Table of Contents

Tips for Lowering Your Heat Pump's Energy Usage
Heat Pump Buying Tips
Heat Pump Info for Do It Yourselfers
Heat Pump Tips
Programmable Thermostats for Heat Pumps

Furnace Filter Tip
Furnace Tune-up
Tips for Lowering Your Furnace/Boiler's Energy Usage
Furnace/Boiler Buying Tips
 

Tips for Lowering Your Heat Pump's Energy Usage

Do not manually set back a heat pump's thermostat at night. Without a thermostat specifically designed for heat pump set-back, the electric resistance backup heat will engage when the thermostat is raised in the morning, resulting in much higher energy consumption.
Continuous indoor fan operation can degrade heat pump performance unless a high-efficiency, variable-speed fan motor is used. Operate the system on the "auto" fan setting on the thermostat.
Clean or change filters once a month or as needed, and maintain the system according to manufacturer's instructions. Filter and coil maintenance have a dramatic impact on system performance and service life. Dirty filters, coils, and fans reduce airflow through the system. Reduced airflow decreases system performance and can lead to compressor damage if it continues for an extended period.
Clean and lubricate the fan motor annually to ensure the required airflow is provided for proper operation. The fan speed should be checked at the same time. Incorrect pulley settings, loose fan belts, or incorrect motor speeds can all contribute to poor performance.
Outdoor units should be protected from high winds. High winds may reduce efficiency by causing defrost problems. However, outdoor units should not be placed in restricted areas that will result in recirculation of air over the coil.

Heat Pump Buying Tips
Heat pumps must be sized and installed properly to work efficiently. Heat pumps are sized for either the heating demand or cooling demand, depending on which implies the larger unit (almost always cooling). However, heat pumps do not perform well over extended periods of sub-freezing temperature and it may not be cost effective to meet all your heating needs with an air-source heat pump.
Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are more efficient and less noisy than conventional air-source heat pumps. Though GSHPs are more expensive to install, the dramatic improvement in efficiency can yield attractive life cycle cost savings. However, the appropriatenes of a GSHP depends on the size of your lot, the conditions of the subsoil and landscape, and sometimes the relative magnitudes of summer cooling and winter heating requirements.
Select a heat pump with a higher HSPF. For units with comparable HSPF ratings, check their steady-state rating at -8.3°C, the low temperature setting. The unit with the higher rating will be more efficient.
Select a heat pump with a demand-defrost control. This will minimize the defrost cycles thereby reducing supplementary and heat pump energy use.
Select a heat pump with an outdoor sound rating of 7.6 bels or lower. The lower the value, the less noisy the outdoor unit.
If installing a heat pump in an existing home without an existing heat pump or air conditioner, ductwork may need to be enlarged. Heat pump systems generally require larger duct sizes than other central heating systems. For proper heat pump operation, air flow should be 50 to 60 liters per second per kilowatt-hour or 400 to 500 cubic foot per minute per ton of cooling capacity.
If a heat pump is added to an electric furnace, the heat pump coil can usually be placed on the cold (upstream) side of the furnace for greatest efficiency.
Fans and compressors make noise. Locate the outdoor unit away from windows and adjacent buildings. Some units also make noise when they vibrate. You can reduce this noise by selecting quiet equipment or by mounting the unit on a noise-absorbing base.

Heat Pump Info for Do It Yourselfers

If you use electricity to heat your home, consider installing an energy efficient heat pump system. Heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heating in moderate climates, providing three times more heating than the equivalent amount of energy they consume in electricity. There are three types of heat pumps: air to air, water source, and ground source. They collect heat from the air  water, or ground outside your home and concentrate it for use inside. Heat pumps do double duty as a central air conditioner. They can also cool your home by collecting the heat inside your house and effectively pumping it outside. A heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating as much as 30% to 40%.

Heat Pump Tips
Do not set back the heat pump's thermostat manually if it causes the electric resistance heating to come on. This type of heating, which is often used as a backup to the heat pump, is more expensive.
Clean or change filters once a month or as needed, and maintain the system according to manufacturer's instructions.

Programmable Thermostats for Heat Pumps

When a heat pump is in its heating mode, setting back a conventional heat pump thermostat can cause the unit to operate inefficiently, thereby canceling out any savings achieved by lowering the temperature setting. Maintaining a moderate setting is the most cost-effective practice. Recently, however, some companies have begun selling specially designed setback thermostats for heat pumps, which make setting back the thermostat cost effective. In its cooling mode, the heat pump operates like an air conditioner; therefore, manually turning up the thermostat will save you money.

Furnace Filter Tip

With your furnace in constant use during the winter months, check out the new high-efficiency pleated home air filters that help your furnace pump cleaner air into your home. It's the pleats that help you enjoy improved indoor air quality.

You see, the pleated design increases the surface area from that of regular filters. This increased area enables the filter to capture more lint, dust, pollen, mold and mildew--up to 95% of them from the air. (Ordinary filters let as much as 8 times more airborne particles to sneak through them.)

And because the pleats have more area it takes three times longer for the filter to become saturated with dust and dirt. So you only need to change them every 90 days instead of the recommended 30 days of standard filters (and how often do you really change them?). So make the change to pleats today! Find them at your local hardware store.

