Put Money in Your Pockets Every Month: Savings Tips

Utility increases and rising gas prices have all put a dent in our wallets but there is one way to fight back and save money every month:  with energy efficient Energy Star equipment in your home.

Energy Star gives dozens of tips to homeowners looking to offset increased monthly budgets.  Their website outlines each and every room in your home and the many places, some unexpected, that you can save money.  Home Comfort is a full-service business capable of helping you to save money in each of the following areas of your home or business:

Heating and Air Conditioning

Plumbing

Electrical Contracting and Service

Plumbing for Commercial and Residential, New Construction or Retrofit

Here are the areas you can save money every month by upgrading to Energy Star equipment installed by Home Comfort:

Your Air Conditioning Unit

When buying new heating and cooling equipment such as a central air conditioning unit, proper sizing and quality installation are critical to your home’s energy efficiency and comfort. Remember: Bigger doesn’t always mean better.  Oversizing also can shorten the life of the equipment by causing it to cycle on and off more frequently than a properly sized unit. However, undersized equipment can reduce the efficiency and accelerate wear on system components, leading to early failure.

Upgrading Attic Ventilation

Proper ventilation of the attic with natural air flow keeps the roof deck cool and dry, extending the life of roof shingles and preventing ice dams without using the energy needed to run an attic vent fan.

Sealing Ducts

Look for holes, tears, and other signs of leaking ducts and seal them. Ducts are used to distribute conditioned air throughout houses with forced-air heating and cooling systems. In typical houses, about 20% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. The result is an inefficient HVAC system, high utility bills, and difficulty keeping the house comfortable, no matter how the thermostat is set.

Air Registers

Make sure that the connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet the floors, walls, and ceiling. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork. Also make sure that all vents are clear of any furniture or rugs to improve air flow and comfort.

Sink Faucets

Repair any faucet leaks. A leaky faucet can waste gallons of water.

You could waste up to $35 in electricity or in natural gas with a leaky hot water tap. Fixing drips is a cost-effective and easy way to save energy.

Electrical Outlets

Seal holes around outlets with an inexpensive outlet gasket. So simple!

Power Strips

Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are done using equipment.

Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity. U.S. households spend approximately $100 per year to power devices while they are in a low power mode, roughly 8 percent of household electricity costs. Using a power strip for your computer and all peripheral equipment allows you to completely disconnect the power supply from the power source, eliminating standby power consumption.

Light Fixtures

Install ENERGY STAR qualified light fixtures or replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that have earned the ENERGY STAR. ENERGY STAR qualified lighting provides bright, warm light while using 75% less energy, generating 70% less heat and lasting up to 10 times longer than standard lighting.

Water Heater

By heating water only when you need it, tankless water heaters that have earned the ENERGY STAR save the typical family more than $80 per year on gas bills compared to a standard storage model. Larger families can save even more.

Choosing a gas storage water heater that has earned the ENERGY STAR instead of a standard model can save $20 a year. That’s a $290 savings over the 13-year lifetime of the water heater.

If you have an older water heater, you can improve its insulation by wrapping it with an insulating jacket and save more than $30 per year in excess heat loss. To help keep your hot water from cooling off before it gets to the tap, you can insulate the hot water piping, leaving the water heater for additional savings. Don’t forget to turn off electric water heaters and turn down gas water heaters when going away on vacation.

Reference:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home_tips

Programming Your Thermostat-Maximize Your Home Efficiency

It can be easy to overlook that little panel on the wall that controls your home’s heating and air conditioning.  Homeowner’s be warned-that thermostat could be costing you hundreds of dollars every year if it is not properly programmed.

Programmable thermostats can help make your home feel more comfortable and allow you to save energy as well. In order to get the most out of your digital thermostat, it helps to have some advice on how to properly use it.

Programmable thermostats respond to changes in the house’s temperature, so you do not want to install it anywhere near a window or a vent. The air blowing directly on the thermostat could give it a false reading.

