from our "home remodeling" project library

Keeping Your Home Warm
Rising energy costs are prompting more and more home owners to focus on their home heating and cooling systems. This is particularly important given that about half of the energy used in a household is used for home heating and cooling.

When trying to enhance efficiency, check the performance of your current home heating and cooling systems. When buying replacement equipment, look for advanced technology that makes home heating and cooling more efficient.

Maintaining Your HVAC System
When evaluating your current home heating and cooling systems, pay attention to some basic home maintenance. Check for air leaks around doors and windows. By filling a few cracks with insulation or caulking around windows, you can make heating the home less costly. It also is important to change filters on HVAC systems every month, particularly during the winter when heating the home efficiently is a priority.

Another consideration is the performance of your HVAC system. In many homes, the furnace and air conditioner are not sized correctly for the home. This means you may be wasting energy or using HVAC equipment that is straining to keep up with the demand.

Get the Energy Star Rating
When new equipment is warranted, look for home heating and cooling systems that carry the ENERGY STAR rating. When properly sized and installed, these systems can save 15 to 20 percent of the cost of heating the home or cooling it down.

Air conditioners that carry this rating have a higher SEER (seasonal efficiency rating) than standard units, which makes them 14 percent more efficient. When buying an oil or gas furnace, look for ones with 85 to 90 percent efficiency ratings versus the more common 75 to 80 percent models.