Are heating bills keeping you down this season? A variety of items in your home are most likely contributing to your high heating costs, including keeping your thermostat on high, spaces in your door and window thresholds that allow air to escape or having an older or poorly maintained furnace.
This winter, take a look at these tips to save money on your next heating bill.
Tips for Saving on Heating Costs
- Wear Layers: By wearing bulky sweaters, socks and slippers around your home, you can avoid turning up the heat.
- Open the Curtains: During the day, an easy way to keep your home heated without turning up the temperature on your furnace is to open your curtains and let natural sunlight help keep your rooms warm.
- Lower the Thermostat Temperature: When you’re away at work or sleeping, turn your thermostat down to save a bit on your next bill.
- Eliminate Fan Use: While whisking bad smells away with your kitchen and bathroom fan is sometimes necessary, keep their duration time short as these fans also remove warm air from the room.
- Close the Fireplace: When your fireplace is not in use, close the damper to keep the warm air from escaping through the chimney.
- Clear Heating Vents: If you’ve got furniture blocking your heating vents, then you’re blocking the hot air from evenly distributing throughout the room. To remove some heating costs, keep your vents unobstructed.
- Heat Parts of Your Home: If there are rooms you don’t use often like a guest room or storage space, then close off the vents in those rooms so you’re not wasting money on heating costs for spaces you’re seldom using.
- Replace Old Weather-stripping: Old worn and weathered stripping around your doors and windows is a common cause for heat escaping from your home. The loss of heat means your furnace is working harder and making your bills creep higher. Keep those spaces between your doors and windows sealed with new weather-stripping every few years.
- Check Door Thresholds: Similar to weather-stripping, make sure that the spaces underneath your doors are kept tight. If you can see a sizable gap, then fix the threshold so it meets with the door to avoid letting more warm air escape.
- Seal Holes in Ductwork: Leaks or holes in your ductwork is another common cause of hot air escaping and leading to high heating bills. Check accessible ducts for gaps between duct pieces or where they may have pulled apart — apply metal tape or mastic sealant to these places to eliminate holes.
- Lock Doors and Windows: When your doors and windows aren’t locked, they’re not pushing tightly against their weather-stripping. By locking your windows, you create a stronger seal which keeps the warm air inside your home.
- Energy Audit: If you want to ensure your home has proper insulation, then schedule an energy audit with a utility professional. These audits can show where your insulation is currently failing and how you can improve your insulation and heating costs.
- Update Your Insulation: Having poor insulation is a common factor for your home losing heat. An energy audit can highlight areas in your home that could use additional insulation. Or, you can go ahead and install better insulation if your current materials are older or of poor quality.
- Add a Humidifier: By adding a humidifier to your home’s heating system, you can add moisture to the dry winter air in your house. Air with moisture holds heat better than dry air and feels warmer so you can keep your thermostat lower, saving on your heating bill.
- Heating System Maintenance: To keep your heating system functioning efficiently, make sure to have a professional perform maintenance annually. Proper maintenance ensures everything is running smoothly and can highlight any potential problems.
- Upgrade Your Furnace: If your home already has proper insulation but your heating costs are still too high, it might be time to update your furnace. Signs that you need a new furnace include if the system is more than 15 years old, you’re making frequent repairs or if the temperature on your thermostat doesn’t keep you comfortable.
If you’re wondering how to save on heating costs, need your system serviced or need a new furnace installed this winter, call the professionals at Oasis Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration. We’ve been helping the residents of Northern VA, with all of their heating and cooling needs for 35 years.
And if you’re in a bind with your heating system this winter, Give us a call today to schedule an appointment or fill out our online scheduling form.