In the winter, you want to keep your home warm and comfortable. However, when the heating bill arrives, it can be a shock. Heating costs take a toll when you’re simply trying to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors. Making a few changes will heat your home more efficiently, cutting costs and keeping you warm.
Simple Ways to Heat the Home More Efficiently
When it’s cold outside, use these tips to make your home more energy-efficient. You’ll decrease the utility bill and stay comfortable indoors.
HVAC Maintenance Helps Heat Your Home More Efficiently
A worn-out, damaged, or older HVAC unit may experience issues that require frequent calls to a repairman, which can become costly. It also won’t run efficiently. Schedule a regular HVAC tune-up. Simply changing out the filter improves air quality in the home. The filter change and tune-up will improve the overall performance of the system, heating the home with less strain on the unit.
Weather-Sealing Makes a Home More Efficient
Seal up gaps around doors and windows. Heat loss often occurs in these spaces. When warm air is escaping and cold air is seeping in, the heating system has to work harder to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.
Is Your Home Well-Insulated?
Insulation reduces drafts and energy loss in homes of all sizes. Inspect your attic insulation to make sure it’s adequate for the home. Look for insulation that has shifted out of place, or areas where the insulation is missing or damaged. Replace any defective insulation to increase efficiency.
Use the Sun’s Heat
Open the curtains during the day when the sun shines brightly. The solar radiation will help to warm your interior spaces. Close the curtains in the evening when it begins cooling off to give the windows some extra insulation.
Choose a Moderate Temperature
Set the thermostat at 68 degrees while you are home and awake and a few degrees lower while you sleep. You won’t notice the temperature change when you’re under the covers. Use a programmable thermostat to set the temperature to automatically adjust. This Department of Energy recommendation saves approximately 10% on annual heating costs.
Install New Windows to Heat Your Home Efficiently
Is it time to install new windows? Old, worn out, outdated windows allow cold drafts inside. If your windows are 20 years or older, it’s time to replace them. You’ll increase the value of your home and save money on utility bills.
Small Steps to Heat Your Home More Efficiently
The ideas on this list are among many that help lower heating costs while improving comfort in the home. Implement these tips into your day-to-day routine and you’ll enjoy savings every month.
Anderson Home Inspections provides home inspections to central Ohio. If you’re buying or selling a home, contact us to schedule our services.