Las Vegas Air Conditioning Contractor Leads Way to Reducing Energy Costs

    MARIETTA, GA, January 30, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Other than the rent or mortgage payments, the largest part of our day to day living expenses in Las Vegas are our utility bills. A top Las Vegas air conditioning contractor is letting all his clients know that the heating and cooling bills are the ones easiest to reduce.

Programmable Thermostats

According to the experts at the Energy Star (http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=thermostats.pr_thermostats) website, properly using a programmable thermostat in your home is one of the easiest ways you can save energy and money at the same time. Now that is a "Going Green" issue we can all agree on!

A programmable thermostat helps make it easy for you to save by offering four pre-programmed settings to regulate your home's temperature in both summer and winter - when you are asleep or away. The average household spends more than $2,200 a year on energy bills - nearly half of which goes to heating and cooling. Homeowners can save about $180 a year by properly setting their programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings.

The pre-programmed settings that come with programmable thermostats are intended to deliver savings without sacrificing comfort. Heat Pumps These units are growing in popularity. They qualify for Federal tax credits and many other rebates making them cost about the same as a cheap, inefficient builder's grade system. A heat pump is a device that uses a small amount of energy to move heat from one location to another.

Could Heat Pumps be in Your Future?

Heat pumps are usually used to pull heat out of the air or ground to heat a home or office building, or they can be switched into reverse to cool a building. If you know how an air conditioner works, you already know a lot about how a heat pump works, because heat pumps and air conditioners operate in very similar ways. Heat pumps are a unique kind of heating system, because they can do the work of both a furnace and an air conditioner. Thus, there's no need to install separate systems to heat and cool your home.

Heat pumps can also work extremely efficiently, because they simply transfer heat, rather than burn fuel to create it. Heat pumps work best in moderate climates. If you live in a moderate climate, using a heat pump instead of a furnace and air conditioner may help you save money on your utility bill. Most heat pumps are somewhat limited by the cold, however, so it is important that you learn which kind of heat pump is best for your area before installing one in your home or office building. If you install the wrong kind of heat pump, you may end up paying even more in energy costs than you do already.

The Best Way to Lower Las Vegas Utility Bills

Air Conditioners According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the best way to lower utility bills is to reduce your need for it. The following are steps every homeowner and commercial business can do today:

1. Insulate and tighten your house Improving insulation and air sealing prevents heat from entering your house. Your highest priority should be to check insulation levels and air leaks between your living space and the attic.
2. Get rid of inefficient appliances Inefficient appliances give off a lot of heat. Especially consider replacing or discarding old or auxiliary refrigerators; replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescents; and unplug electronic equipment when not in use.
3.Consider "cool" exterior finishes When replacing your roof or painting your house, using light-colored or other "cool" roofing and siding products can reduce your peak cooling demand by 10-15%. There are a number of roofing products that can dramatically cut down on heat gain without blinding the neighbors. Start by looking for ENERGY STAR Reflective Roof Products.
4. Shade or improve windows To keep high-angle summer sun out, consider horizontal trellises for your east and west-facing windows. Protect south-facing windows with deciduous trees or climbing foliage so you can take advantage of low-angle sun in the winter, when the leaves fall. New windows on those walls that get the most summer sun should have low-e glazings to block unwanted heat gain.
5. Cool with air movement and ventilation Fan operation uses less energy than air conditioning and can be adequate for attaining desired comfort levels unless you live in a very humid climate. Ceiling fans. Ceiling fans cool by creating a low-level "wind chill" effect throughout a room. As long as indoor humidity isn't stifling, they can be quite effective. Just remember that a fan cools people - it doesn't actually reduce room temperature - so turn it off when you leave the room. Look for ENERGY STAR rated ceiling fans. House fans. Unless you live in a very humid climate, installing a large fan in your top-floor ceiling is a very effective way of cooling your whole house down without central AC. These fans suck air through the house, inducing a strong draft in rooms where windows are open as it pulls cooler, outdoor air inside.

We hope these suggestions have been helpful. Check with your local home improvement retailer about available products and installation. Many of these tips can be done by you but some must be done by a licensed air conditioning contractor like Las Vegas's Windy City Air Conditioning. Call 702-410-6524 now for a free air conditioning audit.

More than theory, Bob Rutledge, the founder and President of MicroManaged Media, Inc., has a very successful eCommerce web site, dozens of marketing webs and blogs and now he does for clients what he has done for himself since 2002. If you need to market you air conditioning, plumbing, dental, law or pest control business.

Website: http://www.micromanagedmedia.com

# # #