So being an adult and a grown up can be tougher than it looks. And as a new homeowner, I’m learning that quite well. But that’s okay as well. There is nothing wrong with admitting where we can do better. And for sure, when you own your own home, you sort of have to get off your butt at times. That was never more true than this past fall as I was committed to making sure I lowered my HVAC heating costs this winter. Last winter was a nightmare. The HVAC equipment is new as it was replaced as part of the sale. So it was for sure not the fault of the HVAC equipment. It was totally on me really. I knew the house was an older house and could use some effort when it came to winter preparations. However, that first fall, I was far too in love with the idea of having my own place to actually make that sort of effort for the HVAC unit efficiency. But after paying what I did for HVAC heating last year, I was all about sealing up my house this past year. And really, it wasn’t nearly as time consuming or expensive as I wanted to believe it was. I spent less than a hundred bucks on insulation and weather stripping but I know that I’ll get far more than that in HVAC cost savings. Plus, there were about a million online videos as well so I could figure out what I was doing no problem. So far, so good as I’m saving at least 20 percent over what I spent last year on HVAC heating.
Work and HVAC schedule coincide
It’s winter so I’m sleeping a bit later.
And that’s fine with me.
While we aren’t dealing with the sort of winter which requires a boiler or a gas furnace, it can still get really chilly around here. Morning is the worst time for me. So I adjust my work schedule to reflect the later rising time. Really though, we don’t even need much help from the heat pump around here. I keep the house so tight in order to maximize all the air conditioning that it pays off in the winter. Once the direct sunlight heating takes over and warms up the house a bit, the house is tight enough to hold the heat. Still, there are some mornings that require a bit of HVAC heating to knock the chill off the house. And that’s another reason why I like to sleep in a bit later during the winter. I like to let the heat pump do it’s thing on those morning. The opposite is true during the summer. However, I still adjust my work schedule to the air conditioning schedule. It’s up really early during the summer. I like to get out and do my outdoors stuff early before the heat sets in. And then, I get to work once it’s time to leave the outside for some of the HVAC cooling of my home office. Working from home for myself is one of the best things that have ever happened to me when it comes to adjusting my schedule. I find it so interesting that I adjust my life around the temperature and the weather where I live. But that’s what you do when you spend as much time outside as I do.
Forget the brother in law and call the HVAC company
I love my wife. And I love just how close she is with her family. I’m actually sort of grateful to be included in that sort of family dynamic. It’s really very cool indeed. That said, I have no problem telling my brother in law that, while I appreciate the gesture, I’ll be calling the HVAC company. My wife’s brother is indeed a sweet guy at his core. But, he’s also a bit of a know it all who consistently pushes his prowess at well, everything. So when he got wind that our air conditioning was acting a bit weird, he quickly made our HVAC equipment his business. Again, he’s a good guy and his intentions are pure and helpful. Still, he’s not touching our HVAC unit. I know for sure that we didn’t invest in the best in residential HVAC because we could. No, heating and cooling in our home is a very important component of our lives. And we spent some money to make sure that we got the sort of HVAC technology we really wanted. My brother in law once worked a summer helping an HVAC technician. So of course, he feels certain that he’s qualified to tear into our HVAC unit to find the problem. And my wife is having a hard time telling him no thank you. But that’s okay, I get that. She doesn’t want to hurt this guy’s feelings when he’s trying to be nice. However, I’m not waiting around, I called and the HVAC professional will be out to assess what’s happening with our HVAC unit.
heat pump install
Christening the new sun room and HVAC addition
Now, it feels like our house.
We are able to enjoy this space a whole lot more now that we are getting the most from it.
And that starts with opening this place up. Because really, that’s what this house has needed since we moved here. But when we first got here, we were just so glad to enjoy a winter that didn’t included a gas furnace. Just the fact that we weren’t constantly dealing with snow, ice and the high cost of HVAC heating was a big plus. So we sort of just lived with the house the way it was. The fact that we’re here is what really mattered to us. And it was a big test for us to move down south believing we’d find what worked for us. For so long, we had kept banging away up north and hating the winters and all the HVAC heating. But we felt a bit trapped as well. It’s just sort of the mindset that we get into. You have a mortgage, a decent job and responsibilities which turns into shampoo, rinse, repeat. So we took a chance and moved to a place where we really wanted to experience living. It’s turned out great and now that we’ve opened up the house, it came with a HVAC equipment change as well. Since we were upgrading the HVAC unit, we decided to knock down some walls, pour a big pad and put in a large sun room. We now have zone controlled HVAC in our home and we can close off the new sun room and use just the ductless heat pump out there.
Putting together my HVAC cost saving plan now
By the time we get our first pollen dump, I like to have my HVAC cost saving strategy in place.
And this year is no different.
Just because we get our first signs of spring while other parts of the country are dealing with deep winter cold doesn’t change my routine. That’s because saving on the HVAC costs when it comes to air conditioning is a big household responsibility. So when I see the pollen covering the hood of my car, I know it’s time to be finalizing my HVAC cost saving strategy. There is more to saving on HVAC cooling costs than meets the eye. Plenty of people simply ride into the summer and deal with the air conditioning as they want. Unfortunately, this can also prove to be a very costly enterprise. The air conditioning is on in many households before the first of April in our region. And the air conditioning is going pretty much straight through until November as well. Yet, it’s the four month period from June through September that is really the period where the air conditioning costs skyrocket. But, I always meet that part of the year prepared. The house is sealed up tight to keep the HVAC cooling in and the heat out. We have solar shades that we use to mitigate the direct sunlight heating as well. Those are two of the essentials right there. And of course, we make sure that thermostat is set so it’s never more than 15 degrees cooler inside than it is outside. Doing all of this allows for plenty of HVAC cooling comfort without producing huge utility bills.