If
you have more money than you can spend…then
this newsletter is not for you and you should read no farther.
If however, you’re like most of us, and can always
use extra dollars, what follows may be of interest.
OK, so maybe “energy” education is
not high on your list of priorities. However, now that today’s high oil
prices are again "flooring’’ homeowners with soaring energy
bills (which translates into among other things, higher heating and cooling costs),
it’s become very important.
First,
let’s see if we can find a better (and
a more realistic) definition of the word “energy”...because
the word “energy” is somewhat vague
and might mean different things to different people.
Think
about it like this. It’s
not energy that people want or are even interested
in…it’s the services that energy
provides, such as cooking, hot water for a shower or
keeping you comfortable inside your house, 365 days
of the year…no matter what the weather is like
outside.
Looking
at it in that light, we could
easily see how a financial planner might chide you
for shopping all over town to get the best prices on
groceries, clothes, etc., and neglecting the larger
savings that can accrue from controlling the energy
costs in your own home.
For
example, take the single biggest
user of energy (gas & electricity) in your house,
heating and air conditioning. In most homes, it consumes
between 45-55% of all the energy used.
C’mon!
you might say…what do
I know about the Btu’s in a cu ft of gas or a
kilowatt of electricity? And even if I knew, what could
I do about it anyway? After all, how many times do
I buy a heating/cooling system in a lifetime? Probably
2 or 3 at the most. And most of the time, if there’s
adequate heating or cooling, I never even give the
HVAC system a thought...other than to make a service
call when things go wrong.
Maybe
you should give it more than just a passing
thought. New technologies many times can provide you
with the same services at a fraction of the energy
cost. For example, refrigerators made before 1978 averaged
1,807 kilowatt-hours/year. As a result of federal regulations
and industry innovations, this figure was down to about
700 kWh/year by 1994. That means that the energy to
operate a refrigerator was cut by more than 50%!
So you can see, increasing
the energy efficiency of your home can significantly reduce your monthly energy
bill. Here’s 2 ways to cut energy usage as it relates to your HVAC system:
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1. |
Tune-up/Check
up. Twice yearly (Spring & Fall)
have the system inspected and “tuned up” for
maximum efficiency by a professional technician.
Sometime in mid-August, Climatemakers will again
offer the most comprehensive tune-up in the industry
(32 check points) at up to a 40% discount for early
placement of order. For more info on our tune-up Click
here. |
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2. |
High efficiency
equipment. If you have
to replace your system, either from age or frequent
repairs, consider the long range effect on your
wallet from the cooling comparison chart below.
Similar savings are available in heating equipment.
For comparison purposes, remember that cooling
systems 10-15 years old have a SEER (Gov efficiency
rating) of about 6. That’s all that was available
back then. |
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Cooling
Cost Comparison Chart* |
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New
Equipment
SEER |
Old
Equipment
SEER |
Percentage
of
Savings |
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|
|
|
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10 |
6 |
40% |
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10 |
8 |
20% |
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|
|
|
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12 |
6 |
50% |
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12 |
8 |
33% |
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12 |
10 |
17% |
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|
|
|
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14 |
6 |
58% |
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14 |
8 |
43% |
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14 |
10 |
29% |
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14 |
12 |
15% |
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|
|
|
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16 |
6 |
63% |
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16 |
8 |
50% |
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16 |
10 |
38% |
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16 |
12 |
25% |
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16 |
14 |
13% |
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|
|
|
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18 |
6 |
66% |
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18 |
8 |
56% |
| |
18 |
10 |
45% |
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18 |
12 |
33% |
| |
18 |
14 |
23% |
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18 |
16 |
12% |
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* Product of Contractors Advantage
Inc. |
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| Unfortunately,
in the HVAC industry, differences
in price for either the product (or for the services required
to install and service it), often fail to reflect the real
difference in the final result.
The
brand name of
a well known manufacturer does count
for something, but because of the variety
of models and more important, the experience
of the dealer who must install and service
the product is so vital, a difference
in price is no assurance to the consumer,
that the quality is high or low.
Small
wonder then, that
on our newest web page “Test your
HVAC IQ” (Click
Here), when the viewer is given 4
options to the question: “What
is The most important thing to consider
when purchasing a new HVAC system?”:
a. Get
the best price.
b. Get
unit with highest efficiency.
c. Select
a contractor you can trust.
d. Select
Name Brand equipment.
…that the answer is a resounding Select
a contractor you can trust!
Ignorance on the part
of consumers and their consequent failure to get the most for their money
is sometimes due to sheer stupidity, but more often to the lack of information rather
than lack of intelligence.
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