Cost effective ways to heat and cool your home

Baxton.me
23 September 2017

Cost effective ways to heat and cool your home

We’ve all seen what both blistering heat and intense cold can do to a home and its inhabitants. Stifling summer days make us cranky and lethargic, due to lack of fresh air circulating throughout. Those frigid winter months make us reach for every blanket possible, and can wreak havoc on your water systems and pipes, potentially causing them to freeze or burst. Neither scenario is ideal but who wants to rack up energy bills into the three and four digits? Luckily for you, today Baxton is partnering with VIC Underpinners, a company that is no stranger to the systems that keep your home running. Let’s take a look at some cost-effective ways to both heat and cool your home:

Standard air source heat pumps can be a good solution if you live in a warm to moderate climate. They take in whatever heat is in the air naturally, but the costs increase if the outdoor temperature dips below freezing because the pumps then cause backup electric heat strips to cut on. If this is a method that you’re currently leveraging, we recommend that you check out heat pumps that use natural gas. This method is much more efficient and cost effective.

Geothermal heat pumps are another route that we’d recommend. They look at the temperature of water pumped from a well and translate this as the medium of heat exchange. This means that when the temperatures start creeping towards zero, geothermal heat pumps work best. Yes, the initial cost of purchase can be slightly more, but these quickly pay for themselves—at maximum, within ten years.

Something else that we recommend all of our valued customers look into is installing Energy Star approved appliances. Not only do these help limit your energy outputs, they take care of your wallet as well. These can be eligible for all kinds of tax credits—up to 30%. For more information on this, you can check out Energy Efficiency Tax Credits.

If we were sharing this post fifty years in the future, we’re sure that there would be an abundance of new and exciting ways to limit costs of air conditioning, but unfortunately electricity is still the name of the game for air conditioning. It’s important to keep a vigilant eye on your use of electricity when it comes to air conditioning, because these costs can rise exponentially, and quickly. Programmable thermostats ensure that your current HVAC systems use the least possible amount of energy. It’s like putting a cap on your spending, or providing overdraft protection on accounts at the bank. When programmable thermostats reach a certain temperature, they simply max out and won’t go any further, ensuring that you’re not using any more energy than you need to. For another tool to aide you in this process, check out paddle fans.Nothing fancy here, paddle fans are simply electric fans with – wait for it—paddle shaped fans!

These are just a few of the many creative and important processes that you can leverage to ensure a minimum carbon footprint and maximum cash in your wallet. You’ll find more here.

Have a burning question you’d like answered? Get in touch today.

The information contained in this article is based on the authors opinion only and is of a general nature which is not indicative of future results or events and does not consider your personal situation or particular needs. Professional advice should always be sought relevant to your circumstances.

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