Now, we want to give you some guidelines to making your home more earth friendly.

1. Have your A/C system professionally cleaned and checked each year. If the refrigerant level is even slightly wrong – the unit will use more electricity to run. A dirty condensing coil, evaporator coil or blower wheel runs the electrical usage higher.
2. In air conditioning, you have 3 motors running – the furnace blower motor, the compressor and the condensing fan motor. The blower motor has a blower motor wheel that loves to collect dirt and the condensing fan motor has fan blades that also do their best to collect dirt. Keep them clean.
3. In heating, you have 2 motors running. Again, the furnace blower motor and the draft inducer motor and wheel (also called vent motor). Clean wheels are less resistant and more efficient.
4. Never shut off the A/C system and open the windows just for the night. The lower night time temperatures increase humidity levels. So, you use more electricity the next day removing the humidity you let in the house during the night. There seems to be two common reasons for shutting off the A/C at night – people think they are saving money or they can’t stand the odors when the A/C runs. If you have odors, check for mold.
5. In summer run the blower motor continuously when outside temperatures are in the high 80’s or higher. In winter run the blower motor continuously when outside temperatures are in the low 20’s or lower. At those times, you want all motors to run longer without stop & go. Just as on a car trip, you get better efficiency when cruising at one speed on a highway. You hit the stop & go traffic in a city and immediately lose efficiency.
6. Buy the highest efficiency you can afford when replacing your system. Consider a two stage condensing unit along with a two stage furnace.
7. For those who really want to be green – consider a planned replacement of the A/C system every 10 years. You know a 10 year old car is far less efficient than a new car; the same is for your A/C system. Furnaces should be replaced every 10 to 15 years for maximum efficiency.
8. Buy a furnace with a variable speed motor. It uses 1/6 to 1/8 the amount of electricity a stand blower motor uses. But, they are expensive to replace, so buy a 10 year parts and labor warranty with the furnace. It is a cost effective warranty!
9. Have your duct vents professionally cleaned every 5 to 10 years. Dirt restricts air flow, which makes all the motors work harder. Using our road trip example: dirty ducts puts a strain on the motors, just like towing a big boat behind your car.

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1. Have your furnace or boiler and hot water heater professionally cleaned and checked each year. Only a professional can properly check all the safety and energy efficient controls the modern furnace has. Never allow any safety control to be bypassed – they are very important for your home’s safety.
2. Replace your hot water heater every 10 to 15 years. Tankless hot water heaters for smaller families can be very energy efficient, but are more expensive and have installation restrictions.
3. Installing a whole house humidifier on your furnace and use it! In winter time, we are not comfortable keeping the house in the upper 60’s or low 70’s without proper humidity. So, to compensate, you turn up the heat. It is better to put in a humidifier and lower the thermostat. Dust mites allergies are also reduced with proper humidification. And, now high tech thermostats can automatically & properly control the humidifier for you.
4. Replace your standing pilot or single stage furnace with a two stage furnace. A two stage furnace only uses parts of the burners when outside temperatures are mild, but you still need some heat.
5. Plan on replacing your furnace every 10 to 15 years. Think of a Chicago winter as demanding as driving back and forth to California 2 to 4 times within 6 months. Think of having a real cold sub-zero spell as going through the Rockies. Is that when you wished you had replaced your heating system sooner?