Survey: Homeowners conserve energy at home to save money
Lennox’s 2017 Home Energy Report Card survey found that many homeowners are willing to take drastic measures — such as walking around in their underwear instead of turning on the air conditioner — if it means saving money on their energy bills.
Sixty-five percent of homeowners said they choose to conserve energy at home to save money over helping the environment, according to the survey. Nearly 1 in 4 homeowners also wait until May or June to turn on their air conditioners for the first time of the year. But if money was no object, respondents said they would be willing to invest in energy-efficient upgrades, such as solar panels or appliances (39 percent) , more efficient windows (19 percent) and high-efficiency air conditioners or furnaces (19 percent), among other upgrades.
In terms of “making the grade,” most homeowners gave themselves above-average marks in energy conservation, with 21 percent giving themselves an A grade and 45 percent giving themselves a B.
“Saving energy and reducing your electricity bills doesn’t have to take a lot of time and effort,” said Lennox energy efficiency expert Trent Davis. “In fact, a few simple actions — from installing a smart thermostat to keeping air filters clean and changing them regularly — can help homeowners increase comfort levels, control costs and conserve energy this summer.”
The survey also found that 24 percent of homeowners turn off their HVAC system completely during extreme weather days to help conserve energy — a response that gets a failing grade for doing more harm than good, Lennox officials said.
“While turning off your air conditioning system seems like a good idea in theory, it actually is forcing the unit to work harder,” Davis said. “Doing so uses more energy and, therefore, costs the homeowners more in the end. Instead of turning your system on and off, we recommend lowering or raising the thermostat — or, better yet, installing a smart thermostat, such as the Lennox iComfort E30, which will do it all for you while it’s saving you money.”
Homeowners have a chance to improve their grades by entering the Lennox Energy Savings Superstar Contest through August 31. For more information, visit www.lennox.com/residential.
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