If you’re like most other homeowners, you’re looking for ways to increase your energy savings. You may have done several things already, but it’s always a good idea to have a long-term plan. This will help you save money not only during this heating season, but also for many heating seasons to come.

The first step in developing a long-range strategy is determining where your home is losing the most energy.  Consider having a home-energy audit done so that you can get an accurate and detailed analysis of your energy use.  Couple this energy audit with your own evaluation. The professional audit and your own inspection should include:

• Checking insulation levels throughout your home, particularly in your attic and exterior walls.  Recommended insulation levels vary by climate and geographic location.  Your HVAC contractor can tell you the recommended insulation R-values for the various parts of your home.
• Making sure your walls, floors and ceilings are free of holes and cracks.  These are an easy way for air to leak out of your home.
• Making sure fireplace dampers close properly.
• Making sure your appliances and heating and cooling systems are well maintained.  Most systems should have a checkup at least once a year.
• Observing your household lighting.  You may be able to reduce the number of lights you use, especially when you’re away from home. Lighting timers can be installed to increase convenience.  You may also need to switch your bulbs and fixtures to more efficient types.

Once your personal and professional audits have been completed, you can determine where you are losing the most energy.  Prioritize your efficiency upgrades according to the amount of energy that’s lost and your return on investment. Keep in mind that some improvements will increase your property value. Some will also require that you hire a contractor for installation.

Using these considerations and the information from your audits, you can easily formulate a long-term energy-savings plan. The energy auditor who evaluated your home will help you formulate the plan and will go over it with you to estimate the cost for each project.

Ibbotson Heating & Air Conditioning Co.  is your leading HVAC service provider in the northwest Chicago suburbs.  Please contact us with questions or to schedule an appointment.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about energy savings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Ibbotson Heating & Air Conditioning Co. services Arlington Heights, Illinois and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

Energy savings photo via Shutterstock