What You Need to Know About the Whole-House Systems Approach to Energy Efficiency

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Whether or not you’re aware of it, your home air environment is a complex system.

The furnace and air conditioner maintain an optimal temperature, ductwork moves conditioned air through your home and your home’s thermal envelope — the barrier between indoor and outdoor temperatures — keeps your home habitable. If any single system is operating poorly, your entire environment can be compromised. This is why a whole-house systems approach to energy efficiency can deliver disproportional results.

A whole-house approach recognizes the interdependence of the parts of your HVAC system and improves holistic efficiency by fine-tuning a variety of aspects:

  • Home sealing – A drafty house will literally leak out energy by losing air that’s been heated or cooled. Furnaces and air conditioners have to work to replace lost conditioned air, meaning they expend more energy maintaining an indoor temperature. Sealing home air leaks reduces energy loss.
  • Ductwork maintenance – In the same way that home sealing prevents loss into the outside world, sealing ducts prevents air from escaping into undesirable home locations, like attics and crawl spaces.
  • Insulation – Temperature transfers between indoor and outdoor areas even without air transfer. Still, when the indoor and outdoor temperatures deviate by a significant margin, such as in the frigid winter months, heat loss or gain can be significant. Insulation increases the resistance to temperature transfer.
  • Windows – Not only are these prime candidates for sealing, but a whole-house systems approach to energy efficiency will also examine the outside environment. Is there shading on windows which receive sunlight during the summer? Do windows receiving winter sun have good exposure to sunlight? High-efficiency windows and double panes can also play a large part in retaining energy.
  • Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) – High-efficiency appliances that are maintained yearly are well-recognized energy savers and are featured in programs such as federal tax credits to help homeowners transition to more energy-efficient homes.
  • Other appliances – Although they contribute less to energy costs than heating and cooling do, high-efficiency lights, kitchen appliances such as refrigerators, and water heaters all contribute to whole-house energy savings.

Do you have questions about how to take a whole-house systems approach to energy efficiency? Our team of home comfort experts can help! Contact us at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling & Plumbing today.

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"Ernie & Mike did a superb job on my new furnace and A/C installation. Despite having more than a day’s work to do, they came in and stayed until the job was done. They were organized, efficient, and protected the rest of the house well. Got both furnace and A/C installed the same day. Ernie was courteous, informative, and clearly knew his job better than anyone I’ve encountered before. The units look so good guests now get The Tour of our new system. Apollo is clearly not a fly-by-night company. I would recommend them to anyone in need of a new furnace and/or A/C."
- Jerry A.
"I called Apollo because of a water leak I thought I had in our upstairs shower going into the kitchen. Robbie came and assured me everything was fine & looked at all the other plumbing. He ended up changing a few pipes for our washer & clearing a drain. He was very nice & knowledgeable with all my questions. I ended up signing up for the care plan & was very happy with my service."
- Cassandra B.
"The team at Apollo exceeded my expectations. As a business owner, my attention to the details and commitment to providing excellent service is high. From the sales rep. to the installation team, everyone’s performance was outstanding. For example, the installation team went to great lengths to protect our floors, placing floor runners and across the wood floors and up the stairs. They even were spot washing walls upon their departure. I highly recommend this company."
- Randy B.
"We scheduled an estimate AND a tune-up. We knew something was wrong with our furnace, but hoped we could make it through the rest of the season. Upon telling Bill what our furnace was doing, he warned us immediately what the possible outcome was going to be; a cracked heat exchanger. He watched the flames roll backward, tested carbon monoxide levels, which were so high they meter’s last reading was 5,600 before saying “high”. He immediately shut it down, tagged it, and explained that with levels that high and children in our home he wanted off right away. He continued his inspection and showed us via a camera that not only was it cracked in multiple places, but had holes all over it. He gave us a few options for repairing it; his knowledge as well as genuine concern was beneficial and refreshing. Luckily we also scheduled an estimator, Micah, to come too and we were able to get costs between repairing and replacing (with several options). We decided to replace with a much higher efficiency furnace and one sized properly to our home. Hands down, not only did they both provide us great service and knowledge, but without sounding dramatic, they may have saved our lives. This was our first time calling Apollo, but it won’t be our last."
- Sarah B.
"Apollo is an excellent company. I always receive great service. Alex A. was professional and friendly. He kept me informed during the process of checking my furnace and heat pump to make sure they were working properly. The company makes sure you are notified who is coming and when they are on the way. All my interactions with the company have been wonderful."
- Beverly S.
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