How To Keep Your Home Energy Efficient Here In The United States
Here in the United States, many people are looking to achieve a higher overall level of energy efficiency than what has currently been possible for them. After all, many of these systems of our homes use up a lot of energy, something that is not only detrimental to the environment, but to each and every one of our finances as well. And when we look at energy consumption more closely, it is most typically seen that heating and cooling costs are, by and large, the biggest culprits, making up as much as 40% of the typical energy bill, no matter what time of the year it might be.
Fortunately, however, there are many ways to come at this problem and lower heating and cooling costs considerably – as well as lowering your overall energy bill as well. For instance, the installation of ductless heat pumps can be more than ideal in many a home, as ductless heat pumps and ductless cooling systems can be much more energy efficient than your typical ducted system. After all, ductless heat pumps are far less likely to leak air in the way that systems involving ducts can all too often do, meaning that ductless heat pumps are more likely than not a worthy investment to make into just about any given home space here in the United States.
In addition to installing ductless heat pumps, another big change can be made through the addition of insulation to the home, particularly to the attic space. After all, an attic that has no insulation – or inferior insulation that does not work as it should – is likely to contribute to the loss of as much has 25% of the heat in your home. Adding in insulation such as spray foam insulation can help to make up for that heat loss and then some, as the typical family who installs insulation will actually find that their heating and cooling costs – and total energy costs – can drop by as much as 40%, which is certainly quite the significant number by just about any standards all throughout the country.
Of course,, changes that are smaller than adding in insulation or installing ductless heat pumps can have a considerable impact as well and should not be discounted by any means. For instance, simply installing a programmable thermostat can lead to considerable changes in the energy usage of your home, even reducing your overall energy costs by as much as 10% over the course of time. This means that, for the average family, the savings surrounding the installation of a programmable thermostat are actually likely to reach nearly $200 over the course of a single year alone.
Even just regular maintenance can have a considerable impact at reducing energy usage here in the average home in the United States. After all, regular servicing will keep your heating and cooling systems alike functioning to the best of their abilities and even can help to reduce the need for repairs later down the line, something that is certainly well within the best interests of all home owners, no matter where they might be located in the country. And keeping up with the maintenance of your systems – such as changing the air filters at least every three months, if not more frequently than that, in your air conditioning systems – can help to improve the air quality of your home as well.
This is something that many people could very much benefit from, as it has been found that the air inside of the typical home can be, in some cases, as much as five times more polluted and overall dirtier than air that is found outside of the typical home. For many different people, this can lead to health conditions developing or the worsening of already existing health conditions such as asthma and certain types of allergies. Fortunately, keeping your HVAC systems in good working order can drastically help to keep the air quality of your home from becoming hugely detrimental to your health as well as the health of your family members and children as well.