When it comes to running your heating or cooling system, naturally you want to do so in a way that doesn’t waste energy—and subsequently, money. The good news is, you don’t have to sacrifice comfort to save energy. Instead of switching off your HVAC system to reduce energy usage there are many other options to do the same job.
For example, did you know that running your ceiling fan can reduce the energy expended from your air conditioner enough to turn the temperature up as much as 10 degrees? Your cooling system therefore doesn’t have to work as hard to do its job. And in the winter, you can switch it to reverse direction to have the same impact on your heating system. There are many little tips and tricks like this, but today we want to talk about two very specific ways you can reduce your energy usage and cut costs.
Also called an ERV, an energy recovery ventilator is a device that is installed directly into your ductwork, usually right before the air return vent. Instead of the same air being recycled endlessly through the system, an offshoot of air ducts lead outside the home.
From here, the ERV draws in fresh air and introduces it into circulation. Humidity levels are also transferred from the outside air into the home, unlike the similar heat recovery ventilators, which only transfer air.
This benefits you in that it restores your home’s indoor air quality by introducing fresh air into the home to prevent it from becoming stale, correcting humidity imbalances that can make your household ill, and of course, eliminating the need for you to open windows to let in fresh air while your HVAC system is running—thus saving energy.
