Tips for Lower Heating Bills this Winter
This time of year, homeowners begin looking at their heating systems and their heating bills and wonder if there isn’t some way to save on their home heating costs. Indeed, for homes that haven’t seen any upgrades in recent years, there’s a good chance you could be throwing away money each month on a system that is draining your expendable income and our country’s energy supply.
“In Boston, it’s about a 50-50 split for homes with forced hot air or a boiler,” according to the perception of Joe Ciampa from Absolute Home Comfort. This highly-skilled HVAC contractor sees homes everyday that could benefit from a heating system upgrade. Of course, older homes and severe winters aren’t exclusive to the New England area, and much of the wisdom Ciampa gives to client’s everyday applies to homeowners across the country.
Hybrids aren’t Just for Cars
If someone with a forced hot air heating system or boiler asks Ciampa what high-performance, energy-efficient system he recommends, generally the first thing he mentions is a hybrid heating system. Much like hybrid cars that reclaim energy when you brake, hybrid heating systems use their component systems to maximize energy-efficiency. Instead of ion-lithium batteries and a small gas engine, hybrid heating systems use heat pumps and a conventional furnace or boiler. Heat pumps work by exchanging colder and warmer air particles from inside your home and the outside air. These pumps can work wonders in moderate temperatures but quickly lose their effectiveness as temperatures plummet lower and lower.
The heat pump that Ciampa recommends for homeowners loses its manufacturer tested energy efficiency rating at temperatures below 47 degrees. At this point, the conventional gas furnace or boiler, which in itself will run with a 90+ percent efficiency rating, will kick in. Better yet, Ciampa says, “these hybrid heating systems have an outside temperature sensor that you never have to touch.” This means, if the temperature drops below 40 degrees overnight, your conventional furnace or boiler will keep your home comfortable without a hitch, and by mid-morning, when reasonable temperatures return, your heat pump will again go to work, creating considerable energy savings. In this, the Information Age, the greatest technology is created not from gadgets and gimmicks, but the efficiency created from knowledge and automation.
Conversions aren’t Just for the Metric System
Although oil futures have recently seen a precipitous drop, the projected cost of oil over the next 5, 10, and 20 years remains high compared to cost of the previous decade. This leads many homeowners to conclude converting their heating system from oil to gas is a wise investment. In many cases, there is a strong case to be made for this claim. That said, more than just reducing our dependence on foreign oil, the “green” virtues of converting from oil to natural gas have a lot to do with local availability. Much of the country’s natural gas reserves are located in the south and central U.S. According to the Natural Gas Supply Association, Texas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado have much of the natural gas reserves.
Ciampa notes that there are a lot of code changes that relate to oil-to-gas conversions. Some, such as more stringent requirements for chimney linings, are geared toward ensuring basic safety. On the other hand, more and more natural gas companies are offering rebates for conversions. In the end, the setup of your current heating systems, including pipes, any necessary safety retrofitting, can wildly affect the cost of the conversion. Absolute Home Comfort is advertising basic conversions that start at a very reasonable $3,000.00, although additional work may be required.
Another common heating system conversion—especially in areas with older homes and older heating systems—is from steam heat to forced hot water systems. Forced hot water systems require less maintenance, less frequent repairs, and offer greater control?.If you’ve ever had a bedroom on the top story of a home or apartment with steam heat, you know the value of converting to a system more controllable heat distribution.
Combo Meals aren’t just for Fast Food In fact, often, radiant flooring is best installed when it’s time to replace older flooring. Being able to refresh the look of your home, while increasing the efficiency and comfort level of your home’s heating system, is a can’t-miss home improvement that too many homeowners overlook and one that commonly helps sell your home when the time comes. During these times when it’s hard to justify home remodels for purely aesthetic reasons, this combination project is no doubt a diamond in the rough.
Another great way for homeowners to increase the energy-efficiency of their heating system is to increase the efficiency of the distribution system. Forced air heating systems use convection to distribute heat throughout your home, while radiant floors use pipes and hot water to transfer heat through conduction and radiation. Ciampa explains that “these pipes are laid in track lines—grooves cut into the plywood subflooring—to pump hot water through your home.” This is a relatively simple process in new construction, but can be complicated at best to retrofit older homes.
