Category Archives: Energy Savings

3 Tips To Save Money On Your Water Heater Bill

Everyone wants to save money on their utility bills. Finding simple ways to reduce the cost of your water heater bill is a great place to start since it’s the second largest energy-consuming system (behind your HVAC), in your home.

Check out these tips for energy savings to save money on your water heater bill.

Tips To Save Money On Your Water Heater Bill

1. Take Shorter Showers Instead Of Baths

To save water and heating energy, consider taking short showers instead of baths, as this can save a lot of water. You can also shut off the water while you shampoo and condition your hair, as well as while you are shaving.

2. Use Cold/ Warm Water Whenever Possible

When using a dish or clothes washer, consider lowering or changing the temperature settings or turning off your heater so that you can do your cleaning with warm/cold water. You can also save water by doing full loads of clothes/ dishes instead of half loads.

3. Upgrade Your Water Heater3 Tips To Save Money On Your Water Heater Bill-www.coolbreezecs.com

The energy efficiency of your water heater and other appliances determine your energy consumption. Even at low-temperature settings, older models of water heaters and other appliances still consume a lot of energy with a little output.

Here at Cool Breeze Comfort Solutions, our Tucson plumbing services offer the latest, most energy-efficient products to replace your old systems to save you energy and reduce water wastage. Your comfort and satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us.

Reducing water wastage and energy consumption of your water heater not only reduces your monthly utility bills, but helps save the planet by using fewer resources thus increasing water and energy savings.

Water Heater Repair, Maintenance And Installation In Tucson

Cool Breeze Comfort Solutions is a family-owned and operated business. We provide quality water heater repair, maintenance and installations to the greater Tucson area and offer 24 hour emergency water heater service. Our NATE-certified, trained and friendly technicians will work with you and always recommend the most energy efficient, money saving solutions for your home or business.

Call Us Now To Learn More Or To Schedule An Appointment – We Are Here For You!

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Air Conditioning versus Evaporative (Swamp)

This entry was posted in Air Conditioning, Energy Savings and tagged , on by .

Some common questions we might get is what the major difference is when choosing a way to cool your home, especially when it comes to certain climates like Tucson, Arizona. We hope to shed some light on some major differences, drawbacks, advantages and some information you previously may not have known.

When it comes to home comfort, the name of the game in the Southwest is getting the air cold. Tucson winters are fairly mild and rarely do temperaturs drop below freezing, so heating typically isn’t the number one consideration when desert climates are concerned.

We’ll try not to bore you with the a bunch of facts and introduce some basic concepts instead.

Evaporative (Swamp) Coolers
On the surface, swamp coolers sound like they might work really well for desert climates. They work by using a blower – a fan at one end of the box – to bring in air from the outside and push it into the structure at the other end. Before the air goes inside, it passes through a series of damp pads, where evaporation takes place, and a small pump keeps the pads moist so the water doesn’t just evaporate away. This essentially creates a flow of air that is cooler than when it first entered the box.

Swamp coolers are considered an an open system and rely on the flow of air throughout the structure to direct cool air. Air from the swamp cooler needs a way out and opening and closing windows and doors controls the air flow from the swamp cooler to different parts of the structure while central air conditioners use ducts to direct the flow. Swamp coolers can also use ducts in some cases, but they need to be larger than traditional air conditioner ducts to account for a greater flow of air from the swamp cooler.

Too much humidity can prevent perspiration, which is how we cool ourselves naturally. Since swamp coolers work by putting water into the dry air, they act as humidifiers. This is great in dryer climates, because humidity can also be too low for comfort. Under the right conditions the water-laden breeze also can have a secondary effect of helping the skin’s perspiration, resulting in an even cooler feel than the swamp cooler would give on its own.

Air Conditioners
Standard air conditioners also dry the air, condensing water vapor from the cooled room as it passes over the cold coils. The water drains outside, which is what the distinctive drip you feel if you stand under a window air conditioning unit long enough comes from. The result is a dryer room, and in humid climates, that can be a good thing. Under the right conditions the water-laden breeze also can have a secondary effect of helping the skin’s perspiration, resulting in an even cooler feel than the swamp cooler would give on its own.

