Heat Pumps: Efficiency Tips For Lower Energy Bills
If you're heating and cooling your home with a heat pump, you're probably already saving money on your monthly energy bill. However, you can probably save even more money on your energy bill with a few simple energy efficient tips.
Here's quick guide to improve your heat pumps's efficiency to slash your monthly energy bill:
Get Smart
Smart thermostats offer the potential to save you 10 to 23 percent on your monthly energy bill. There are two features that make this newest iteration of thermostats "smart." It's important to utilize both features if you want to get the most out of your smart thermostat.
- Learning: smart technologies track a variety of data points and "learn" to be more efficient from this data. In a way, these thermostats program themselves. This feature is particularly powerful for heat pump systems because they are more responsive than gas or forced-air systems. To make sure that the smart thermostat's "learned" data is accurate, you should review it on a monthly basis.
- Connected: smart thermostats are also Wi-Fi enabled. Being Wi-Fi enabled allows you to connect with your thermostat remotely. Whether you're in bed or you're on an international vacation, you can track and control your heat pump through a smart phone or other internet enabled device.
*Note: smart thermostats can be expensive. You should not invest in a unit unless you know that you are going to be in the same home for some time.
Get Clean (Inside)
A heat pump owes much of its energy efficiency and durability to its lack of moving parts. Two components of your heat pump, however, that require some attention are its dust filters and allergen cartridges.
- Dust Filter: most heat pumps have a filter light to indicate when your dust filter needs to be cleaned. Unfortunately, these indicator lights can be inaccurate, which can compromise your heat pump's efficiency. Cleaning your dust filter periodically is an easy way to improve your heat pump's efficiency. When you clean your heat pump's dust filter you should use a three step process: 1) thoroughly vacuum both sides of the filter, 2) wash your dust filter in the sink (preferably with the sink's hose), and 3) allow your dust filter to dry in the sun.
- Allergen Cartridge: your heat pump's allergen cartridges are HEPA-type filters, which means that they have microscopically small filter screens. Neglecting your allergen cartridges can greatly impact your heat pump's performance and efficiency. Because each heat pump model has a different type of allergen cartridge, it's always best to consult your owner's manual. However, if the owner's manual recommends that you replace the allergen cartridge every year, you can often wash the filter (see Dust Filter) and double or triple the life the allergen cartridge.
Get Clean (Outside)
The key to optimizing your heat pump system's efficiency is keeping things clean. Aside from cleaning your heat pump's internal filters, you need to keep the outside unit clean and free from debris.
- Cover-up: when snow, rain, dust, and other debris blow into your heat pump's outdoor unit, it can clog up its fans and air intake system. In particular, ice and snow can prevent fans from spinning, which is likely to trigger your system to shut down completely. You can avoid these issues by covering up your outdoor unit. These outdoor covers need not be elaborate, but they should cover it completely and fit snuggly around unit.
A heat pump is a modern HVAC marvel. If you're looking to improve your system's energy efficiency to save you money on your monthly heating or cooling bills, these easy tips can help you get the job done.
For more information and options, talk with heating experts, such as those at Actionaire Inc.