When you program your thermostat, be sure to set it to energy efficient temperatures for extended periods of time. Set it for its lowest point during the eight hours you and your family will be sleeping and the eight hours you are at work and your children are at school. Set it at the highest points for the times when you and your family are home in the morning and evening. To make your home a little warmer during the day on weekends and holidays, use the manual adjust to raise the temperature slightly.

Many homeowners also find programmable thermostats convenient for keeping the house comfortable for pets, and warm enough to prevent water pipes from freezing and bursting, when the homeowners are away on vacation. Your digital thermostat may have a vacation feature that allows you to create a temperature program for use during these times. Be sure to use it to maximize the efficiency of your thermostat.

During a routine maintenance, Home Comfort technicians are happy to take a look at your thermostat’s programming and help set it to be more comfortable and energy efficient.  The savings you get from a proper thermostat control system can more than pay for the cost of maintenance.  We also carry a line of thermostats on our trucks with a variety off features and we can help you choose the best model for you.  Call us today to schedule a money-saving appointment!

 

Home Comfort: The Right Contractor for HVAC Maintenance

You may find yourself calling all the local heating and air conditioning companies in Lane County to get the lowest price for maintenance, but are you really getting a bargain?

With the advent of Living Social and Groupon deals, some companies are offering deep discounts on HVAC maintenance and basically taking a loss just to get new business.  At Home Comfort, we have a long list of loyal customers that come back to us year after year, season after season, to do do their maintenance at a fair and competitive price.

Here are some tips if you are looking for a regular, long-term company that you can trust to keep watch over your extremely important heating and air conditioning system:

1. Ask for referrals — Ask friends, neighbors, and co-workers for contractor referrals. You can also contact local trade organizations for names of members in your area.  Check out our referrals while you are at it!

2. Study up — Find out about license and insurance requirements for contractors in your state. And before you call a contractor, know the model of your current system and its maintenance history. Also make note of any uncomfortable rooms. This will help potential contractors better understand your heating needs.

3. Call references — Ask contractors for customer references and call them. Ask about the contractor’s installation or service performance, and if the job was completed on time and within budget.

4. Look for ENERGY STAR — ENERGY STAR qualified products meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and offer significant long-term energy savings. Contractors should be able to show you calculations of savings for ENERGY STAR heating and cooling equipment.

5. Pass it on — Tell friends and family about ENERGY STAR and Home Comfort. Almost one-quarter of households knowingly purchased at least one qualified product last year, and 71% of those consumers say they would recommend ENERGY STAR to a friend. Spread the word, and we can all make a big difference.

Give us a call to day to schedule a regular maintenance visit.  We recommend 2 visits a year on most systems and we offer a pre-paid maintenance plan that can save you money every visit-that is more than you can save with a one-time Groupon deal!

Reference:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_contractors_10tips

EcoBatt: Think of it as Green, Only Browner

Home Comfort strives to be Green, featuring products that are highly efficient and made with Earth-friendly materials.  This effort extends to the insulation we use in residential and commercial installations.  In fact, our newly constructed offices at our new location are insulated with EcoBatt, the latest in Green insulation.

EcoBatt Insulation doesn’t look like any insulation you’ve ever seen, but that’s because its natural brown color represents a level of sustainability never before achieved.

This sustainable product is made primarily from sand, one of the world’s most abundantly renewable resources.  It is made with a rapidly renewable binder eliminates petroleum-based chemicals and lower embodied energy than our traditional batts.  It contains no phenol, formaldehyde, acrylics or artificial colors, making the manufacturing process safer for the environment than traditional insulation.

Ecobatt is made with a high percentage of recycled content.  It contains a minimum of 61.9% post-consumer recycled content.  In addition to sand, post-consumer recycled bottles and glass are used to create the next generation of sustainable insulation.

It also has an excellent thermal efficiency rating and acoustically, it reduces airborne sound transmission.

Call Home Comfort today to discuss the details and benefits of using EcoBatt in your residential or commercial installation.  There are many utility programs available that give incentives to customers who add insulation to their home and use sustainable products in the process.  Schedule your free estimate today!