Standard air conditioners also dry the air, condensing water vapor from the cooled room as it passes over the cold coils. The water drains outside, which is what generates that distinctive drip you’ll feel if you stand under a window air conditioning unit long enough. The result is a room that is more dry. In humid climates, or in Tucson during the entire monsoon season, this is a huge advantage in comfort.

Air conditioning units have also become amazingly energy efficient over the years. When comparing systems, make sure you are using data from newer systems that have much higher energy ratings than older legacy systems that use much more energy. This has also caused AC systems to become more affordable and smaller as well.

Our Conclusion
At the end of the day, our recommendation for the comfort of your home for you and your family is an air conditioning unit. Despite the lure of purchasing a less expensive evaporative cooling system, it is true you get what you pay for. You will likely never meet a home owner that has gone from Air Conditioning to a Swamp Cooler and was satisfied with the change.

You also can’t really combine the best of both worlds – the way each system works would cancel each other out, similar to running a dehumidifier and a humidifier in the same room.

Don’t completely keep evaporative coolers completely off the table however. In cases where you have a small workshop, they can work pretty effectively. Because workshops typically have large openings like a garage door, these provide an effective source of airflow that basic cooling needs can be met. If the area does not need to be closed completely off like a detached office where a ductless air conditioning system, a swamp system might make sense.

If you currently have a swamp cooler and are looking to significantly improve the interior climate of your home, give us a call at 520-495-2227 today and we would love to talk to you about your options. AC systems are far more affordable than people give them credit for, so don’t believe it’s out of your budget!

Several Energy Saving Tips for Winter Months

This entry was posted in Energy Savings, Winterizing and tagged , on by .

We have compiled a list of quick tips that everyone can use during the winter months to save where they can. These tips can apply to different types of homes so please take your time to read down the list:

  • Reversing the direction your ceiling fan spins on low can help circulate warm air around the room.
  • Homes can easily dry out in the winter months. Moisture in the air helps bring back warmth and to accomplish this, a simple humidifier running during winter months can keep the interior air from being dryer than usual.
  • Also, from a comfort level, humidifiers can improve basic ailments like sinus problems. Since air with moisture in it holds heat better, a lower temperature can be just as comfortable and you can save in energy costs.
  • If you find that a humidifier serves your needs well, consider getting a whole house humidifier.
  • On sunny days (easy enough to find in Arizona), take advantage of the natural sunlight to bring in heat by adjusting blinds so they open and are tilted toward the ceiling. But make sure you remember to close the blinds at sundown.
  • Fireplaces can waste a lot of energy. By pulling warm air out of the house through the chimney when not in use, it is an easy measure to forget. Make sure you close the damper when not using the fireplace, or you can install glass doors to help keep heat in the home.
  • Exhaust fans, such as those found in kitchens, can pull warm air out of the home through the vent. Exhaust fans can also cause negative pressure inside your home that can lead to back drafts from your fireplace and can cause drafts through the walls, windows and un-insulated outlets in your home. Use them sparingly in colder months to save even more on energy costs.

The best defense against heating problems is regular maintenance. We recommend year-round care with our home care packages. Having heating equipment serviced by a reputable company at least once a year could reduce your heating bill and prevent costly repairs and replacements in the future.

A big part of our recommended plan is regular equipment inspections. Cool Breeze Comfort Solutions has been serving Tucson and Southern Arizona for years and our service is courteous and timely. Catching a potential problem early enough to either prevent a catastrophe or simply save a lot of money on a failing component, we are ready to serve you during the winter months!

The Benefits of a Well-Insulated Home in Cobblestone

Insulation is a vitally important part of your Cobblestone home. While it is not something you look at or probably even think about much, the amount and quality of the insulation in your home can have a dramatic impact on many aspects of your quality of life while you are living there.

The most basic reason that insulation is important is that it keeps the cold air out in the winter and the heat out in the summer. Without proper insulation at these times of year, your house will be much less comfortable than it would if you had high quality insulation in the right places.

Going hand in hand with this, of course, is the fact that proper insulation will help you get more out of your home heating and cooling system. By preventing outdoor conditions from affecting the temperature indoors, insulation makes it easier for your HVAC system to keep your home comfortable all year round. That means that the HVAC system uses less energy and is subjected to less wear and tear.

