My husband and I have spent a lot of time consulting with an architect. After living in our cramped, starter home for the past 11 years, we were finally ready to make some needed changes to it. We have added an extra 600 square feet of space onto our house. Before the construction began, we finalized the plans for our new heating and air conditioning unit with our HVAC contractor. Because our home was going to be substantially bigger than it is now, we purchased a larger HVAC system. We also installed a new, digital thermostat inside my home. On this blog, I hope you will discover the best types of HVAC units to buy for mid-size homes. Enjoy!
As a responsible homeowner, you may know that having professional maintenance done yearly is an important part of keeping your AC system healthy. But did you know that you can also use natural cooling (also known as "passive cooling") to make things easier on your AC unit? Here are four reasons you should consider using passive cooling techniques in your home.
1. Less energy usage means lower energy bills
You've probably noticed that your energy bills go up in the summer, especially if you live in the warmer part of the country. Even if you have an energy-efficient AC unit, your cooling costs can account for a large portion of your summer energy costs. So if you could find a way to lower your cooling bills by one-fifth, it would amount to considerable savings. Fortunately, a cool roof, one common passive cooling technique, can help you do just that. And you can boost the savings by employing other passive cooling techniques, such as shading your windows and painting your house a light color, as well.
2. Improved green living opportunities
Less AC energy usage doesn't just help out your budget. It can also improve your ecological footprint. Since many energy suppliers in America use fossil fuels to produce the energy they dispense (in fact, petroleum, coal, and natural gas still accounted for about 80% of US energy consumption as of 2014), using less energy can help you minimize your contribution to greenhouse gases and your expenditure of non-renewable resources.
3. AC unit longevity and maintenance
As with any other appliance or piece of machinery, your AC unit will wear out faster if you work it harder. Conversely, it can enjoy an improved lifespan if you make its workload more manageable by using passive cooling. You'll still need to have yearly professional maintenance to keep the unit in good shape, but once you've taken some of the strain off the system, you'll be less likely to have expensive repairs to make. This also means you'll be less likely to have your system fail suddenly and leave you without cooling until you can schedule an emergency repair.
4. Other systems will also benefit
Your AC system isn't the only thing that can benefit from passive cooling. For example, a cooler roof has a longer working lifespan because it's less susceptible to thermal shock. Black asphalt shingles absorb more heat than a cool roof during the day and can even become fifty degrees hotter. The thermal shock that results from this can cause cracking and warping when the asphalt material is unable to expand or contract quickly enough to keep up with the changes in temperature.
These four reasons demonstrate why using passive cooling is a great lifestyle choice and a wise idea even if you're not designing a self-cooling house. Passive cooling techniques can benefit any budget and any AC system. Click here to learn more about residential air conditioning.
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