Your HVAC System May Be Responsible for High Utility Bills

None of us have been able to escape high utility bills right now. With electricity prices skyrocketing, utility bills across America have been shooting up with them.

While this is partly due to inflation and energy market problems, that’s not always the full story. If you’re looking for ways to shave down your utility bills this summer and beyond, you might want to start by looking at your own HVAC system.

While a vital necessity, in the wrong conditions your HVAC can work against you, needlessly driving up your bills without you even realizing it.

Here’s what you need to know about the role your HVAC can play in what you pay, and how you can drive those costs down.

Inefficient Parts

This is one of the most common reasons why an HVAC system can contribute to higher bills. If a single part is not efficient, the whole system starts to crumble. For example, a top-notch HVAC system with a cheap heat pump or boiler can cause inefficiencies across the board.

Cheap or substandard parts of more likely to cause leaks, or are more likely to require greater amounts of energy just to function as needed. Your first step should be to check the energy efficiency ratings for your HVAC components.

For cooling equipment, a high SEER rating guarantees better energy efficiency, meaning lower bills for you and your family. Meanwhile, your heating equipment should carry a positive AFUE rating if you want it to contribute to lower costs.

If you find that your parts suffer from low energy efficiency, call an HVAC company to swap them out for better, more cost-effective components.

Cross-System Leakage

If there is a leak in your system, cool or hot air will begin to pour out and escape before it can get to its intended destination. A leaky duct can cause a huge amount of leakage in a very short period of time.

This means that you will require much greater energy levels just to maintain the same level of comfort that you would expect from a fully-functioning HVAC system.

Meanwhile, leaks or holes in your property’s HVAC points of entry will cause seasonal outdoor air to flood into the building. This will require your HVAC system to work even harder to keep you warm or cool, driving up your utility bills further.

Consider calling a Sacramento HVAC professional, who can conduct an energy audit on your property to identify leakage points and seal them up quickly.

Failing Components

Any HVAC system is a complicated entity. Underneath the smooth exterior, there are filters, motors, compressors, and capacitors working together to keep the whole system ticking.

As you might expect, when one component fails, the whole system suffers. It can often be impossible to tell when your motor or compressor has given out.

However, if you find that your utility bills have suddenly jumped up without explanation, this could well be the cause.

Getting energy component replacements can be very expensive. That’s why we strongly recommend regular preventative HVAC maintenance, to keep your components fresh before anything goes wrong.

Lack of Maintenance

Speaking of maintenance, neglecting this essential task is one way to almost guarantee higher bills over time. Regular maintenance keeps your parts fresh and ensures that the system is clean, clear, and trouble-free.

The upfront cost of preventative maintenance is usually negligible compared to the long-term increases in your utility bills that an unmaintained HVAC will cause.

On top of this, it’s crucial to note that professional maintenance is not just about maintaining, but also optimizing. A professional will be able to spot inefficiencies in your system during a routine maintenance inspection.

They will be able to suggest upgrades or install better-functioning parts. All of this can be included in the maintenance cost. The result? Progressively lower utility bills over time.

Poor Installation

Sometimes, you’re dealt a bad hand. Maybe you went for the cheapest installation option. Maybe you tried to do it yourself. Maybe you just got unlucky.

Whatever the reason, a poorly-installed HVAC is a common and often very expensive problem. When the system isn’t installed properly, leaks are much more likely.

Your old contractor might have installed an oversized unit. This will cause the system to short-cycle and switch on and off rapidly. Since the starting-up phase uses up the most energy, an oversized system can lead to huge increases in your electricity bill almost overnight.

On top of this, poor welding or bad electrical connections will bake in inefficiencies that will require you to give your utility provider more money than necessary.

Consult a recommended, trusted HVAC professional if you feel that your installation was shoddy.

Outdated System

The older your HVAC system is, the more likely it is to be inefficient and expensive to run. Energy efficiency standards and technology are evolving all the time.

Only a decade ago, the highest possible SEER rating was 10. Today it is 25. This means that HVAC systems are more than twice as efficient now as they were in 2013.

On top of this, old systems are more likely to simply fail. Rust, dust, and debris will eventually build up, especially if you don’t arrange for preventative maintenance.

Really old systems will have outdated parts that simply cannot be replaced unless you buy them second-hand. When you do this, you’re simply adding more inefficiencies and prolonging the financial pain.

Consider getting an up-to-date HVAC system, as the energy bill savings are often more than worth it.

Get Your Utility Bills Down Today

Your HVAC system should not be making your life worse. It should be providing seamless comfort and safety, wherever you are.

However, these reasons highlight that your HVAC can be the cause of your high utility bills, leaving you with less money to spend on what really matters to you.

However, with professional assistance, you can resolve these problems and plug that hole in your wallet. At American Energy, you’ll find Sacramento’s most experienced HVAC professionals.

We can help you identify the cause of inefficiencies and get your bills back down to where they belong. Give us a call to find out how.