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 / or 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 other correct measures, you may cut your energy bills by as much as half. This page was created to give you some background information on the phase out of ozone depleting refrigerant as well as how an integrated approach to home energy management and ideas on how we can all play our part in keeping our homes "Green" while keeping the "Green" in our wallet.

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, an  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.

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.

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

To maximize your energy savings without sacrificing comfort, you can install an automatic setback or programmable thermostat. They adjust the temperature setting for you. While you might forget to turn down the heat before you leave for work in the morning, a programmable thermostat won't! By maintaining the highest or lowest required temperatures for four or five hours a day instead of 24 hours, a programmable thermostat can pay for itself in energy saved within four years.

Air Duct Sealing

Leaky heating and air conditioning ducts are found in 93% of homes that are tested. This is one of the largest sources of energy loss and decreased health and comfort in a typical home. Leaky duct work contributes to dirt and allergen build up in a home. Supply duct leaks in an attic or crawl space will force pressurized air meant to heat or cool your home to escape in unconditioned space and can force dirt and dust to enter your home through gaps or holes in your buildings walls or floors and areas such as light/electrical switches, vents, lighting fixtures etc. Return duct leaks can directly pull unfiltered air into your heating / cooling system for circulation throughout your home resulting in increased utility costs, decreased comfort, excessive dust build up etc.

Home Insulation

You need insulation in your home to provide resistance to heat flow. The more heat flow resistance your insulation provides, the less electric and gas your heating and cooling equipment will use and the lower your heating and cooling costs will be. The attic is by far the most critical area of your home to have insulated and most homes have way less insulation (or none at all) then recommended by the U.S. EPA. and Most homes built before 1972 do not have insulation in the walls. All Home Comfort offers all types of home insulation from Batt to Blow in, from Radiant Barrier to Denim, From Spray Foam to Cellulose, let our dedicated Home Energy Consultants help you choose the solution that is correct for your home or office.

Solar Attic Ventilation

Attic Ventilation by the way of Solar Powered attic fans are a great way of lowering attic temperature and thus saving you money and less dependence on your home's cooling system. Attic Fans are often an inexpensive starting point to reducing your homes energy waste and reducing your electric bill.

Solar Home Lighting

Solar Tube Sky Lighting not only can brighten up a dreary hallway, bathroom or closet, it can reduce your need to turn on interior lights needlessly. Many older homes utilize energy wasting sky lights to bring in light to interior rooms. Unlike these older sky lights, Solar Tube lighting allows natural light in while keeping damaging and energy wasting ultra violet light rays out. All Home Comfort is your complete source for installed Solar Sky Lighting.

Solar Electric Power

Solar Power Using the sun's free energy to power, heat and cool your home just makes good sense and can be surprisingly affordable. The major advantage of solar power is that no pollution is created in the process of generating electricity. Environmentally it the most Clean and Green energy. Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal) and sustainable, helping to protect our environment. Solar energy does not require any fuel. It does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of electrical generation does.
Therefore Solar Energy does not contribute to global warming, acid rain or smog. It actively contributes to the decrease of harmful green house gas emissions.

Use a whole home approach to energy efficiency
(watch the short video presentation)

Duct systems that are properly sealed and insulated can make homes much more comfortable and energy efficient. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of a home’s heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent. Use our Duct Sealing Brochure  (1.13MB) Download  Duct Sealing - Leaking ducts can rob a home of energy dollars (Play Video) Courtesy of California Energy Commission

 Guide to Energy Efficient Heating & Cooling (708KB PDF Download).