Even people who like winter more than any other season don’t like seeing utility bills start rising as the temperature begins dropping. It’s true you can’t avoid paying higher energy costs during the winter because of all the work your home’s central heating system must put in (and the water heater does more work as well). However, you can cut down on those costs with some basic steps.
Below we’ll share five ways you can save heating energy this coming winter—and of course they work every winter!
The furnace is the most common type of central heating system, but in our area there are many homes that rely on boilers. Boilers are often found in homes that don’t have a network of ventilation ducts, since a boiler works by circulating hot water through pipes to terminal points (radiators, baseboard heaters) where the heat then radiates into the rooms.
You don’t need us to tell you how important a working furnace is in this part of the country. We deal with harsh winters, and they can sometimes stretch into April. A home’s furnace is essential for getting a family through even a single day of winter.
Well, you could ask politely … not all air conditioners are sensitive about their age!
The word geothermal contains the suffix -thermal. If you remember your Ancient Greek root words, or you’ve encountered thermal underwear at some point or know about “thermal detonators” from Star Wars, then you know thermal means heat. Geothermal power has something to do with heat—heat from the earth. (Putting those Greek roots to work again!) So when we tell you about options for geothermal air conditioning for your house, you might wonder if we’ve gone a touch batty. How can a geothermal system work to cool down a home?
It’s August, and some of the harshest hot days are going to strike during this month and the next. Air conditioning systems have already put in a great deal of work, and with more on the way, homeowners may start to ask the question: “Is my air conditioner going to wear down so much that it breaks?” Nobody wants the answer to be “yes.”
When the heat ramps up during the summer days, you may run into an air conditioner that can’t ramp up to meet it. It’s alarming when an AC isn’t sending out the cool air you need to feel comfortable, or if it isn’t sending out any air at all. In the rush to have your AC back to work as fast as possible, you may try to fix it yourself by opening up one of its cabinets and poking around inside with a DIY guide up on your smartphone. You might also call on a local guy with some tools in his van who says he can fix the air conditioning for you “real cheap.”
A warm summer day is a pleasant experience in Michigan. A warm, humid, summer day is much less pleasant. And a hot, humid day—that’s when people stay indoors and crank up their ACs.
Your home’s air conditioning system is designed to run during warm days, hot days, hotter days, the hottest days. There’s not much point to an AC otherwise! You don’t run it during cool weather, after all. But even though your AC was built with the heat in mind, it can still overheat during the summer. Just as when a car engine overheats, this will leave you with a busted system that won’t work.