Furnace Tune-up

Who wants to think about the heating system when it's warm and sunny outside? But winter is never that far away, and having a heating system service done now will ensure that the heat will come on when it is finally needed.

Q: When I called a heating and air contractor to fix my 15 year old furnace, he told me it was beyond repair and quoted me a "special" price to have it replaced, if I signed his contract that day. I don't like being pressured into making a decision, especially one that involves thousands of dollars.

A: Unfortunately, we are hearing more and more stories of high pressure and even scare sales tactics these days, which is totally unnecessary when someone is offering a valuable product or service at a fair price. Of course, you should always get competitive estimates on costly home improvements. Contact another heating and air company, describe the problem, tell them the make, model, size and efficiency ratings of the new unit the repair person is trying to sell you, and see what they say. In this case, you probably would save money by replacing a unit that is over 15 years old, but you certainly need more information and options to make a wise decision with which you can feel comfortable.

Q: Last year when we turned on the furnace for the first time one morning, it smelled so bad we were worried it was carbon monoxide or something else was wrong. Is this normal?

A: The odor is normal because dust collects on the heat exchanger over the summer, and turning it on for the first time simply burns the dust off. Carbon monoxide is odorless, so you could not smell it. Homeowners should install a good carbon monoxide detector to make sure none of this deadly poison is present in their homes. When you turn on your furnace for the first time leave the windows open to dispel the odor quickly. This is also the ideal time to schedule a maintenance appointment to make sure your furnace will work properly when you need it.

Q: What does a furnace maintenance check-up consist of?

A: We perform the following steps:
Inspect thermostat for proper operation.
Inspect filter and change or clean as needed.
Check all electrical components and controls.
Oil motors as needed.
Inspect heat exchanger for possible cracks. A crack in the heat exchanger will introduce carbon monoxide into the living space.
Check air flow. If diminished, it may be necessary to clean the evaporator coil.
Check air fuel mixture, where appropriate.

Q: Is there anything a homeowner can do to assure proper operation and safety of their furnace?

A: Yes. The first thing to check before turning on your unit is to make sure nothing flammable has been stored next to the furnace over the summer (we frequently find lawn mowers, gas cans, etc. stacked against the furnace in the garage!) Use the following as a guide:
Run your heater for a few minutes now, before you need it. If you wait until the first cold morning to discover is isn't working, you'll find yourself on a waiting list before a heating and air specialist can come to fix it.
Change the filters regularly. Dirty filters restrict air flow, reducing efficiency and worse case, can cause the heat exchanger to overheat. Disposable fiberglass filters should be replaced. Electrostatic or electronic filters need to be washed regularly.
Be sure all access panels are secure, with all the screws in place.
Be sure the thermostat is set in the heating mode. Just setting the dial above room temperature will not activate the heat if it is still set in the air conditioning mode.

Q: The home we just purchased has a heat pump and it doesn't seem to warm up as quickly as our previous house which had a gas furnace.

A: A heat pump is simply an air conditioner with the ability to reverse the flow of refrigerant (freon), and gas furnaces are simply more efficient than air conditioners. If your thermostat is set at 70-degrees, your heat pump will discharge air at approximately 20-degrees above thermostat setting while a gas furnace produces approximately 40-degrees hotter air, naturally warming the area much faster.

Tips for Lowering Your Furnace/Boiler's Energy Usage

Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable.
Keep the temperature fairly constant, as frequent changes will utilize more energy by causing unnecessary cycling on and off. Setting back the temperature at night, however, is recommended.
Clean or replace furnace filters once a month or as needed.
Oil-fired boilers should be professionally cleaned and tuned once a year. Gas-fired equipment needs to be checked every other year.
Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they are not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
Keep draperies and shades on south-facing windows open during the heating season to allow sunlight to enter your home; close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
Close the door to an unoccupied room or area that is isolated from the rest of the house and turn down the thermostat or turn off the heat for that room or area.
Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. Turn these fans off as soon as they are no longer needed. In about 1 hour, these fans can pull out a house-full of warmed or cooled air. They can also pull dangerous furnace combustion gasses into the house in some situations.
Check your ducts for air leaks. First look for sections that should be joined but have separated and then look for obvious holes.
Do not use duct tape to repair leaky ducts. Standard duct tape has been shown unreliable . Various mastics or non-cloth-backed tapes are preferable.

Furnace/Boiler Buying Tips

If you live in a cold climate, it usually makes sense to invest in the highest efficiency system available. In milder climates with lower annual heating costs, the extra investment required to go from 80% to 90%-95% efficiency may be hard to justify.
When shopping for high-efficiency furnaces and boilers, look for dependability. Buy a system with a good warranty and a reputable company to back it up.
When buying gas and oil systems, specify sealed combustion. Sealed-combustion appliances bring outside air directly into the burner and exhaust flue gases (combustion products) directly to the outside, without the need for a draft hood or damper. They generally burn more efficiently and pose no risk of introducing dangerous combustion gases into your house. With non-sealed combustion appliances, back-drafting of combustion gases can be a big problem, especially in tightly-sealed modern homes.

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