5 Strategies for Reducing Environmental Impact in Home Air Conditioning

The more energy is needed to maintain the comfort of a living space, the less energy efficient it will be, increasing its environmental impact. Combining air conditioning and comfort in new buildings in Henderson, Colorado can therefore be a difficult and complicated task.

Today at Comfort Pros – the air conditioning, furnace, heat pump, and Boiler Installation expert – we are going to tell you about the conditions that reduce the environmental impact. We aim to enable you to achieve buildings with efficient air conditioning systems.

Keep reading!

How Can We Understand and Minimize Environmental Impact?

Environmental impact refers to the effect that human activity has on the environment and acts as a negative alteration. Ecology is the science responsible for measuring this impact and trying to minimize it.

Oil pollution of the seas, radioactive waste, radioactive/nuclear waste, emission of harmful gases, etc. are examples of the environmental impact of human activity.

In order to create the right temperature, humidity and air cleanliness conditions for comfort and convenience inside the home, the use of energy is essential. Air conditioning, therefore, is energy and energy is environmental impact, especially when it is non-renewable energy.

Energy consumption for air conditioning in a home accounts for 45% of the energy and 39% of CO2 emissions. We can reduce the environmental impact through two methods:

• Using as much renewable energy as possible, such as solar energy, biomass boilers, etc.
• Adopting a good insulation system as it preserves comfort conditions by regulating the energy exchange between the interior/exterior environment.

Buildings are barriers to rain, wind, and sometimes subtle filters to light and heat. Many of them are built ignoring the weather conditions and then their air conditioning is resolved through pure energy consumption.

That is why it is so important to have a home with good thermal and acoustic insulation. At Comfort Pros, we can advise you and deliver the best HVAC services at the best price. If you are searching “air conditioning, furnace, or heat pump installation near me” on Google, don’t need to further search. Comfort Pros is your ally in the semi-arid climate of Henderson, Colorado.

Know the key elements of comfort

The climate depends on four key elements:

1. Air temperature.
2. Radiation from surfaces.
3. Relative Humidity (RH).
4. Speed ​​of air movement.

The right combination of all four comfort elements creates the conditions for human beings to achieve maximum comfort. This comfort is established with air temperatures around between 15 and 30ºC.

Good air conditioning should allow these key elements to be regulated and have sufficient flexibility to adapt to diverse users.

5 Strategies for Enhancing Energy Efficiency

There are strategies to take into account to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Some of them are already known to us, such as the use of renewable energies. Others are less known, such as the building envelope or thermal inertia:

1. Use renewable energy

You are almost exclusively accustomed to electricity and gas as the standard energy sources. However, the future may lie in the energy that originates from the sun: solar photovoltaic energy, solar thermal energy, biogas, biomass, etc.

These are renewable energy sources, in addition to not depleting resources or polluting. These sources are growing the most in the world.

Nowadays, renewable energies are increasingly being used. The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) even requires the installation and integration of solar panels in newly constructed buildings. This, together with official subsidies and aid for the installation of solar energy, makes the expansion of this energy synonymous with efficiency and savings.

2. Focus on building orientation for lower energy use

The need for heating and cooling can be reduced thanks to the rejection or capture of energy by the different facades of the building. A building’s construction materials (openings, types of glazing, etc.) can also affect that need. The orientation of the building helps to reduce energy demand without sacrificing comfort.

The building orientation may allow savings of up to 35% in heating consumption. This figure represents around 14% of energy and 11% of total CO2 emissions for a standard home building in Henderson, Colorado.

3. Building envelope basics

We identify the envelope as the skin of the building. It is one of the most important elements of the home. Behold its functions:

• Capture or reject solar energy
• Conserve or dissipate energy from the artificial air conditioning system
• Help with proper natural ventilation.

There are many mechanisms in this regard helping you reduce the need for artificial air conditioning:

• The design of sun protection.
• The arrangement of the insulation.
• The use of the wall as a collector and heat storage and the roof as a collector of thermal and photovoltaic energy.
• The use of selective glazing and other solar filters and structural cooling mechanisms.

4. Enhance thermal comfort with insulation (H2)

Insulation is the first thermal mechanism that preserves comfortable conditions. It regulates the energy exchange between the interior and exterior environment, reducing thermal transfers through the envelope. If you combine it with double glazing and the elimination of thermal bridges, you can save up to 28% in heating consumption.

If you’re seeking reliable, efficient, and prompt heating and cooling assistance, look no further than Comfort Pros’ services for “ai conditioning or Water Heater Repair Near Me.”

Moreover, thermal inertia is another thermal mechanism that is present in common construction systems. It is often completely ignored. Thermal inertia refers to the ability of large masses of high-density materials to conserve the thermal energy that reaches them and release it at a delayed time

In such a way that the temperature is absorbed when there is excess heat in the environment and, on the contrary, it is emitted when it is needed.

5. Optimize energy efficiency with effective ventilation and HVAC systems

For good energy efficiency, you have new applications that allow you to substantially lower the interior temperature through:

• Natural or forced injection of cold or naturally cooled air from the façade.
• Ventilating the building structure in the same way (by exposing it to the interior environment, using ventilated hollow core floors, etc.).

Both alternatives make it possible to do without air conditioning, even under temperatures of up to 28ºC and humidity of around 50-60%. That is why at Comfort Pros, we have the best solutions for ventilation.

Furthermore, heating and cooling systems are very important when it comes to maintaining the temperature inside our home.

The choice of heating system is very important for energy efficiency. The most efficient alternatives are those that use renewable energy (biogas, solar thermal, biomass). The combination of condensing boilers with improved thermal resistance reduces energy consumption by up to 47%.

Natural cooling (ventilation of the structure, injection of naturally cooled air, etc.) may be exhausted over time. So, the most efficient artificial alternative is the gas heat pump in collective installations and the electric heat pump in individual installations. It allows savings, in a standard home, of up to 475 KWh (electrical) annually compared to other technologies.

It is important not to use refrigerants based on CFC or HFC gases, which damage the ozone in the atmosphere, which acts as a filter for harmful solar radiation.

If you’re looking for expert help with “air conditioning, heat pump, or Furnace Installation Near Me” in Henderson, Colorado, contact Comfort Pros! Our competent team is always at your service to keep your living space warm and comfortable.