References:

http://www.ecobatt.us/eco_batt.html

Comfort Plus Promotion from American Standard

Home Comfort and American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning is proud to introduce Comfort Plus, the newest way we’re helping customers stay cool in the summer, warm in the winter and smart all year long.By making American Standard furnaces, air conditioners and other equipment more appealing than ever, we’ll make Oregon more comfortable, one home at a time. American Standard’s Comfort Plus promotion can help you realize the most comfortable home you’ve ever imagined. A wide selection of reliable, efficient American Standard equipment is now more affordable than ever, helping put your ideal system, and your ideal environment, within reach.In order to qualify for this promotion, your system must be purchased by June 30, 2012 and installed by July 15, 2012. Here’s a breakdown of your possible savings: Approved Systems Credits Stand Alone Freedom 95 2-stage & Modulating Furnaces $400 Allegiance / Heritage / Triumph 14 SEER Packaged Units $300 Allegiance / Heritage 15 SEER Split Systems with Indoor Unit $500 Allegiance / Heritage 16 SEER Split Systems with V/S Indoor Unit $600 Allegiance / Heritage / Triumph 16 SEER Packaged Unit $600 Allegiance / Heritage 20 SEER Split Systems with V/S Indoor Unit $1,000 Heritage 20 SEER Heat Pump with 95 Communicating Furnace and ACON 900 or AZONE950 Control $1,200 Heritage 20 SEER Heat Pump with 95 Communicating Furnace, ACON 900 or AZONE950 Control, AccuClean, and ERFor more information, contact Home Comfort today to schedule a free sales estimate. Enrolling in the Comfort Plus Program today will mean money in your pocket this summer!References: http://edmondair.com/announcements/the-2012-comfort-plus-consumer-promotion-is-in-full-swing http://www.americanstandardair.com/pages/index.aspx   $1,600

Shrinking Rebates!

Springfield Utility Board just announced that it’s rebate program for the installation of qualifying ductless heat pumps will be reduced beginning May 14, 2012.  If you have been thinking about taking advantage of this program, give Home Comfort a call today to make sure you get that extra $500!

SUB has been offering a $1,500 rebate incentive for their Ductless Heat Pump (DHP) Program.  That incentive will be reducing to $1,000 for all projects approved after May 14, 2012.  That is a difference of $500 that could be in your pocket next tax season.  SUB’s DHP loan incentive option will remain unchanged; 0% interest rate, maximum loan term of 60 months and maximum loan amount of $7,000.

The reasons to install a ductless heat pump into your home reach beyond the rebate incentives.  The reason SUB is offering the rebate is to encourage residents to become more efficient and green.  Ductless heat pumps are 2 to 3 times more efficient than electric resistance zonal heating (i.e. ceiling heat, electric wall heaters).

Call Home Comfort today to schedule a free estimate and make sure you don’t miss out on the extra savings available through May 14.  Our sales team can help you through the qualifying process and ensure that you receive that extra $500 incentive.  In these economic times, every dollar counts!

References:

http://www.subutil.com/conservation_services/for_your_home/rebates_and_loans

http://www.subutil.com/files/static_page_files/C03C92A5-F29D-BE38-F0158324CD8CE0AC/DHPHomeownerParticipationForm2_Sept082011.pdf

Tax Time is Here-How to Get Your HVAC Tax Credits

If you upgraded your heating and/or air conditioning system to a high efficiency model in 2011, here is what you need to know in order to received the promised credits.

First, the benefit is now only $500 from the IRS, down from previous years but still worth the extra time taken to fill out Form 5695.

Second, save all  your receipts from your purchase.  The contractor should have given you additional paperwork if you qualified for a tax credit or rebate.  Make sure to attach this paperwork to your files.

In addition to federal credits, each state may also have opportunities to reduce your taxable income.  In Oregon, there are tax credits available for heat pumps, split systems, air conditioning and several other systems provided they meet specific criteria.  See their requirements at http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/RES/tax/HVAC-HP-AC.shtml.

Home Comfort provides its customers with all the necessary paperwork needed to apply for tax credits and rebates.  If you have misplaced this paperwork and need another copy, give us a call and we will be happy to send another set.

References:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf

http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-credits/get-your-2010-energy-tax-credits-filing-tips-form-5695/