In order for your heating and cooling equipment to run as efficiently as possible, you have to maintain and check the equipment, just like you would maintain your vehicle. Here are some tips for how to reduce energy use and save money on your heating and cooling system.

• Change your air filter regularly - Check your filter every month, especially during heavy use months in winter. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. At a minimum, change the filter every 3 months. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm or cool - wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system - leading to expensive maintenance and/or early system failure.
• Tune up your HVAC Equipment Yearly - Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Follow a regular maintenance checklist and find a qualified contractor to check the system.
• Install a Programmable Thermostat - A programmable thermostat is an excellent way to save energy and reduce costs. By setting the temperature according to your schedule you can reduce heating or cooling while you're away and have it come back on when you come home. Through proper use of pre-programmed settings, a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in energy costs.
• Seal Your Heating and Cooling Ducts - Your ducts for your heating and cooling system are often big energy wasters. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent — and sometimes much more. You may need to hire a professional contractor to help seal your ducts. If you would like to learn more about how to seal ducts yourself, see the ENERGY STAR Do-It-Yourself Guide to Sealing and Insulating
• Install ENERGY STAR Qualified Heating and Cooling Equipment - If your HVAC equipment is more than 10 years old or not keeping your house comfortable, have it evaluated by a professional HVAC contractor. If it is not performing efficiently or needs upgrading, consider replacing it with a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR. Depending on where you live, replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified equipment can cut your annual energy bill by nearly $200. But before you invest in a new HVAC system, make sure that you have addressed the big air leaks in your house and the duct system. Sometimes, these are the real sources of problems rather than your HVAC equipment.
• Have New Equipment Properly Installed - Replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with new, energy-efficient models is a great start. But to make sure that you get the best performance, the new equipment must be properly installed. In fact, improper installation can reduce system efficiency by up to 30 percent — costing you more on your utility bills and possibly shortening the equipment's life.

A typical maintenance check-up should include the following:

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• Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
• Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
• Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
• Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
• Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.
• Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.

Cooling Specific

• Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
• Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
• Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.

Heating Specific

• Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.

Via ENERGY STAR

Another way to reduce heating and cooling costs is to practice solar passive heating and cooling. This means letting the sun do the work to heat your home and when you need to cool it, shading appropriately.

Solar Passive Heating Techniques

• In the winter, keep your south facing windows clean to let more sunlight in and heat your south facing rooms.
• During the day open your the blinds or shades of your south facing windows to let light and heat from the sun in.
• At night, close all of your blinds or shades to retain heat inside the house.
• Close doors to rooms that are rarely used like guest rooms and close vents to reduce heat going to those rooms when it is not needed.
• Plant evergreen trees on the north side of your house to buffer it from prevailing north and colder winds.

Solar Passive Cooling Techniques

• In the summer, shade your south facing windows from the sun with the help of awnings, blinds, shades, or overhangs to minimize heat gain on your house.
• Open windows on opposite sides of the room and open doors throughout the house to improve natural ventilation.
• Plant deciduous trees on the south side of your home. In the summer, these trees will have leaves and will help shade your home from the sun. In the winter, the trees will loose their leaves allowing sun to shine in on your house.

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It is important to remember that, unless you take action, the appliances and electronic devices in your home may not not get a break when you're on vacation and your next month's energy bill may be business as usual. So before you leave on your next trip, take a few minutes and follow these simple steps.  You can minimize energy consumption in your empty house and maybe save a few dollars for your next vacation.

Air Conditioner - There is no need to keep your house cool while you are sitting on the beach hundreds of miles away, so turn off your air conditioner for the duration of your trip. To avoid coming home to an overheated house, use a programmable thermostat and set it on vacation mode to re-cool your house shortly before your expected return.

Water Heater - Unless you have a tankless unit, your water heater will continue to run (and cost you money) to keep the water warm until you get back. Turn down the setting to as low as possible to reduce this standby heat loss while you are away.

Refrigerator - The refrigerator is one of the biggest energy users in a typical home. If you are leaving for a short period of time, change the refrigerator thermostat to a higher setting, 38 degrees for the refrigerator, 5 degrees for the freezer. For longer trips (such as four weeks or more) consider emptying your refrigerator and unplugging it.

Lights - Turn off all lights in your home before you leave. You may wish to maintain an outdoor or indoor light for nighttime security. Consider installing a timer. This will limit the illumination to only a few hours a day and help to make it appear as if someone is at home.

Electronics - There may be a phantom load haunting your empty home (and costing you money) while you are away. Turning off electronic devices is a good energy savings strategy, but remember, digital displays, instant-on features, and remote controls consume energy while not in use. Unplug all electronic devices while you are away.