your heating and cooling equipment. Check out Carrier's helpful tips below!
Ongoing / Weekly
1. Check to make sure there’s at least two feet of clearance around outdoor air conditioning units and heat pumps. During the spring, summer, and fall remove debris such as leaves, pollen, and twigs from top and sides of outdoor the outdoor unit and do not allow the lawn mower to discharge grass clippings onto the unit.
2. Never close more than 20% of a home’s registers/vents to avoid placing unnecessary strain on the HVAC system. Also make sure the heating registers/vents are not blocked by beds, furniture, carpeting or drapes to ensure proper air-flow.
3. In the summer months set your thermostat as close as possible to the outside temperature while still remaining comfortable. The smaller the difference between the outside and inside air temperatures, the lower your cooling costs. In the winter months set your thermostat as low as you can and still feel comfortable, especially while you are sleeping. This can result in heating bill savings.4. If you don’t have one already, consider installing a programmable thermostat, allowing you to preset temperatures for different times of the day. This will ensure that your system only works when it needs to, resulting in lower monthly operating costs.
Monthly / Seasonally
2. To get the most out of your system, make sure you keep the baseboard heaters, warm-air registers and radiators free of dust, dirt, and pet hair by cleaning them regularly.
Annually
2. Ensure that your outdoor air-conditioning unit or heat pump is on firm and level ground or pads.
3. Replace the battery in your home’s carbon monoxide detector.
For more tips, adivce, and services check out www.ohiohomecomfort.com!
For more tips, adivce, and services check out www.ohiohomecomfort.com!
___________________________________________
Carrier is the official sponsor of both our Great Big Home + Garden Show
and our NEW Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo!
For 2-for-1 tickets to either show, click here!
Nov 30, 2013
Are you friends with your furnace? Is it time for a replacement? If you're feeling a little lost, Check out Carrier's helpful tips below!
Can you rekindle your relationship with your furnace?
The first step is getting to know your furnace. First, how old is it? A typical furnace lasts about 20 years. And chances are, the older it is, the less efficient it is. If you don’t know your furnace’s AFUE rating, call the manufacturer. They should be able to tell you by the serial number of the unit. The AFUE number describes what percentage of fuel consumed is actually used for heat, and how much fuel is simply wasted. For example, if your AFUE rating is 60, your furnace is converting 60% of its fuel to heat for the home, and losing the remaining 40% of heat, usually through venting. Obviously, the higher the number, the better the efficiency. And while no furnace operates at 100%, some get pretty darn close.
In many cases, the significantly lower energy bills may enable you to recoup the expense of replacing your system in just a few short years. So, does replacing your furnace make sense? You betcha.
What condition is your air conditioner in?
If there’s an exception to the old “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it” rule, it has to do with air conditioners. The EPA recommends you consider replacement of your air conditioner if it’s over 10 years old. If you want to get on board with doing the right thing for the planet and your pocketbook it makes sense because newer ACs are just that much more efficient than they used to be. For example, if you were to replace an old air conditioner with a 10-SEER rating with a new 21-SEER unit and proper indoor coil, you could save up to 56% on your cooling costs. Of course, there are other reasons why you might feel the need to pull the plug on your current unit right now:
- Your air conditioner needs frequent repairs and your energy bills are going up—your cooling equipment may have become less efficient
- Your cooling system is noisy—newer, variable-speed and even 2-stage systems tend to operate quieter.
___________________________________________
Carrier is the official sponsor of both our Great Big Home + Garden Show
and our NEW Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo!
For 2-for-1 tickets to either show, click here!
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