Habits such as tapping your foot or cracking your knuckles may bother those around you, but those habits likely aren’t otherwise harmful. Bad habits related to your HVAC system, however, will come back to bite you, especially when you get those high utility bills from the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Cut these three bad HVAC habits, and you’ll enjoy lower utility costs and greater overall efficiency in your home.
Neglecting HVAC Maintenance
If there’s a cardinal sin of HVAC operation, it’s neglecting professional HVAC maintenance. As your unit runs, belts and other components wear. Over time, that wear leads not only to poor efficiency (and higher utility costs), but also to damage that can be difficult to repair.
Regular HVAC maintenance will catch smaller issues before they escalate, and it will also improve the general efficiency of your unit, resulting in a longer life span and lower utility costs for you.
Running a Poorly Sized System
Manufacturers build HVAC systems to meet certain load requirements, which means that different sizes of systems are intended for different sizes and shapes of homes. A system that’s too small for your living space will struggle to maintain comfort, while an oversized system will often short-cycle because it heats or cools the space so quickly.
In both cases, running a poorly sized system will wear down the unit and increase your utility costs. One of our technicians can tell you if your system is efficiently sized for the needs of your home.
Misusing Thermostats
Your thermostat can be the gateway to either high or low utility bills, since your thermostat will determine how your system runs, and therefore how much energy it consumes. If you’re not taking full advantage of programmable thermostats and instead allow your system to run all day — even when no one is home — you’re contributing to higher utility costs.
Consider installing a programmable or smart thermostat, and program it, even when you’re away, to turn the temperature down in the winter and up in the summer.
It’s never too late to leave bad HVAC habits behind you. To lower your utility costs with professional HVAC maintenance, call Griffith Energy Services at 888-474-3391.
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