- Follow directions from the manufacturer for using and taking care of gas appliances. Seek professional help when necessary.
- Keep combustibles such as papers, fluids, paints, curtains and rags away appliances.
- Keep gas ranges clean, make sure burner bowls are free of used matches, grease, paper, etc.
- Have a fire extinguisher near gas appliances at all times. Use a CO2 or dry-chemical extinguisher for the kitchen.
- Teach children never to light or play with the controls of any gas appliances.
- Keep the pilot lights of your gas range lit. If you put them out to save energy, a dangerous gas build-up can occur if someone accidentally turns on the range.
- Look for a certification seal when purchasing a new gas appliance. This ensures that the equipment design meets strict safety standards.
- Never use your gas range to heat your home or apartment. This practice creates a serious fire hazard and puts you and your family at risk from dangerous carbon monoxide fumes.
The U.S. government established a mandatory compliance program in the 1970s requiring that certain types of new appliances bear a label to help consumers compare the energy efficiency among similar products. In 1980, the Federal Trade Commission’s Appliance Labeling Rule became effective, and requires that EnergyGuide labels be placed on all new refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, dishwashers, clothes washers, room air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, and boilers. These labels are bright yellow with black lettering identifying energy consumption characteristics of household appliances. Although these labels will not tell you which appliance is the most efficient, they will tell you the annual energy consumption and operating cost for each appliance so you can compare them yourself.
EnergyGuide labels show the estimated yearly electricity consumption to operate the product along with a scale for comparison among similar products. The comparison scale shows the least and most energy used by comparable models. The labeled model is represented by an arrow pointing to its relative position on that scale. This allows consumers to compare the labeled model with other similar models. The consumption figure printed on EnergyGuide labels, in kilowatt-hours (kWh), is based on average usage assumptions and your actual energy consumption may vary depending on the appliance usage.
EnergyGuide labels are not required on kitchen ranges, microwave ovens, clothes dryers, on-demand water heaters, portable space heaters, and lights.
Have more questions? Contact us or give us a call at (864) 517-1251.
The next time you pay your utility bill, try one simple calculation. Divide the total amount by seven. The result is the amount you spend to heat your water. (If you receive separate utility bills for gas and electricity, use the gas bill for this calculation if you have a gas water heater; use the electric bill if you have an electric water heater.)
Of course, you may think this cost is a small price to pay for the convenience of a hot shower. But during the course of a year, this cost adds up. And when you consider that 95 million households in this country pay the same percentage, it is easy to see how much money—and energy—is used to heat water.
Several measures can help you decrease water-heating costs in your home. Some specific actions include reducing the amount of hot water used, making your water-heating system more energy efficient, and using off-peak power to heat water.
Various procedures for lowering water temperature in the home exist, depending on the method of heating. Here are some suggestions:
Electric water heaters. Call your local electric company to adjust the thermostat. Some companies offer this service at no-charge. Hot water should not be used for at least two hours prior to setting. To make the adjustment yourself, start by shutting off current to the water heater, then turn off the circuit breaker to the heater or remove the fuse that serves the heater. Most electric water heaters have two thermostats, both of which must be set to a common temperature for proper operation. To reach these thermostats you must remove the upper and lower access panels. Adjust the thermostat following the instructions provided with the appliance. Hold a candy or meat thermometer under the faucet to check water temperature.
Gas water heaters. Because thermostats differ, call your local gas company for instructions. Where precise temperatures are not given, hold a candy or meat thermometer under faucet for most accurate reading first thing in the morning or at least two hours after water use. If reading is too high, adjust thermostat on heater, according to manufacturers instructions, and check again with thermometer.
Never take hot water temperature for granted. Always hand-test before using, especially when bathing children and infants. Leaving a child unsupervised in the bathroom, even if only for a second, could cause serious injuries. Your presence at all times is the best defense against accidents and scaldings to infants and young children.
- Change your filters every month. A dirty air filter will make the system work harder and will shorten the life of your system. A dirty filter will also produce lower indoor air quality.
- Clean air registers, baseboard heaters, and vents as needed. Make sure they are not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes and limiting the air flow in the room.
- During the winter, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows. In the summer, drawn shades will keep the heat of the sun away and help lower temperatures.
- Install a programmable thermostat. It is more inefficient and expensive to leave the A/C on all day than it is to turn it off or at least raise the thermostat. You will also make your air conditioner compressor work constantly and this is the biggest user of energy. By installing a programmable thermostat, you can have the air set to turn on thirty minutes to an hour before your return home and thus return to a comfortable temperature.
- Use ceiling fans. They will make you feel cooler and use less air conditioning. For every degree that you raise your thermostat by, you will save 3% on your cooling costs. However, leaving your ceiling fan on when you’re not in the room is a waste of energy and money because fans cool people and do not lower the temperature of the room.
- Make sure your clothes dryer is vented to the outside, but away from the condensing unit or heat pump. Outdoor coils that are impacted with lint or dirt can result in a large increase in your utility bills.
- Add insulation to increase your energy savings. Do not overlook important areas in your home where energy can be saved, including the ductwork of the heating and air conditioning system. Check the label on the insulation that you are purchasing. You want to make sure you are getting that which is best suited for your needs and application. A good insulation label will include a clearly stated R-value, which will tell you the resistance to heat flow. The higher the value is, the greater the effectiveness. This label will also include information about health and safety issues.
- Heat pumps must be sized and installed properly to work efficiently. Heat pumps are sized for either the heating demand or cooling demand, depending on which implies the larger unit (almost always cooling). However, heat pumps do not perform well over extended periods of sub-freezing temperature and it may not be cost effective to meet all your heating needs with an air-source heat pump.
- Select a heat pump with a higher HSPF. For units with comparable HSPF ratings, check their steady-state rating at -8.3°C, the low temperature setting. The unit with the higher rating will be more efficient. Rebates and tax credits have HSPF requirements in addition to SEER requirements. Make certain your new system qualifies with both criteria.
- Select a heat pump with a demand-defrost control. This will minimize the defrost cycles thereby reducing supplementary and heat pump energy use.
- Select a heat pump with an outdoor sound rating of 7.6 bels or lower. The lower the value, the less noisy the outdoor unit.
- If a heat pump is added to an electric furnace, the heat pump coil can usually be placed on the cold (upstream) side of the furnace for greatest efficiency.
- Fans and compressors make noise. Locate the outdoor unit away from windows and adjacent buildings. Some units also make noise when they vibrate. You can reduce this noise by selecting quiet equipment or by mounting the unit on a noise-absorbing base.
- Do not manually set back a heat pump’s thermostat at night. Without a thermostat specifically designed for heat pump set-back, the electric resistance backup heat will engage when the thermostat is raised in the morning, resulting in much higher energy consumption.
- Clean or change filters once a month or as needed, and maintain the system according to manufacturer’s instructions. Filter and coil maintenance have a dramatic impact on system performance and service life. Dirty filters, coils, and fans reduce airflow through the system. Reduced airflow decreases system performance and can lead to compressor damage if it continues for an extended period.
- Outdoor units should be protected from high winds. High winds may reduce efficiency by causing defrost problems. However, outdoor units should not be placed in restricted areas that will result in recirculation of air over the coil.
If you need immediate assistance with your air conditioning, contact us via our website.
