Ducted heating and cooling systems are major energy guzzlers in Australian homes. This makes improving efficiency a pretty critical financial thing to think about. As per the Australian Government’s Energy Rating scheme, heating and cooling account for roughly 40% of all household energy usage in this country and in certain parts of the country, that number can go up to 50%. With energy prices on the rise, even tiny little inefficiencies in a ducted system can end up costing you a pretty penny extra each year. That’s not just because of equipment failure alone. Research after research shows that a heap of the time, it’s the little mistakes people make when running and looking after these systems that cause energy waste.

Getting to the bottom of what’s causing all these avoidable costs is key for homeowners who want to keep a lid on their long-term running expenses and make sure their system is working as well as it can. In a lot of Melbourne suburbs like places where people are looking into ducted heating and cooling Malvern, the rising energy costs are making them a lot more interested in how efficient their system is and the kind of running practices they’re using.

Disregarding Duct Leakage and Air Loss

One of the really expensive blunders you can make with a ducted system is ignoring and not fixing any leaking ductwork. As you probably know, these systems rely on sealed air distribution networks, but studies in residential buildings have shown that damaged or poorly joined ducts can just leak away loads of conditioned air before it even gets to the rooms you’re living in. Every litre of heated or cooled air that slips out into the roof space is basically money going down the drain.

Fiddling with Thermostats Too Much

Misusing your thermostat is one of the top ways to gobble up a lot of energy and it’s easy to measure too. According to the Australian government’s energy data, every extra degree of heating in the winter or cooling in the summer just ups your energy bill by 5% to 10%.

Overlooking Regular Filter and System Maintenance

Letting your maintenance go is another sneaky way to increase your running costs over time. Dirty filters will block airflow and make your fans and compressors work a lot harder to do the same job. Reduced airflow can also make temperature regulation a bit wonky. It can cause the system to run longer and use more electricity.

Wasting Energy on Unused Areas

Leaving your whole house to be warmed or cooled when only a few rooms are being used is a huge energy drain. The Australian Government’s advice on how to be more energy efficient recommends shutting off rooms that nobody is in and only heating or cooling the areas that are being used.

The financial implications of this are pretty significant. Running the air through empty bedrooms, storage rooms or spare rooms doesn’t really do anything to help. It’s just extra strain on the system. In bigger houses running all the zones all the time can really jack up the power bill, compared to just focusing on the zones that need it. All the research on how to manage energy in homes shows that zoning is one of the best ways to cut your power bill without sacrificing any comfort.

Ignoring the Real Problem: Your Building’s Envelope

You might think that the problem with your high energy bills is your ducted system, but in a lot of cases it’s actually because of the house itself. If your house is poorly insulated, or has air leaks opening up everywhere, it makes the ducted system work a lot harder to keep the house at a comfortable temperature. The stats from the government show that up to 40% of heat escape is through the windows. Good insulation can cut your heating and cooling costs by more than half.

When the air is just leaking out everywhere through gaps, through the doors, through the ceiling, the ducted system is just constantly making up for it. Even if you’ve got a top-notch system, you still end up using a lot more energy than you need to. People end up buying a bigger or newer system, without actually fixing the problem that the old system was struggling with. This means they end up with a bigger bill to pay and a persistently high energy bill.