“Going Green” can mean many things. A typical definition of going green is “to pursue knowledge and practices that can lead to more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles. This can help protect the environment and sustain its natural resources for current and future generations”.
Today’s home comfort systems do just that. There are two main factors that support the HVAC industry’s move toward being more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible. Number one is the improvement of efficiency in today’s systems. Number two is the use of environmentally friendlier refrigerants.
Going Green Means Using Less Energy
The improvement in efficiency of today’s home comfort systems causes these systems to use substantially less energy. Today’s comfort systems are capable of using 50% less energy than units produced just a few years ago. Comfort systems are rated by what’s called a SEER factor. SEER stands for Seasonally Energy Efficiency Ratio. The SEER rating of an HVAC system is the cooling output during a typical cooling-season divided by the total electric energy input during the same period. The higher the unit’s SEER rating the more energy efficient it is.
If your current comfort system has a SEER rating of 10 and you replace it with a system with a SEER rating of 20, your system will be 50% more efficient. You will literally be using one half of the energy to cool and heat your home than you were using before. Using less energy helps the environment by decreasing power plant emissions. This conserves the earth’s natural resources and protects ecosystems from destruction. Consequently, you will also save a good bit of money on your energy bill.
R22 Freon Is Going Away
For more than four decades, a refrigerant called R22 Freon has been used to act as a cooling agent inorder to provide cool air inside your home. R22 Freon has been determined to be detrimental to the environment. Recent laws passed require that by the year 2020, home air conditioning systems that use R22 Freon will be phased out and eliminated from use. R22 will not be produced at all after 2019.
Today’s comfort systems use a newer, more environmentally safe refrigerant called R-410A. Unlike refrigerants that contain bromine or chlorine, R-410A does not contribute to ozone depletion. Therefore, it is becoming more widely used as ozone-depleting refrigerants like R-22 are phased out.
However, it has a high global warming potential similar to that of R-22. R-410A allows for higher SEER ratings than an R-22 system. This will reduce power consumption and the overall impact on global warming will be substantially lower.
In Conclusion
Have questions about your home’s comfort system? Give Bunn’s and Bennett Heating and Air Conditioning a call or email us at [email protected]. Bunn’s and Bennett is a licensed and insured HVAC dealer located in Huntsville, Alabama and has been serving Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley for more than 30 years.
