Energy Efficiency, the Environment and Your Home
All Home Comfort is your Green Home Specialist.

Energy Conservation, Home Comfort, Money Savings and keeping our planet healthy for the next generation, these are not just good thoughts - This is today's reality.

Heating and Cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 44% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. No matter what kind of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money, increase comfort and reduce your dependence on gas and electricity by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. Remember, though, an energy efficient furnace or air-conditioner alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, weatherization, thermostat setting and correct lighting, you can cut your energy bills in half. This page was created to give you some background information on the phase out of ozone depleting refrigerant and ideas on how we can all play our part in keeping our homes "Green" while keeping the "Green" in our wallet.

Refrigerant R-22 (Freon) Phase Out

In addition to energy savings, all developed countries that are Parties to the Montreal Protocol are subject to caps on their consumption and production of  hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). Most home air conditioning systems use HCFC containing refrigerant, most commonly known as Freon or R-22. Under the Montreal Protocol, the U.S. and other developed nations are mandated to phase-out HCFC containing refrigerants.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency schedule for phasing out the use of R-22 Refrigerant mandates that by the year 2010 no production and no importing of R-22, except for use in equipment manufactured before January 1, 2010 (so no production or importing for NEW equipment.)

• By 2020 No production and no importing of R-22 - Complete phase out.

The phase out of CFCs is expected to have direct health benefits over the next century, including reduced incidence of skin cancer and cataracts, decreased risks to human immune systems, and increased protection of plant and animal life from excessive UV exposure. A United Nations Environment study shows that a sustained 1 percent decrease in stratospheric ozone will result in about a 2 percent increase in the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer, which can be fatal. With the successful phase out of CFCs, however, EPA expects 295 million fewer cases of this form of skin cancer over the next century.

The CFC phase out provided an impetus to develop and invest in a new generation of energy efficient air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Today's environmentally friendly Heating & Cooling systems use alternative refrigerants and are much more energy efficient then systems just a few years old, provided that they are correctly installed to manufactures specifications. Aside from substantial lifetime energy and dollar savings, equipment upgrades also improve occupant comfort, system reliability, and operation and maintenance.

Some of today's hi efficiency air conditioning systems use more environmentally friendly alternate forms of refrigerants like R-410 A,  (also known as Puron.) When choosing a new or replacement air conditioning system it may be wise to use a system that uses this form of refrigerant as the phase out of R-22 progresses the cost of maintaining a R-22 system is sure to rise.

Size Does Matter - A/C Equipment Sizing

 It might surprise you to know that buying a bigger home air-conditioner unit won't necessarily make you feel more comfortable during the hot summer months, nor will a smaller system necessarily save you energy or money. In fact, a  air conditioning system that's either too big or too small for the area it is supposed to cool will perform less efficiently and less effectively then the correct size system.  Home systems require proper system sizing and that measurement is unique to each and every home. A properly sized home cooling system will remove a larger amount of moisture from the air, which lowers humidity and, more importantly, makes you feel more comfortable, thus saving electricity. At All Home Comfort, we use a room by room Heat & Cooling load analysis when replacing or installing home comfort systems to insure the utmost in comfort, savings, equipment longevity and customer satisfaction.

Gas Heating

Gas furnaces are rated for efficiency with an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency number, or an AFUE. According to the state's Energy Efficiency Standards, Title 24, the minimum AFUE for central furnace systems now sold in California is 0.80, which means that 80 percent of the fuel used by the furnace actually reaches your home's duct work as heat. The higher the AFUE, the more efficient the furnace. AFUE numbers in today's furnaces range from 0.80 to around 0.95. Older Gas furnaces may be operating as low as 50% efficiency. Installing a new energy saving gas furnace not only helps the environment, it literally can pay for itself with the money you save not having to over pay the Gas Co.

Electric Heating

If you use electricity to heat your home, consider installing an energy efficient heat pump system. Heat pumps are the most efficient form of electric heating in moderate climates, providing three times more heating than the equivalent amount of energy they consume in electricity. Heat pumps do double duty as a central air conditioner. They can also cool your home by collecting the heat inside your house and effectively pumping it outside. A heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating as much as 30% to 40%.

Programmable Thermostats