How to Have Energy-Efficient AC
Summertime can bring extreme heat and make it tough to keep your home or business cool! If you’re concerned about the increase you’ll experience in utility costs or worried about the impact you’ll have on the environment by running your air conditioner, know that energy-saving air conditioning units and efficiency-increasing techniques are out there, ready to help you save money and prevent excessive environmental erosion.
Let’s take a look at some of these green air conditioning units and efficiency tips to learn more about the benefits they can provide for your home or business this summer.
Eco-Friendly & Cost-Saving Air Conditioning Units: The Basics
Purchasing a newer, more energy-efficient air conditioner is one way to achieve the cost savings you’re looking for. Seeking out a unit with an EnergyStar rating is a smart, easy way to achieve this, as is looking for a unit with a high SEER rating. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio and is calculated by dividing BTU — British Thermal Units, a measure of air conditioning efficiency that represents the amount of heat that can be removed from a space in an hour — by the wattage required to generate the energy. High SEER numbers, therefore, correlate with increased energy efficiency.
Note that you don’t need to run out and buy a unit with the highest SEER number out there — while that can be one way to save money in the long term, simply buying an air conditioner with a higher SEER than your old unit can help you save a good deal of money every year on utility bills.
Other Ways to Help Reduce Your Cooling Bills
There are other ways to improve your building’s energy efficiency that can be paired with purchasing a new unit or used as an alternative to buying a unit. One of the most common and effective methods is to look for and plug air leaks throughout your structure or HVAC system. These leaks can reduce efficiency and make your compressor work harder to maintain a consistent temperature.
Check your home’s insulation to see if it is sufficient and utilizes up-to-date materials. You can also check in and around your windows, as these areas are often prime suspects for air leakage. If replacing your windows for more energy-efficient alternatives is impractical or cost-prohibitive, consider installing weather stripping or caulking up gaps to help keep cool air from escaping.
Bruni & Campisi: Your HVAC & Air Conditioning Experts
If you’re a home or business owner in Westchester, NY, Greenwich, CT, Stamford, CT or the surrounding areas interested in getting cost-efficient air-conditioning units or plugging leaks in your HVAC system, contact us for a free estimate here at Bruni & Campisi. We offer a wide range of air conditioning installation, repair and replacement services.
Avail yourself of a team of experts that have provided satisfied clients throughout the New York metropolitan area with quality craftsmanship and excellent customer service for nearly 40 years — trust Bruni & Campisi to get the job done.