HVAC systems are expensive necessities. The cost of the continuous operation is often the biggest expense in many homes and offices. Since they cannot be eliminated, users must simply learn ways to reduce their energy consumption in order to save on monthly bills. Strategies have been developed that do not require much money with some only needing a bit of effort to implement. We discuss a few of these below:
Maximize the Use of Outside Air
Outside air may be utilized to augment the HVAC system if the conditions are right. For instance, if the wind is chilly especially during nighttime, then the air conditioner may be shut down and the windows opened to let the cool breeze in. The machine can rest for the meantime and turned on again when needed in the morning.
If the premises are the type that can get hot quickly because of the presence of a lot of people, then there may not be a choice about keeping the A/C running. However, the amount of air flow may be dialed to the minimum level that would still produce satisfactory conditions.
Programmable Thermostat Upgrade
Another strategy is to replace the thermostats with programmable alternatives. These devices are fairly cheap so buying them should not be an issue, especially since their installation can produce immediate results. They can be used to ensure that the system is turned off at a certain time, usually coinciding with the end of office hours, so that it is not cooling empty rooms. The default temperature settings at specific periods may also be defined so that it is never too warm or too cold.
Optimizing Current Capabilities
Controlling HVAC costs may be done for free. Sometimes the current system actually has features that could lower consumption but are overlooked for whatever reason. Try to search for these and try to utilize them to the hilt. A prime example is cooling tower fans. These typically come with 2 speed options but are often set to maximum even though it isn’t needed. Reduce the speed are avail of the savings.
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