5 Ways to Reduce Energy Waste

Today being Earth Day, we thought we would share a few ways you can help Mother Earth and your wallet at the same time.

Magic Touch Mechanical has been installing energy efficient central air conditioners and heating systems in the Phoenix, AZ area for almost twenty years now, but what you may not know is we’re also a “home performance contractor” and have been for the last fifteen of those twenty years.

Most people have no idea what that home performance means so let’s explain: In a nutshell, we take a holistic or “whole home” approach when evaluating the efficiency, comfort, safety, and air quality of a home or building. We consider how things like duct leakage, missing attic and wall insulation, and building air infiltration lead to energy waste.

As we conduct over 1000 home energy efficiency audits and commercial building energy consumption surveys annually, so we know a thing or two about energy efficiency and the carbon footprints of Arizona homes and buildings.

Here ‘s a list of 5 often-overlooked ways to reduce energy waste in your home:

  • SEAL THOSE AIR DUCT LEAKS! – The average Phoenix home has about 20% duct leakage. While this causes a multitude of other problems, this post is about energy efficiency, and it’s pretty easy to understand what a huge energy waste this is considering additional air conditioner run time to make up for all that wasted air cooling your attic.
  • INSTALL SOLAR SHADE SCREENS – Even with good dual-pane, low-e windows, the effect of heat transfer from relentless Arizona summer sun plays a huge role in heating up your home and making your air conditioner run longer. Shade screens go a long way in blocking that heat transfer, in fact up to 90% of it!
  • INSULATE YOUR ATTIC – The majority of home energy audits we conduct every year find most Phoenix homes are well below the Department of Energy’s recommendation of having a minimum of R-30 insulation in the attic. Gravity, the cable guy crawling around up there, even wind shear, can cause insulation values to diminish over time.
  • SHUT OFF THAT ATTIC FAN! – Attic fans are great, if and only if, your air ducts are properly sealed and your home has a good air seal between the conditioned space and the attic. Often times we find attic fans installed by homeowners and contractors that are actually the cause of energy waste! Fans can increase duct leaks and suck conditioned air right out of a home.
  • CLEAN YOUR AC COILS – Plugged up air conditioner coils (both condenser coils outside and evaporator coils inside) will cause your air conditioner to work harder and decrease efficiency by as much as 50%. If you don’t know how to do it yourself, call a licensed air conditioning contractor semi-annually to inspect your AC and Heating unit and clean your coils whenever necessary.

If you live in the Phoenix area and would like a Certified Building Analyst to conduct an energy audit on your home, call Magic Touch Mechanical today and we’ll tell you how you can reduce your power bill for as little as $99.00

Happy Earth Day!

5 WAYS TO REDUCE ENERGY WASTE