For most of us, the winter months are over before we know it, but we are left paying expensive heating costs and energy bills. Although you may consider higher heating bills to be simply a part of winter, you can keep those costs more manageable with these great ideas.
Service Your Furnace:
For some the concept of spending money to save money seems strange, but when it comes to furnace servicing, it is a fantastic idea. By having an experienced professional service your furnace, you can have confidence that it is performing at optimum energy efficiency. Additionally, you can reduce the risk of a costly repair bill for an inconvenient winter breakdown.
Remove Drafts:
Drafts kill your heat, and you may find that your energy costs are unnecessarily high because you are losing heat around your home. While you may be aware of larger drafts, even small ones can compromise the heating of your home and your costs. To identify small drafts, you can carry a lit candle to see if the flame is affected as you walk around your home. If the flame flickers or moves in a different direction, it is likely to be being affected by a draft. All you need to do is locate the source of the draft and eliminate it.
Assess Your Insulation:
Investing in more insulation can not only make your home feel more comfortable, but it can also save you money on both heating and cooling bills. Check to see if your attic or other drafty areas of the home would benefit from additional insulation. Attics, in particular, can be prone to being drafty as heat dissipates out of the roof. You may find boosting your insulation immediately improves your heating efficiency.
Use Your Ceiling Fans:
Most of us give our ceiling fans very little thought unless it is in the height of summer. This can be a costly mistake as ceiling fans can be used to improve the heat circulation inside the room and save money on heating bills. All you need to do is reverse the direction of the fan, which will allow the hot air to be recirculated back down into the room.
Check Your Ducts:
Although you may have serviced your furnace, your heating system may still not be at optimum efficiency because of your ducts. Ductwork can be responsible for a large percentage of heat loss if they are not properly insulated and sealed. Your system could be losing heated air into the garage, attic or crawl spaces, using more energy to maintain the temperature in the rest of the house. This not only costs you more in heating bills but puts additional strain on your furnace and HVAC system. It is well worth taking some time to inspect the ducts and check for any damage or areas of poor insulation.
A new HVAC system is a considerable expense, so it is worth trying to prolong the lifespan with proper care and maintenance. This will not only keep your system performing at optimum efficiency, but it will help to keep your winter heating bills more manageable.