Springtime in Savannah, Georgia, is beautiful, with gorgeous warm weather and blooming plants making the Hostess City of the South truly come alive. With spring comes spring cleaning season and there are a number of chores you can complete that will improve your home’s energy efficiency just in time for the warmer weather. Here are six chores that can not only prepare your home for spring but also increase your energy efficiency.
Extra Dusting
Dusting should already be a part of your spring cleaning checklist, but if you go the extra length, you can actually end up improving your home’s energy efficiency. Take some time to dust off rarely-dusted items like bulbs, light fixtures, and air vents. Dust build up on these can lead to an overall decrease in energy efficiency. Dusty light bulbs and fixtures can lead to a dimmer home, which reduces the functionality of the bulbs. Air vents that are super dusty can divert or reduce air flow.
Flip Fan Direction
When the weather changes from cold to warm, it’s time to change your fan direction. Winter time calls for fans to go clockwise, which directs cool air away from the living spaces, making room for warm air to heat the space. During the summer, your fan blades should rotate counterclockwise. This works to direct cool air down and through your house. Correctly directed fan blades can help improve your efficiency by supplementing your home’s climate control system and improve overall air flow.
Check Window Seals
Window seals and weather stripping are often overlooked as part of home maintenance. Seals and stripping work to keep the air inside of your home and reduce leakage that can affect your climate control system’s efficiency. If your windows are letting out air, your system will have to work harder to keep up the selected temperature. In addition, air leaks can lead to reduced indoor air quality by allowing in pollen and other irritants.
Check the weather stripping and seals both inside and outside of your window. Seals are easy to fix with some caulk, while replacing weather stripping may take a little more patience and skill.
Change Filters
Spring brings pollen with it, which can irritate sensitive lungs and reduce your indoor air quality. Replacing your filter can help keep these out of your home. Plus, changing out your filter can improve your energy efficiency. A clogged filter means that your climate control unit has to work harder to push air through and change the temperature inside your home. When looking for a filter, make sure to look at the HEPA rating. A higher HEPA rating means that the filter will do a better job trapping particles.
Clean Out the Fridge
Cleaning out your fridge can actually help improve your home’s energy efficiency. The more items in your fridge, the harder it has to work to keep cool. A fridge that’s full of bottles and food that you aren’t eating or has gone bad uses unnecessary energy to keep those items cold. A cleaned out fridge should use less energy while also giving you more space to stock back up.
You’ll also want to look at the stripping on the fridge. Cracked or eroded stripping can cause cold air to leak out, which can also lead to reduced efficiency as your fridge works to keep a cold temperature.
Schedule Maintenance
An important part of your spring chores should include scheduling maintenance for your HVAC unit. Wear and tear on your unit can lead to issues that affect both its energy efficiency and ability to accurately control the climate in your home. Regular maintenance can keep an eye on that wear and tear while also looking for bigger issues. Small problems can be addressed during these maintenance visits, including replacing small parts and making sure that your filter is correctly installed.
Springtime chores are an annual tradition for many Savannah homeowners. If you’d like to schedule springtime maintenance, give the experts at Byrd Heating and Air Conditioning a call today at 912-373-8447 to schedule an appointment today!
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