Introduction
Benefits
Equipment & Services
Air Ducts
Ventilation
Hiring Contractors

1. Introduction

Cooling and heating is the largest energy expense, accounting for approximately two-thirds of annual energy bills. Replacing old cooling equipment with more efficient models will save energy and money. However, your home's cooling equipment is part of a larger system. It is important to properly maintain existing equipment, use a programmable thermostat, seal air leaks, test air ducts for leaks, and maintain adequate ventilation.  Click here to read an article about residential cooling.

2. Benefits

Energy Savings
IIf you have an older, inefficient air conditioner or evaporative cooler, upgrading to high efficiency equipment can cut your costs by more than one-third. Using a programmable thermostat adds even more savings. Your energy costs will decrease 1% for every 1 degree you raise the thermostat.

The additional savings from installing smaller cooling equipment is significant. Properly sized equipment runs more efficiently, lasting longer and requiring less maintenance. Smaller equipment requires that the home "envelope" be tight, which means adequate insulation, sealing air leaks, and having efficient windows. It is also critical to evaluate and address any leaks or defects in the duct work. The savings comes from multiple sources – efficiency pays! For a handy reference tool, download ENERGY STAR’s guide to energy-efficient heating and cooling

Comfortable Living
Your cooling system is the engine that keeps your home comfortable. By addressing air and duct leakage, your cooling system will actually cool the rooms you live in by fixing the problems that allow expensive conditioned air from escaping to the outdoors or into wall cavities where it doesn’t get the job done. You will enjoy living in a more comfortable home that costs less to cool every month.

Increased Home Value
A study by The Appraisal Journal found that the selling price of homes increased by $20.73 for every $1 decrease in energy bills. If your energy bills average $1,500/yr. and you saved 40% or $600/yr., your home value would increase by more than $12,400. As energy costs rise, this return on investment grows.

Conservation
Individual actions at home can add up to a lot of pollution prevention. If just one in ten households bought ENERGY STAR heating and cooling products, the change would keep over 17 billion pounds of pollution out of the air.

3. Equipment & Services

Central Air Conditioners. Air Conditioners are rated by a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). There is a new federal standard of 13 SEER for air conditioners manufactured as of January 2006. A 15 SEER unit qualifies for a $300 federal tax credit. To learn more about the tax credits, click here.  American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recommends a unit that uses "R410A" or "R407C" refrigerants (sold under various trade names) over "R22" refrigerant, which will be phased out of new equipment by 2010. In general, replacing the outside (condensing) unit without installing a properly matched new indoor coil is a bad idea due to efficiency and warranty reasons. Most older evaporator coils weren't built with the controls and designs that new air conditioners need.

If you are not replacing the air conditioner, keep it properly maintained. A new or cleaned filter helps conditioned air reach each room, decreases motor wear and tear, and lowers electricity consumption.  An air conditioner tune-up performed by a qualified contractor can give the unit a new lease on life while lowering monthly utility bills and increasing comfort.

Air-Source Heat Pumps. Electric air-source heat pumps use the difference between outdoor air temperatures and indoor air temperatures to cool and heat your home. The system uses either electricity or the natural gas furnace, whichever is more efficient to heat your home depending on the outdoor winter temperature. In the summer, the heat pump works in reverse to provide central air conditioning. ENERGY STAR models are 20% more efficient than standard models.

Room Air Conditioners. Select a unit with an EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) of at least 9.7, which qualifies for ENERGY STAR. This will ensure efficient performance on the hottest days.

Evaporative Coolers. Properly installed evaporative coolers will cost as much as central air conditioning to install, but are 2-3 times more efficient. There is a new generation of evaporative coolers that introduce less humidity into your home. These two-stage (or indirect) coolers include a heat exchanger that pre-cools the air without adding moisture.

4. Air Ducts

Leaky air ducts are a major source of cooling inefficiency. A Fort Collins study of 38 new homes found that the ducts leaked, on average, 12 times more than what is considered acceptable for a good duct work system. There are some repairs you may be able to do yourself, in places where the ducts are accessible (attic, basement, crawlspace). Otherwise, you can hire a contractor that specializes in duct repair. Download the Smart Energy Living toolkit on duct work.

5. Ventilation & Shading

Making sure you have the right ventilation levels is a health and safety issue. Using mechanical ventilation allows you to control the ventilation in your home, saving money and improving indoor air quality. There are three primary types of ventilation: exhaust or “spot”, supply and recovery. Download the Smart Energy Living article on ventilation.

• Making sure you have the right ventilation levels is a health and safety issue. Using mechanical ventilation allows you to control the ventilation in your home, saving money and improving indoor air quality. There are three primary types of ventilation: exhaust or “spot”, supply and recovery. Download the Smart Energy Living article on ventilation.
• You can dramatically reduce the need for cooling your home with several key steps:
• Replace incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent lamps. Incandescent lamps provide more heat than light. Read more about lighting.
• Keep your windows, shades and doors closed during the day and open them at night when the outside temperature cools down.
• Install a whole house fan to draw hot air out of your home.
• Be sure you have adequate attic insulation. The Department of Energy recommends Colorado attics have up to R-49 insulation levels.
• Seal holes or cracks around windows and doors.
• Keep windows and window coverings closed on hot, sunny days.
• Inefficient windows can add up to 75 percent of summer heat gain. Replacement windows should have low-e coating to save energy.  Read more about windows.
• Plant tall trees near East and West facing windows to create shade from the sun.
• Moving air is less expensive than cooling it. When it cools down at night, open windows and use fans to remove hot air from the inside and introduce cool air from the outside.
• Install an attic fan and increase the number of sofits to remove hot air. Use light colored roofing materials.
• Wait until evening to take care of heat-generating activities such as running your dishwasher.

6. Hiring Contractors
Download our heating & cooling contractor comparison form. Vist our list of heating & cooling contractors , air duct cleaning and air duct sealing professionals.

Questions to ask
Quality heating & cooling contractors will evaluate your home with an on-site inspection. Do not accept over-the-phone estimates because there is no way for a contractor to properly size and design your new heating system without an on-site inspection.

Certifications
Look for heating & cooling contractors that are certified by North American Technical Excellence (NATE). NATE is the only certification that is supported by the entire industry, and the testing process is quite rigorous. The core test covers basic math, customer relations, and fundamentals of electricity, heat transfer and comfort. The specialty tests cover system components, applied knowledge, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and service and installation topics. The certification is good for five years, and then the technician must re-certify to maintain their NATE accreditation. Learn more online, natex.org. 

Air Duct cleaners are certified by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. Learn more online, nadca.com.

References, licensing, insurance
It is always important to speak with previous customers, check with the Better Business Bureau and ask for verification of the necessary licensing and insurance requirements. Download a home improvement hiring checklist from the Federal Trade Commission.

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