Congratulations – you’ve had a home energy audit done for your house; you conducted it yourself, or else paid a professional HVAC specialist who knows all the important diagnostics tests. You now have a list of things that must be fixed, and you’re no doubt wondering where to start and how to prioritize your pending home improvements. With the heat and humidity of a Georgia summer upon us, here are some suggestions that will help you decide how to begin:

• Consider your budget first. Do you have the money/resources to handle everything on the list, or can you only afford one thing at a time? Focus on the improvements that will save you the most money while being relatively simple to put into effect. As long as your HVAC equipment is functioning, regardless of the season, make insulation and air leakage your priorities.
• Air leaks can account for as much as 30 percent of your energy bill. Use spray foam, caulk and weatherstripping to seal windows, doors, switch plates, the junctures of walls and ceilings, electrical outlets, baseboards, and window/wall mounted air conditioning units. This includes places where a wire or pipe enters your house, and all vents as well.
• Insulation is just as vital. Insufficient insulating of walls, ceilings underneath attics, and the attics themselves, wastes money every day in every season. Insulating the runs of air ducts in an attic is just as important. This will prevent heat energy from escaping the ducts in winter, and keep outside warmth from diluting cool, conditioned air inside the ducts in the summer.
• Professional maintenance of your heating and cooling equipment will ensure your improvements pay off. Change HVAC air filters every one to two months and replace your cooling or heating equipment if it’s older than 15 years; new furnaces and air conditioning units are increasingly more energy efficient and will help pay for themselves.

Powers Heating & Air has served Peachtree City and Fayette County since 2001, specializing in comfort and energy efficiency. Contact us for more information or call 770-487-2040.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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