As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. So making smart decisions about your home’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can have a big effect on your utility bills — and your comfort. Take these steps to increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. For more information, see our Guide to Energy Efficient Heating & Cooling (708KB).

Change your air filter regularly
Check your filter every month, especially during heavy use months (winter and summer). If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. At a minimum, change the filter every 3 months. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm or cool — wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system — leading to expensive maintenance and/or early system failure.

Tune up your HVAC equipment yearly
Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort.

Learn more:

Maintain your Equipment: A Checklist
Finding the right contractor: 10 tips
Install a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat is ideal for people who are away from home during set periods of time throughout the week. Through proper use of pre-programmed settings, a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in energy costs.

Seal your heating and cooling ducts
Ducts that move air to-and-from a forced air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump are often big energy wasters. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent — and sometimes much more.

Focus first on sealing ducts that run through the attic, crawlspace, unheated basement, or garage. Use duct sealant (mastic) or metal-backed (foil) tape to seal the seams and connections of ducts. After sealing the ducts in those spaces, wrap the ducts in insulation to keep them from getting hot in the summer or cold in the winter. Next, seal ducts that you can access in the heated or cooled part of the house.

See our Duct Sealing brochure (1.13MB) for more information.

Consider installing ENERGY STAR qualified heating and cooling equipment
If your HVAC equipment is more than 10 years old or not keeping your house comfortable, you should have it looked at by a professional HVAC contractor. If it is not performing efficiently or needs upgrading, consider replacing it with a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR. Depending on where you live, replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified equipment can cut your annual energy bill by nearly $200. But before you invest in a new HVAC system, make sure that you have addressed the big air leaks in your house and the duct system. Sometimes, these are the real sources of problems rather than your HVAC equipment.

Remember that getting the proper size and a quality installation is essential to getting the most from your new equipment. When replacing HVAC equipment, bigger doesn’t always mean better. If the unit is too large for your home, you will be less comfortable and might actually have higher utility bills. Oversized equipment will operate in short run cycles, not allowing the unit to reach efficient operation and remove humidity from the air — resulting in an uncomfortable home. Your contractor should determine the right size for your HVAC equipment by using ACCA/ANSI Manual J or an equivalent sizing calculation tool that takes into account specific information about your home.

Goodman is the second-largest manufacturer of residential AC and heating products in North America. This includes their well-known line of Goodman heat pumps.

Founder: Harold Goodman – a former AC contractor.

Their goals/philosophy: High quality and very reliable products; lower cost; trouble-free installation.

Products include: AC, Goodman heat pump, gas furnaces, packaged Goodman heat pumps, air quality products, air handlers and coils.

Warranties available: Standard and specialized component warranties, as well as extended service plans.

Goodman heat pump systems: 16 SEER SSZ16, 14 SEER SSZ14, 14 SEER GSH14, 13 SEER GSH13, GSH Commercial and international products.

Goodman heat pump – packaged heat pump products include: Dedicated Horizontal 13 SEER GPH13H, Multi-position 13 SEER GPH 13M, Multi-position 13 SEER GPH13 M Commercial, and international products.

What type of equipment is included with the typical Goodman heat pump that is installed today? The total package will include: a compressor (motor) unit, designed to operate very efficiently, an air coil (for condensation – larger than you might find on other types of equipment), the unit will also need a fan and a motor to operate it (again it should be efficient), and also a heat-exchanger.

Heat pumps – and this includes Goodman heat pumps – will also make use of a ‘refrigerant’ – a substance that aids in the transfer of heat. Refrigerants are usually a gas, and cause condensation to occur when they pass through the air coil. Most people are familiar with the gas/air coil system used in most refrigerators, and similar technology is used in Goodman heat pumps.

One of the most amazing things about geothermal heat pumps – and Goodman heat pumps include the geothermal heat pump type – is that they tend to be more efficient to operate than the other types. Why is this? Because, in the winter, the temperature of the soil is relatively warm. (Goodman geothermal heat pumps have the ground – or groundwater -as their heat source.) The air source heat pump, in contrast, must move heat from cold outside air to the inside, and it must work much harder to do this.

Goodman brand products (which includes the Goodman heat pump line) received the 2005 innovation award

The Goodman CLQ 14 SEER AC was chosen as a ‘Best Buy’ but Consumer’s Digest.

Goodman heat pump distribution network is extensive – over 700 distribution points service the public. Company-operated distribution centers are located in Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Texas, California. Goodman heat pumps are available for purchase through these as well as other outlets, and local contractors.

What is a GeoThermal Heatpump?

Because underground temperatures do not change and remain relatively constant year-round, a geothermal system, which consists of an indoor unit and a buried earth loop, capitalizes on these constant temperatures.

The winter, fluid circulating through the system’s earth loop absorbs stored heat and carries it indoors. The indoor unit compresses the heat to a higher temperature and distributes it throughout the building. In the summer, the system reverses, pulling heat from the building, carrying through the earth loop and depositing it in the cooler earth.

Why are geothermal heat pumps more efficient than air source heat heat pumps?

The geothermal system cycles water from a well, pond, lake or river, or water piped through underground plastic tubing, to warm or cool the heat pump’s refrigerant. Liquid such as water or an antifreeze solution is a much better heat transfer medium than air. Overall, the liquid medium for heat transfer is about 30% more efficient than air.

Watch Geothermal Heat Pump Installation process from the following video