Keeping your employees and customers feeling comfortable all starts with a great HVAC system. However, there’s no denying the fact that it can get costly to run. Fortunately, when you employ the many energy efficiency tips that we’re going to go over below, you’ll be well on your way to saving some money in monthly utility costs.
Install Smart Thermostats
One of the easiest ways to help regulate the energy usage of your HVAC system is to have smart thermostats installed. These allow you to control the temperature of all the thermostats throughout your building. Even better, you can program different temperature settings for different times of the day. By reducing the temperature in the overnight hours when no one is working, you can save on heating costs throughout the winter months.
Schedule Regular Maintenance Appointments
Another great way to ensure that your heating and cooling system is working as efficiently as possible is to schedule regular maintenance. Having a licensed HVAC professional come in to perform maintenance on your unit provides many advantages, such as alerting you of problems early on and ensuring that each part is functioning optimally. You should schedule professional HVAC maintenance in the early spring for your cooling system and in the fall months for your heating system.
Replace Air Filters Regularly
Another key to boosting HVAC system efficiency is replacing dirty air filters. As a general rule of thumb, most commercial HVAC systems that run in a clean office-like environment should have their air filters replaced around every three months. If your environment isn’t as clean, you may need to replace the air filter more often. Just make it a monthly priority to have a maintenance professional check and replace your HVAC system’s air filter if necessary. This will go a long way towards ensuring that your system is operating at peak efficiency.
Get Your Ducting Cleaned
The ductwork that connects your HVAC system to the various registers throughout your building is prone to getting clogged with debris. As the air is sucked into your ducting to go to your heating or cooling system, it brings with it a lot of airborne particles like dust and pollen.
Over time, these particles can get stuck inside your ducting and cause unwanted restrictions. It’s good to have an HVAC technician come in and clean out your ducting entirely every three years. This way, all that clogged debris can be removed and allow for optimum airflow in your system. The easier it is for your HVAC system to pull air through your ductwork, the less energy it’s going to waste doing so.
Get Your Ducting Sealed
The natural expansion and contraction of ducting happens as the temperature changes. This can cause joints to loose up and create gapping. Additionally, pinhole leaks can occur in your ducting for a number of reasons. All of these air gaps in your ducting can allow air to escape into wall and floor cavities.
This can kill the efficiency of your heating or cooling system if the air it’s trying to deliver to your business is constantly seeping out on the way there. Fortunately, investing in duct sealing services can be a great way to help minimize any air loss in your ducting. This allows more of your warmed or cooled air to make its way to the various rooms of your business. The more air that’s delivered, the less your heating or cooling system has to work to reach the set temperatures on your thermostats.
Get an Energy Audit
Another great tip for enhancing the efficiency of your HVAC system is to get an energy audit. This is when an HVAC professional examines your entire building to determine where heat loss is happening. When they can identify the weak points, such as poor insulation in the wall, it can help you to know exactly what you need to do to eliminate that heat loss. Think of an energy audit as a roadmap that you can easily follow.
Utilize the Sunlight Appropriately
Sunlight can have a big effect on indoor temperature. Windows that have solid sunlight throughout the day are going to be letting in a lot of heat. In fact, rooms can heat up over 10 degrees when they receive direct sunlight. This can be good and bad, depending on the season. Through the use of strategic blinds and sunscreens, you can help to keep the temperature lower in the summertime. This means that your cooling system will be able to run less often as it won’t be competing against heat from the sunlight.
Use Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans can be a great way to alter the perceived temperature within your business. Placing these in the most commonly used rooms can go a long way. Be sure that each fan is running in the right direction, depending on the season.
During the springtime, it should be running in a counterclockwise direction. This will force air down onto people, making them naturally feel up to 10 degrees colder. When people feel colder, you can increase the temperature setting on your thermostat so that your cooling system runs less during those hot summer days.
In the wintertime, you’ll want all of your ceiling fans rotating in a clockwise direction. This forces the warm air that gets trapped at the top of the room due to the natural rise of heat outward. The warm air will hit the walls and be forced downward. This allows the heat to constantly recirculate throughout each room and keep those near the floor warm. When your staff members feel warmer, you can set the thermostat lower so that your heating system runs less often.
Routinely Check Vents for Adequate Airflow
With so many people in one location, it’s not uncommon for items to accidentally get placed in front of the air vents. When this happens, it restricts your HVAC system’s ability to deliver treated air to that location. Typically, when this happens, it leads staff members straight to the thermostat to adjust its settings so that your HVAC system has to work harder.
It’s best to have a designated schedule for checking the air vents throughout your business at least once every month. This way, any items that are blocking vents can be easily removed to allow for better ventilation in those rooms.
Invest in a More Energy-Efficient Model
Although not the cheapest option upfront, upgrading your existing HVAC system could help you to gain more efficiency. Even better, when your system operates more efficiently, you’ll spend less money each month on your utility bills. If your system is over 10 years old, it’s very likely that the efficiency rating on your system is much less than what is considered normal today. Talking with your local HVAC professional will help you determine how much you can save by upgrading your old HVAC system.
Call the Professionals Today
Southport Home Services offers commercial HVAC services for businesses throughout the entire Madison, WI area. We can also help with all of your heating, cooling, plumbing, and indoor air quality needs. Contact our friendly staff today to get help with all of your needs.
