Get comfortable with a home energy audit

How can you identify and prioritize home upgrades that will also reduce your energy bill and make your home more comfortable? With a do-it-yourself home energy audit!

Like the home energy audits offered by many utility companies, the DIY audit starts with a simple walk-through of your home to assess energy wasters and improvements to eliminate them.

Here are three important places to start:

1. Inspect your cooling/heating system

Heating and cooling accounts for nearly half your home’s energy usage. Improving efficiency here can make a noticeable difference on your monthly energy bill.

• Your HVAC system should be inspected at least once a year. Your Lennox dealer can check and clean your equipment to help control energy usage.
• If you have a central heating and cooling system, the filters should be checked monthly – especially during high-usage seasons – and replaced as needed (at least once every three months) to keep the system working efficiently.
• Check ductwork for streaks of dirt that indicate air leaks. These should be sealed with duct mastic. Insulate ducts or pipes that extend through unheated spaces.
• If any HVAC unit is more than 15 years old, a newer system can greatly reduce your energy usage and lower your energy bill.

2. Assess your lighting

Lighting makes up about 10 percent of your electricity costs.

• Examine the wattage of your light bulbs. If your lamps are using 100-watt or larger bulbs, consider a 60- or 75-watt replacement.
• Install compact fluorescent bulbs in areas where lights are left on for hours at a time.
• Move lamps away from your thermostat. The heat produced by traditional light bulbs can be sensed and may force your air conditioner to work harder.

3. Eliminate drafts

Reducing air leaks or drafts can reduce your energy usage by 5 to 30 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy and make your home much more comfortable.

• Look inside for gaps along the baseboard or edge of flooring and where the walls and ceiling meet.
• Look outdoors at exterior corners, where siding and chimneys meet and areas where the foundation and exterior brick or siding meet.
• Rattle windows and doors: Any movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around a window frame or door, there is a leak that can often be fixed by caulking or weather stripping. Check storm windows for a tight fit. If new, high-performance doors and windows are too expensive, low-cost plastic sheets can be installed over windows to block air.
• Plug or caulk air leaks from or around electrical outlets, switch plates, attic hatches and window-mounted air conditioners.
• If you’re having trouble locating air leaks, you can try this simple building pressurization test:
  • Close all exterior doors, windows and fireplace flues
  • Turn off all combustion appliances, including gas-burning furnaces and water heaters.
  • Turn on exhaust fans in the kitchen and bath.
  • Dampen your hand to feel any cool drafts, or burn an incense stick to look

Find your home “comfort zone”

You know the drill: Excessively hot in the summer, extremely cold in the winter. The in between? Completely unpredictable.

When it comes to maintaining home comfort during seasonal transitions, adjusting the indoor temperatures according to outdoor conditions can prove a bit tricky. If you live in a multi-level home, it’s more than likely you’re familiar with the routine. Heat rises up, making second floor rooms too hot while the main level is cool. During the opposite season, you’re left with a too cold basement and a warm main floor. New homes can also present uneven heating and cooling issues, with dramatic temperature swings coming into play due to architectural features such as large glass windows, vaulted ceilings, and lofts, as well as glass-enclosed patio rooms. Add to that balancing sun-facing south rooms with north-facing rooms receiving excess wind, and you’ve got a recipe for high temperature variances.

With different areas of the home to make comfortable and each family member having different temperature needs, it may seem like it’s time to bring on the “thermostat wars.” Fortunately, zoning offers an easier fix.

Home Zoning Solution

Zoning provides homeowners with the ability to heat and cool various areas of the home through separate temperature-controlled areas or “zones”—typically three to four designated areas. Working with your HVAC, a zoning system will increase, reduce or shut off heating and cooling in each zone by opening and closing dampers located inside the home’s air ducts.

A thermostat, along with a control panel on the inside wall that regulates damper function, allows each zone to be controlled independently. When heating or cooling is programmed for any zone, the appropriate equipment is turned on. The dampers to zones not requiring heating or cooling will close, and the conditioned air will instead be directed to the programmed zone until the thermostat reaches the desired temperature, thus maintaining comfort levels while reducing energy use and utility costs. In fact, if a homeowner uses a zoning system properly, it can pay for itself in as few as two to five years.

Lennox’ Harmony III™ Zoning System offers customized comfort for every corner of the room, dividing your home into four different temperature zones to virtually eliminate hot and cold spots. By directing airflow only to certain areas, the Harmony III Zoning System works with your heating and cooling system to deliver optimum performance without continually operating at peak capacity. Plus, since lower speeds translate to lower sound levels, homeowners can enjoy increased comfort in peace and quiet.

When combined with a Lennox® variable speed furnace, the Harmony III works even more efficiently to provide precise comfort throughout the home, all year long.