And because proper insulation aids in temperature control, it also helps to keep moisture problems from developing. When there is too much or too little moisture in your indoor air, it can have serious consequences, both for you and for your wood furniture and fixtures. Too little moisture will quickly dry out your skin and can make cold and allergy symptoms worse.

Dry air also can make it harder for your heating system to keep your house warm enough to be comfortable and it can take away from the ability of your indoor air cleaner to remove contaminants from your indoor air. Air that is too moist, on the other hand, will make it more likely that mold will develop in various areas of your house.

Mold needs moisture to grow, and it also often prefers dark, warm areas. For that reason, you can have a significant mold problem and not even realize is if the mold is growing in the walls or in crawlspaces beneath the floor.

Proper insulation, however, can keep excessive humidity from becoming a problem and make it easier to create a comfortable indoor environment all around. Some types of insulation can even keep many potential indoor air contaminants and allergens from getting into your home in the first place.

Save with Insulation in Casa Adobe

When you are looking for ways to save money around your Casa Adobe house, it can be difficult to know where to begin. However, if you start examining things closely, you can actually find many small ways to cut here and there to save a few dollars. Of course, the savings you will generate by making these moves need to be worth the expense of making them, and it some cases that equation does not work out to your advantage.

For instance, when you are trying to save money on your heating or air conditioning bills, is it really worth it to get a top of the line system installed? Do you really need a 97% AFUE furnace? Sure your monthly heating bills will be lower, but it costs so much to install that it might not be worth it. For some people, the right choice will be to opt for the highest efficiency system, but that is far from a universal truth.

However, there is one investment along these lines that will be worth it no matter what your particular situation is. And that is making sure that your house has proper and effective insulation installed everywhere necessary. Certainly, most houses have insulation of some kind. But do you really know that your insulation is effective and that it is in the right place?

With the new technologies and types of insulation available, you should not have to pay too much to have someone come in to check your insulation and improve upon it. And you very likely will not believe the difference it can make in the way your house feels.

Proper insulation will keep heat in and cold out in the winter and the opposite in the summer. You will quite simply be more comfortable all year round. Plus, you will see a pretty dramatic drop in your home heating and cooling bills because your HVAC systems will not have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable.

This will also translate into less wear and tear on the system over all, making it possible for you to extend the useful life of your HVAC system as well. The savings that can be generated by having proper insulation put in will well outweigh the cost of that insulation in just about every case.

What Will an Energy Audit Do?

This entry was posted in Energy Savings and tagged on by .

With costs constantly on the rise, homeowners are looking for new ways to save money on their energy bills, such as conserving electricity, using less heat and exploring alternative energy sources. One great way to see how you and your family can use energy more efficiently is to get a home energy audit.

The goal of an energy audit is determine how energy is being used in the home in order to identify and correct any inefficiency. By finding ways to use energy more efficiently, you can reduce the energy used in your home without sacrificing comfort. Efficient use of energy reduces costs and environmental impact.

How It Works

To conduct an energy audit, a professional will use special instruments to inspect various aspects affecting energy use in your home, including construction, occupancy, appliance use, number of windows and doors, and so on. In this way, you can see how well your home is retaining heat and note any places where inside air may be escaping, making your home cooler or warmer than desired. For example, since a lot of heat can be lost through them, upgrading windows and skylights is an inexpensive way to gain a lot in terms of efficiency. Making sure windows are properly sealed, repairing worn weather stripping, and installing new windows with energy efficient certifications (such as LEED or Energy Star) are simple but effective first steps to making your home more affordable and eco-friendly.

Another aspect of energy audits includes prioritizing energy needs in order of importance, in order to reduce the use of energy on less critical functions. This may include collecting data on the local climate and past energy use. This data can be analyzed in order to identify and predict times when higher usage may be necessary, so that you and your family can prioritize according to your budget. For example, if the results of your energy audit show that July is historically the hottest month of the year and the month when you use the most electricity, you can make up for increased cooling costs by using other electrical appliances less. This way you can stay cool without going outside your utility budget.

Other solutions stemming from your energy audit may include installing insulated curtains, unplugging “vampire devices” like cell phone chargers, and avoiding the use of large appliances during warmer times of the day.

If you are one of the many interested in cutting energy costs, while helping the environment, a home energy audit is the first step.

