Heating/Cooling

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 44% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling.

Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer
Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed
Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed
Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely; in just 1 hour, these fans can pull out a houseful of warmed or cooled air. Turn fans off as soon as they have done the job.
During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows. During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to pervent solar gain

If you use electricity to heat your home, consider installing an energy-efficient heat pump system. Heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heating in moderate climates, providing three times more heating than the equivalent amount of energy they consume in electricity. There are 3 types of heat pumps: air-to-air, water source, and ground source. They collect heat from the air, water, or ground outside your home and concentrate it for use inside. Heat pumps do double duty as a central a/c. They can also cool your home by collecting the heat inside your house and effectively pumping it outside. A heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating by as much as 30% to 40%.

A/C SEER RATING	(+/-) ELECTRICAL USAGE WATTS PER TON
8	1,500 Watts
9	1,330 Watts
10	1,200 Watts
12	1,000 Watts
14	857 Watts
16	750 Watts

Normal air conditioning units have a minimum SEER (Season Energy Efficiency Rating) of 10 on today's market. However, in some cases, units with a SEER of 20 are on the market. SEER is just like gas mileage on a car. The 20-SEER unit should do the job for about half the cost of the 10-SEER unit. Also, in general terms, if it's a heat pump, your winter heating costs will be even lower.
Remember, go high SEER, go heat pump, save money, save natural resources.