Beyond Low Energy Bills: Further Benefits of Efficient HVAC Systems

Many people will tell you that improving your home’s heating and cooling efficiency can lower your energy bills. While that claim is true, reduced energy bills are not the only benefit of running an efficient HVAC system. Below are further benefits of HVAC efficiency.



Quiet Operations

HVAC systems make some noise while operating, mostly due to their multiple moving parts. The motors, airflow, fans, and belts contribute to the noise. However, an average HVAC’s noise is usually bearable — especially if you have a relatively new system.

Unfortunately, the same things that interfere with your HVAC’s efficiency can also make it unusually noisy. For example, your HVAC might be noisier than normal if:

• Its ductwork has suffered physical damage, such as disconnections that cause the ducts to bang and clang
• Its fan is loose or cracked and hitting the inside of the casing
• It’s leaking refrigerant

Fixing those problems will improve the HVAC’s efficiency and silence it. For example, a damaged fan impacts air circulation and impairs cooling, while a whole fan will run quietly and effectively.

Increased Comfort

Temperature and humidity play a critical role in your indoor comfort. You won’t be comfortable in extreme temperatures or humidity levels. Keep your HVAC system efficient to enjoy a good indoor climate.

Consider a furnace with blocked vents or registers. Such a furnace will struggle to deliver warm air and keep your house comfortable during the winter season. The furnace might require more energy than usual but still leave some parts of your house warmer than others.

Another example is a heating system with leaky vents. Since the vents will lose some of their warm air, some sections of your house will remain colder than others. The result is energy inefficiency and uneven heating.

Minimal Repairs

Your HVAC system will always try to produce the necessary output to reach and maintain your set temperature. The HVAC will do that even if its efficiency has dropped. For example, the furnace will struggle to heat your home if its filters are blocked, its coils are dirty, or its motor fails.

Unfortunately, the increased output can interfere with the system’s tolerances. For example:

• The heat exchanger’s temperature might increase to dangerous levels
• Moving parts, such as the motor, might experience increased friction
• The fans might run longer than usual

These problems can increase the system’s frequency of breakdowns. That means you can avoid breakdowns if you maintain your HVAC and improve your home to maintain the HVAC’s efficiency.

Durability

As mentioned above, loss of efficiency pushes the HVAC system to perform beyond its limits. In addition to the frequent breakdowns, the abnormal operations increase the system’s wear and tear. The system’s parts with definite run times will fail sooner than they should. Such an HVAC will experience a reduced lifespan.

The situation is different for an efficient HVAC. An HVAC that runs at optimal levels experiences minimal wear and tear since it can maintain your home’s comfort without increasing its output to compensate. Some systems even last long beyond their warranty years if you maintain them properly.

Environmental Benefits

HVAC systems affect the environment in different ways. For example, some systems:

• Consume a lot of energy, some of which originates from nonrenewable sources, such as fossil fuels
• Can leak refrigerant, which pollutes the air
• Produce damaged parts that might end up in landfills
• Produce byproducts of combustion that foul the environment 

The environmental effects reduce with increased HVAC efficiency. For example, an efficient furnace burns only the fuels it needs to heat the house, minimizing its combustion byproducts.

Comfort Solutions has decades of experience in the HVAC industry. We can install, upgrade, or repair your HVAC system to help you enjoy efficient heating and cooling. Contact us for a quote today and enjoy our professional services.