by Cooper Climate Control
0
If you’re upgrading your comfort system, you should look into lowering your heating and cooling load first. What is your heating and cooling load? It’s the amount of heating and cooling energy that your home requires to maintain your desired temperature.
Why Should You Reduce Your Heating And Cooling Load?
There are numerous benefits that you can realize by reducing your heating and cooling load, but the main two are that smaller loads:
- Require smaller, and potentially less expensive, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems
- Provide energy savings, both immediately and long-term
If your HVAC system requires less energy to keep your home comfortable, it likely won’t need as large a capacity. A smaller system could serve you perfectly well. It also could cost less when you initially purchase and install it, and will save you money on operating costs over the years.
You also likely will see dramatic energy savings not only from the reduced size of your new HVAC system, but from better home performance overall. Decreasing your heating and cooling load involves minor comfort adjustments and small home-improvement projects, such as:
- Sealing your attic. Many homes lose vast amounts of conditioned air, and hot or cool energy, through leaks in the attic.
- Adding insulation to your attic and walls. Many homes from Sun Valley to Ahwatukee don’t have enough insulation, or have inadequate or damaged insulation. This leads to energy loss directly through your walls.
- Sealing and insulating your ductwork. According to the Department of Energy, leaky ductwork may mean that you are paying as much as 20 percent more for your heating and cooling costs than you should be. Leaky, improperly insulated ductwork is one of the most common culprits for energy loss.
- Sealing air leaks throughout the shell of your building. Leaks are often found where several materials come together, such as at windows and doorframes. Weather stripping can help. Use caulk on cracks and gaps around piping and plumbing penetrations.
These are just a few projects that can put a plug in household energy loss. The more energy you lose, the harder your HVAC system will have to work. Call Cooper Climate Control for a professional touch to lower your heating and cooling load. We’ll be happy to help you save energy!
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about upgrading and other HVAC topics, check out our daily blogs.