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The Most Eco-Friendly HVAC Solutions Available Today

HVAC technology continues to advance at a rapid rate, and most of the advancements are focused around improving efficiency to help protect the environment. Space heating and cooling are by far the biggest sources of energy consumption in a building and directly contribute to a significant percentage of the carbon emissions that are released into the atmosphere. The good news is that there are various upgrades you can make to improve the efficiency of your HVAC system and lower your carbon footprint, and this article will explore the most effective options in that regard.

Smart Thermostats

Switching from a traditional thermostat to a smart thermostat is one of the easiest ways to reduce the workload on an HVAC system and help it heat/cool more efficiently. According to ENERGY STAR, a certified smart thermostat should reduce the amount a heating or cooling system runs annually by between 8% and 10% on average. Some smart thermostat manufacturers claim their products can improve the efficiency of an HVAC system by anywhere from 15-25%. People who live in places that experience extreme heat and humidity during the summer or freezing winters will see the biggest gains in efficiency from a smart thermostat.

Most smart thermostats allow you to monitor energy usage through the app, allowing you to easily find small adjustments you can make to your thermostat settings to reduce usage. The app can also give you suggestions on changes you can make to further save energy. Many smart thermostats these days also have learning capabilities and other advanced features that allow them to adjust the settings on their own to save energy when the house is unoccupied or everyone is asleep.

Heat Pumps

Switching from a traditional HVAC system to a heat pump system can save you a significant amount on your heating bills. Heat pumps provide cooling and heating in one package, and they heat far more efficiently than gas furnaces as long as it isn’t too cold outside. They’re also many times more efficient than electric furnaces or baseboard heaters. In terms of the environment, the other major advantage that heat pumps have over gas furnaces is that they don’t produce any carbon emissions.

Dual-Fuel HVAC Systems

The only concern with having a standard heat pump system in a place that experiences freezing winter weather is that you also need to have a backup heat source. While heat pumps are extremely efficient in milder weather, their efficiency significantly declines in much colder temperatures. They heat fairly slowly in below-freezing temperatures as well. The backup heat source is there to ensure that the system always keeps the house sufficiently warm no matter how cold it is outside. Most cold-climate heat pump systems have electric heat strips that provide supplementary heating as needed and will run if the heat pump ever breaks down or if it’s so cold outside that the heat pump can no longer work.

The issue is that these heat strips have extremely high energy demands compared to the heat pump. This is where opting for a dual-fuel or hybrid HVAC system that has both a heat pump and a gas furnace is beneficial. The heat pump still does most of the work of keeping the house warm. The furnace is there as a backup for the times when it’s too cold for the heat pump to work efficiently or whenever you’re trying to heat the house by more than a few degrees. Although the furnace produces carbon emissions, a dual-fuel system can still be more efficient and a more eco-friendly option than a standard cold-climate heat pump system.

Variable-Speed HVAC Systems

Variable-speed HVAC systems are a much more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to standard single-stage systems. A single-stage AC, heat pump or furnace always operates at full speed or 100% of its capacity. A variable-speed system has a huge number of speed or power settings that it constantly switches between based on the indoor temperature and the current cooling/heating requirements. Most variable-speed systems can operate at as low as 30% of their total capacity, allowing them to use far less energy.

The system will typically only operate at full power no more than 20% of the time, resulting in significant energy savings compared to a single-stage system. A variable-speed system will also run much longer and sometimes even run constantly throughout the day and night. Even when running constantly, it will still use far less energy. The longer run times have a major benefit of allowing the system to heat/cool every room much more evenly and helping it to better control indoor humidity during the summer.

Ductless Mini-Splits

A ductless mini-split AC or heat pump system can be an excellent alternative to a central HVAC system. It takes a significant amount of energy for a central HVAC system to circulate air around the house through the ductwork. Some of the energy used to cool or heat the air is also wasted as a result of the conditioned air gaining or losing heat as it travels through the ducts. Mini-split systems avoid these issues, allowing them to achieve higher energy-efficiency ratings.

Instead of having one central air handler that supplies cooling/heating to the entire house, a mini-split system has a smaller wall- or ceiling-mounted air handler in each room or space. Each of the air handlers is still connected to a single variable-speed outdoor unit. With a mini-split system, you can cool and heat every part of the house individually. This allows the outdoor unit to mostly run at lower speeds since not every room requires the same amount of cooling/heating. You can also adjust the temperature of each air handler independently, enabling you to save energy by keeping unoccupied areas set warmer during the summer and cooler during the winter.

HVAC Zoning

HVAC zoning allows a central heating and cooling system to provide the same type of individualized, room-to-room temperature control as a ductless mini-split system. The system still has a single central air handler, but the house is broken up into individual heating/cooling zones that each have their own thermostat. Most zoned systems have variable-speed equipment that automatically adjusts the rate of heating/cooling based on the temperature in each zone. In most cases, the system will only send hot or cool air to some of the zones, allowing it to work even more efficiently than a standard variable-speed system. As with a mini-split system, you can further reduce energy usage by turning the temperature up or down in any spaces that aren’t currently occupied.

Geothermal HVAC

In terms of overall efficiency and environmental friendliness, geothermal HVAC systems far outperform all other options. Geothermal systems use a ground-source heat pump to capture heat from the ground and bring it inside when in heating mode or release the heat they captured from the house into the ground when running in cooling mode. The system consists of pipes buried underground where the temperature constantly stays at around 55 degrees. A mixture of water and a type of antifreeze continually flows through the pipes to the heat pump and then back outside. The fact that the temperature of the soil surrounding the pipes remains constant allows the system to capture heat during the winter and release heat during the summer much more efficiently compared to a standard air-source heat pump. While geothermal systems are much more expensive, the amount of energy they save and the fact that they have longer lifespans and a smaller carbon footprint make installing one an investment that really pays off in the end.

For more than 40 years, Hoff Heating & AC has been providing reliable, energy-efficient HVAC solutions to homes and businesses in O’Fallon and throughout the St. Charles County area. From smart thermostats, heat pumps and variable-speed systems to geothermal and HVAC zoning, we have a range of options to help you lower your carbon footprint without sacrificing your comfort. For more information or to schedule a consultation and learn about the ways we can help you save, contact us today.