On average, around 90% of U.S. homeowners pay higher energy prices every year.
Your heating and cooling system seems pretty straightforward. If you want it cold, you turn the thermostat down. If you want it warm, you turn it up. But the truth is that what you do with your heating and air conditioning unit can affect how long it lasts, how much you pay in energy costs, and the carbon footprint you leave on this earth.
Here are ten facts you should know about your HVAC system:
- On average, around 90% of U.S. homeowners pay higher energy prices every year. This means that energy prices are continuously on the rise across the board.
- According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average homeowner pays somewhere around $2200 a year on utilities. About half of that cost is reported to be heating and cooling expenses. In colder areas, it is even more substantial.
- If you are a homeowner who uses propane gas to heat your home, then you probably spent around $3,000 on your heating last year, substantially more than other homeowners who have natural gas.
- If you are a homeowner who uses electric heat, you probably spent close to $1,000, and if you are using heating oil, then the cost was about $1,800.
- Statistics show that if you turn your thermostat up or down about ten degrees when you leave the house for work or while you are away for an extended period (more than sixteen consecutive hours), you can save as much as 14% on your heating and cooling bills.
- If you turn your water heater down by ten degrees, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can save as much as three to five percent on energy costs.
- If you make changes to your heating and cooling habits that save you $75 a month or more, you will be able to save over $900 annually. If you do that over the course of a lifetime, that is about $9000 a decade. Over twenty years that equals over $18,000. So, yes, those small changes can really add up!
- In the U.S., many regions had record low temperatures because of the polar vortex, which had the average American spending more on energy.
- If you choose to install a new boiler system, it will cost you upwards of $5,000.
- The typical furnace will last a homeowner about twenty years. The older your HVAC system is, the less efficiently it is working, which will shorten its lifespan.
Your HVAC system works tirelessly behind the scenes, so it is easy to ignore it. Now that you know how much paying attention to your HVAC’s efficiency can help to save you money, it might be time to throw a little tender loving care its way. You don’t have to do a whole lot to change your energy bills, and as any homeowner knows, every little bit counts.