4 Tips To Keep Your Lexington Home Energy Efficient

As energy costs rise in Lexington, NC and across the U.S., everyone's looking for ways to improve the energy-efficiency of their home. If you're looking for tips on how to keep your Lexington home energy efficient, one thing you can do is cut down on your heating and cooling costs.

Since heating and cooling your home makes up almost 50% of your home's energy usage, it makes sense to start with the HVAC system when you're looking for ways to keep your home energy efficient. The furnace, air conditioner, water heater, and refrigerator are major appliances you want to consider when figuring out how to cut down on your energy bills.

In addition to cutting back on heating and cooling costs, there are other ways to keep your home energy efficient.

Replace or Insulate your water heater tank

Insulating the water heater tank - Standby heat loss is a problem for water heaters with tanks. Your water heater has to run constantly to keep the water hot, so any way you can cut down on the heat loss is a good idea. Insulating your water heater tank will help to improve the energy efficiency of your home.

Replacing the water heater - If your water heater is over ten years old, it's probably almost time to replace it. If it is close to the time, you can save energy by replacing the old water heater. New water heaters offer you much more in the way of improving your home's energy efficiency. It's worth looking getting a tankless water heater if you really want to save. They last longer and don't have to run constantly to supply your hot water.

Install a fireplace insert with blower

Using free energy is always a great way to improve the energy efficiency of a home. If you have a fireplace, you may want to look into installing a fireplace insert with a blower.

A fireplace insert with a built-in blower can help you cut down on your heating costs during the winter. It's a great idea if you already have a fireplace because it captures the heat generated and moves it into your home. With a blower fireplace insert, your furnace won't have to work so hard to heat your home during winter. This is a good way to improve the energy efficiency of your home.

Save energy by replacing the HVAC thermostat

If you have an old thermostat, it's worth replacing it with a new modern programmable thermostat. Older thermostats with a glass tube filled with mercury aren't accurate, and they don't let you make any type of adjustments to improve your home's energy-efficiency.

Programmable thermostats give you more control over when and how much to heat and cool your home. You can set a programmable thermostat to automatically lower or raise the temperature at night or during hours when you're not home.

As we mentioned, almost half of your energy bills are from heating and cooling your home. Replacing the thermostat and using it properly can help you save as much as 30% on your heating and cooling costs.

Giving the old furnace a tune up

All machines need a tune up in order to run efficiently. If a machine doesn't get lubricated, adjusted, and cleaned, it'll slowly lose its energy efficiency. Get your furnace maintained regularly and make sure you get the furnace repairs done so you can save energy.

You can improve the energy efficiency of your home if you always keep your furnace in good condition. At the very least, make a maintenance appointment with our Lexington HVAC company just before the heating season begins and you need to turn the furnace on again.