Heating & Cooling
Comfort, cost and efficiency
Heating and cooling your home uses more energy than any other system in your home. It is estimated that 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. Installing the most efficient systems will help to reduce your heating and cooling costs and reduce the amount to fossil fuels you burn but it is important to also use, maintain and upgrade your equipment in the most efficient ways possible, as well.
Heating
Hot water and steam boiler - Hot water heat starts by heating water in a boiler to 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit. Pumps are used to circulate the hot water through pipes to different parts of the house. The heated water heats up radiators in the rooms and the radiators heat the room. This type of heat is quiet, can heat different zones to different temperatures and gives a soothing warming feeling when it is on.
Steam heat is an older style heating system and rarely installed any more. In this system water is heated in a boiler until it becomes steam. The steam rises through the pipes and into the radiators. The steam causes these radiators to become hot which warms the rooms. Sometimes steam heat is noisy as the pipes are heated and cooled.
Forced air furnaces - This type of heating system is the most popular type although it is not the most efficient or comfortable. In a forced hot air heating system the heat exchanger in the furnace is heated by burning fuel. A fan circulates air from inside the home over the heat exchanger and the warmed air is then circulated throughout the home. Upgrading from an older furnace that is perhaps 60 % efficient to one that is 95% efficient can save you $37 per $100 spent on natural gas according to ACEEE.org.
Fireplaces and stoves - Some homes have wood-burning or fireplaces. Unfortunately these systems can not be counted on to provide continuous heat because the fuel needs to be replenished on an ongoing basis. These systems, especially if they are modern systems, can work well as supplemental heating systems to heat specific or isolated areas. New systems are now required to have combustion chamber that burns away nearly all the smoke which makes the fire so clean it meets emissions standards.
Radiant floors - A radiant heating system uses electric cables or tubes filled with hot water that are positioned under a tiled or wood floor. Radiant heat warms the objects in the room instead of heating and circulating the air. This way less energy is needed to transfer heat directly to the people living in the home.
Geothermal heat pumps - In cold seasons heat is taken from the ground and transferred to the air in your home and in the warmer months the process is reversed to deliver cool air. By using loops of flexible pipes, that are filled with a mixture of water and anti-freeze and buried deep in the ground, heat (or cool) is absorbed from the earth and carried by the liquid and converted into warm or cool air. According to the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, a geothermal system can lower your heating bills up to 50 percent and lower your cooling bills up to 30 percent, when compared to a conventional system. More
Cooling
Central air conditioner - Central AC can be used in an efficient way if combined with ceiling fans and used at at levels that are low but comfortable. Older central air systems might score around 7 or 8 SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) and new models will be closer to 10 or 12 which could represent a 30% increase in efficiency.
Window air conditioner - These AC models are measured by a calculation called EER (energy efficiency ratio). A new air conditioner can score an EER as high as 9.5. If you buy a new air conditioner in the off-season (usually the late summer or early fall) you may save money.
Ceiling fans - By turning off the air conditioner once the room is at a comfortable temperature and turning on the ceiling fan you can save energy and money and stay comfortable longer. Now the fan won't reduce the temperature or humidity in the room but once the AC has done that the fan will help to move the cooler/dryer air around. Generally, all fans perform the same so there is no real trick to purchasing a ceiling fan. Just look for one that looks good in the room
Whole house fans - This can help to moves hot air out of the upper floors of your house and pulls cooler air through open windows or cooler areas of the house. Just by transferring this hot air for cooler air you can reduce the heat build up in the house by perhaps 5%. "To gauge your cooling needs, multiply your home's square footage by three to calculate the cubic feet of air moved per minute [CFM].
To calculate the required vent space, divide your CFM by 750 - this gives you the number of square feet of attic vent space needed. If your vents are screened or louvered, double that amount." Powerhouse/Alliant Energy
