In late 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced increases in the minimum efficiency standards of residential furnaces and air conditioners. In the 30 northern states, the minimum efficiency rating of new furnaces was to be raised to 90 percent from its current level of 80 percent, starting May 31st, 2013. In the 20 southern states, the minimum efficiency of air conditioners is set to be raised from 13 SEER to 14 SEER starting January 1st, 2015 (SEER is the estimated BTU’s of cooling provided by each watt-hour of electricity, so a 14 SEER unit will use about 7 percent less energy than a 13 SEER system). These changes were expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 113 to 143 million tons, and to reduce residential energy consumption by one-fifth.
Tag Archives: heating
05
Jun
Jun
As part of their year-long “Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR” campaign, EPA has launched a website to help you save money and and energy with your programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat properly programmed and used can reduce 1,847 lbs of green house gas emissions a year. According to the EPA, maximizing household energy…
20
May
May
Editor’s note: While we’ve discussed home geothermal systems a number of times around the Green Options Media network (see the list at the bottom), we’re glad to bring you today’s post from GreenBuildingTalk on the subject. They not only provide an overview of the technology, but point you to some cutting-edge models of geothermal heat…