Common Energy Myths to Know
If you want to reduce your monthly energy bills, it’s necessary to lower your household consumption too. You’ll likely hear lots of suggestions on how to do this, but many are simply myths that aren’t effective. Here are five common energy myths and the facts of why they don’t work:
Myth: Running Your Ceiling Fans Helps Cool Your Home
Ceiling fans don’t cool air; they just move it around. The sensation of air movement over your skin makes it feel cooler, but only if you’re near the fan. Since the motor uses energy and creates heat, running the fan in an unoccupied room actually makes the cooling system work harder and wastes energy.
Myth: Making Radical Thermostat Adjustments Can Cool Your Home Faster
Dialing up the temperature setting on the thermostat won’t cool down the house faster because your cooling equipment runs at a steady speed until the setting is satisfied. Forgetting to lower the setting again can also cool your home past the point of comfort and waste energy.
Myth: Closing the Air Vents in Unused Rooms Saves Energy
Your HVAC system is designed with a certain number of air vents and returns so that airflow stays in balance. Closing some vents upsets this critical balance and increases pressure in the system. To compensate, the equipment is forced to work harder, so it uses more energy.
Myth: Making Daily Temperature Setbacks Wastes Energy
You may have heard that it’s better to keep the thermostat set at a consistent temperature because it takes a lot of energy to cool down a home. In fact, making temperature adjustments using a programmable thermostat can save you energy, especially when it’s done daily for eight-hour periods.
Myth: Putting Computers into Standby/Sleep Mode Curbs Their Energy Use
Computers continue to use energy even when they’re “asleep.” The best way to reduce their consumption is to shut them down when they won’t be used for several hours, and only use sleep mode for shorter periods.
For advice about other energy myths, contact the Martin, Palm Beach and Indian River County home comfort pros at NisAir.