Energy Performance Ratings for Windows, Doors, Skylights

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When you are picking out windows, doors or skylights for your home, you will have a lot of factors to take into consideration. Not the least of these is how well or poorly the product in question will transfer heat into your home or help to block it out. Luckily, there are actually energy performance ratings listed on most windows, doors and skylights so that you can make the most informed decision possible about which product is best for you.

But what do these ratings actually measure? There are actually several categories that are reflected on the energy performance label, and understanding what these various statistics mean will help you pick out the best product for you.

For instance, the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) is something that reflects how well the window transfers heat from the sun into your home. A low SHGC means that the window lets in very little heat, while a high SHGC indicates a product that allows a great deal of heat to pass through into your home. The right one for you, however, depends on your own particular needs.

If you live in an area with a mild summer but a harsh winter, you may be interested in allowing the sunlight to help heating your home in the winter. And if the summers are not that extreme, you might not mind the heat coming in at that time of year.

The opposite would be true if you live somewhere that has very hot summers, though. In that case you might want to keep out as much heat from the sun as possible and be content to heat the house all on your own in the winter. So the ideal SHGC for you can vary depending on your own particular circumstances.

Other elements taken into account when the energy performance of windows, doors and skylights is measured are the amount of visible light the product lets in, how well it insulates your house, how much air is allowed to leak out through joints in the structure of the product and how resistant it is to allowing condensation to develop.

All of these elements will impact how well you are able to maintain a comfortable indoor environment all year round and how much it costs you to do so. Because of this, it can be worth paying a bit more for a door, window or skylight if it means that you will save on your heating or cooling bills every month because of that product.

LEED Accreditation – What Is It, and How Can I Get It for my Home?

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LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally-recognized green building rating system based on standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The LEED system is voluntary and offers homebuyers third-party verification that a home is sustainable, water efficient, and energy-saving; is designed to conserve construction materials and reduce pollution; and has clean indoor air.

Homes that are candidates for LEED accreditation are rated on a 100-point scale. The home must satisfy all minimum requirements and earn a minimum number of total points. Key areas of evaluation include:

  • Sustainability of Building Site. The home’s impact on ecosystems and waterways must be minimized, as must erosion, light pollution, and construction-related pollution.
  • Water Efficiency. The home must have water-efficient appliances and fixtures and regionally appropriate landscaping.
  • Energy and Atmosphere. The home must have energy-efficient design, appliances, systems, and lighting. More points are awarded for use of clean and renewable energy and other innovative strategies.
  • Materials and Resources. The home must use sustainable materials, and construction and operating waste must be minimized.
  • Indoor Environmental Quality. The home must have high indoor air quality, good indoor acoustics, and access to natural daylight and views.
  • Locations and Linkages. The LEED standard promotes building in previously-developed, “infill”, or “brownfield” sites and away from undeveloped and/or environmentally-sensitive sites. Points are also awarded for building near existing retail and transit infrastructure and outdoor recreation areas.
  • Awareness and Education. Home builders are encouraged to teach new homeowners about the green features of their home so that they can be maximally utilized.
  • Innovation in Design. Points are awarded for home design that is innovative and goes “above and beyond” existing LEED requirements, and for including a LEED certified professional on the design team.
  • Regional Priority. Bonus points are awarded for taking into account the regional environmental concerns that have been identified by USGBC’s regional councils.

LEED accreditation doesn’t just make sense from an environmental standpoint. It also makes good financial sense:

  • LEED accreditation offers great ROI for new construction – some studies have shown that an upfront investment of 2% in green building design can result in long term savings of 20% on total construction costs.
  • LEED-certified homes generally have lower operating costs.
  • LEED-certified homes are more attractive to buyers and renters (according to studies, commercial LEED-certified buildings have higher occupancy rates, higher rent-per-square foot, and higher per-square-foot sale prices than comparable non-LEED buildings).
  • LEED certification may provide some protection against indoor air quality lawsuits.

LEED accreditation can only be granted to new construction or major remodeling projects. To apply for LEED accreditation, contact a LEED for Homes Provider organization in your area. The LEED for Homes Provider organization will work with your builder to ensure that your home qualifies and will guide you through the accreditation process.