Cooling | Heating | MyHomeWorks™

Heating and Cooling Strategies

Overview

There’s more to heating and cooling than a boiling furnace and a frigid AC unit. An expensive heating unit can lose its effectiveness and overspend on energy in a home with inefficient insulation and ductwork. Whether you’re upgrading to a high efficiency furnace or installing a new central AC unit, the key to saving energy is to combine energy efficient equipment with efficient home infrastructure.

Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS)

HEMS automate heating, cooling and light settings to match the homeowner’s schedule. Newer systems are able to control virtually all energy-consuming equipment in your home while identifying opportunities to save energy wherever possible.

HEMS include a number of ways to control your appliances. These include touch screens, programmable thermostats, electronic remotes, smart appliances with buttons and dials, smart plugs and more. These components work together with your home smart meter to optimize energy consumption.

Energy Savings and Environmental Impact

HEMS can drastically improve a home’s energy consumption while reducing its carbon footprint. Non-networked HEMS with no visual displays save an estimated 5 percent on energy use. Adding visual displays as constant reminders brings estimated savings to 10 percent. On top of that, Networked systems allow for exchanged information from smart meters and the utility company. Homeowners with networked HEMS have more control over their rate cost structure and save an estimated 20 percent on energy consumption.

Consider Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Geothermal heating and cooling is an environmentally friendly approach to energy efficient temperature control. After an initial investment, you’ll be using the Earth itself—for free—to cool your home during the summer and warm it during the winter. These systems use around 30 percent less energy than a standard heat pump! While the temperature may range from extremely hot in the summer to freezing cold in the winter, the temperature of the ground stays relatively constant. Geothermal heating uses the ground’s consistent temperature to save money and energy every year.

A geothermal heat pump uses naturally heated water to warm up your home during the winter. Refrigerant extracts warmth into the “evaporator coil” where the heated vapor can enter the duct system. Meanwhile, the circulating water is pumped back outside to circulate through the ground where it is warmed once again.

In the summer, the process is reversed: refrigerant extracts heat out of the air inside your home and deposits that heat into the water. The warmed water is then pumped outdoors where it cools underground and then recycles.

Geothermal systems have a large up-front investment and involve a lot of digging, so it usually makes sense to install one when doing a major remodel. Moreover, the quality of the ground under your home can make a big difference in how effective a geothermal system will be. Typically, 70 percent of the energy used by a geothermal heat pump comes from renewable energy stored within the ground, which is how you end up lowering your utility bills by 30 to 40 percent.

Tips & Tricks

Maintenance Tips

Though thermostats and other HEMS devices may be easy to install, integrated and networked HEMS installations should be performed by a qualified professional to assure proper operation.
Check that infrared occupancy sensors are not obstructed by other objects. These devices will not be able to operate properly if blocked, leading to mis-operation and loss of control.
Make sure that system setting overrides are reset after use so that the system can return to normal.
Vacuum your smart power strips regularly to avoid buildup of dust. The vacuum is able to draw dust away from exposed electrical parts (wiping can cause dust to lodge in the power strip).
Review energy bills and HEMS generated usage reports on a regular basis to confirm that all equipment and appliances are functioning as expected and that savings are being recognized.
Check that your HEMS is functioning properly and communicating with all connected home equipment following a temporary power outage or loss of home network connectivity.

Loss Prevention Tips

Proper grounding of HEMS equipment and adequate home surge protection are essential for mitigating problems from power line disturbances.
Never leave open liquids near HEMS control panels or displays. If liquids get into these components they can cause the HEMS components to fail, resulting in costly repairs.
Adhere to maximum load requirements specified by the manufacturer for smart plugs and smart power strips. Overloading these devices will lead to premature failure and may result in a fire.
Do not attempt to bypass or alter operations of HEMS components or thermostats. If the system is not operating properly, have a trained system professional perform diagnostics and corrections.
Make sure that communication networks are secure and password protected. This will ensure that operation of the system will not be compromised by hackers and that system data remains secure.