Don’t look now, but winter is definitely on the way! Even though November just started, there are already some parts of the country that are being subjected to their first snowfalls of the cold season.
Do you want to prevent your heating bill from skyrocketing in the coming months? If so, there are certain winter energy saving tips you can put to good use. They’ll keep your home comfortable and cut your energy costs dramatically.
Let’s take a look at some of the tips that you should keep in mind now that the mercury is starting to drop.
Let Plenty of Sunlight Into Your Home During the Day
You might be under the impression that the sun won’t do much to heat up your home in the wintertime. After all, the sun doesn’t feel all that warm when it’s shining down on you in the middle of November or December.
But the truth is that you can harness the power of the sun at any time of the year. By simply leaving your drapes open during the day in the winter, you can bring your home’s temperature up by a few degrees.
Just don’t forget to shut your drapes again once the sun goes down. If you don’t, you could lose what you gained as the temperature drops outside and the heat leaches back out through the windows.
Place Plastic Over Your Home’s Windows
Ideally, your home should be outfitted with either double or even triple-pane windows to prevent the cold air outside from affecting it. Energy-efficient windows will trap warm air inside and keep cold air out at all times.
But if you haven’t gotten around to installing energy-efficient windows just yet, try putting plastic up over your windows once winter starts. It won’t necessarily look great, but it will do a good job of making your home feel warmer. It’ll also prevent your HVAC system from having to work overtime to keep your home comfortable.
Learn How to Use Your Ceiling Fans in the Winter
Many homeowners make the mistake of shutting their ceiling fans down at the end of the summer and not turning them back on until spring starts. Don’t follow their lead!
The truth is that you can continue to use your ceiling fans in the winter and make your home warmer as a result of it. You just need to make sure they’re spinning in the right direction.
In the summer, your ceiling fan should spin counter-clockwise to pull hot air in your home up. But in the winter, it should spin clockwise to send warm air back down towards the floor.
When you keep your ceiling fans running on a low setting all winter long, you’ll notice a real difference in the way your home feels.
Turn Your Thermostat Way Down Overnight
Did you know that you can save as much as 10 percent on your energy costs over the course of the year by adjusting your thermostat so that it’s about 10 degrees cooler at night than it is during the day?
Instead of blasting the heat all night long, purchase flannel sheets for your bed and chose comfy pajamas that’ll keep you warm. Once you fall asleep, you won’t even notice that it’s on the cooler side in your home.
Just try to remember to set your thermostat to kick back on in the morning about an hour before you wake up. It’ll ensure your house is nice and comfortable when you get out of bed.
Avoid Heating Rooms You Don’t Use
If you have a spare bedroom, a home office, or another room in your home that you don’t use very often, stop sending heat into it all the time.
Go into the room and close the heat register so that heat doesn’t make its way into the room. It’ll allow for more heat to make its way into the rooms you do use and cut down on the amount of time your heating system is turned on.
Add Insulation to Your Attic, If Necessary
Heat rises, so of course, it’ll attempt to make its way into your attic if you let it. The only thing that can stop it from going there is the insulation that you have in your attic space.
If your energy bills have been higher than normal in recent years, it might be because you don’t have enough attic insulation. Add insulation to the space to stop heat from entering your attic and escaping your home through your roof.
Service Your Heating System Immediately
Before you turn your heating system on in the winter, you should always have it serviced.
Call an HVAC company and have them send an HVAC technician out to your home to take a look at your system. They can make sure it turns on OK and check to see if there are any parts inside of it that need to be lubricated or replaced.
If you’re not making it a point to service your heating system, you’re asking for trouble. Your system is going to need to work twice as hard as it should have to in order to heat up your home.
This will drive your energy bills way up. It’ll also force you to replace your entire heating system much sooner than you should really have to.
Take Advantage of These Winter Energy Saving Tips Today
Just about all of the winter energy saving tips listed here require very little effort on your part. If you take just a few minutes out of your busy schedule, you can take advantage of the tips and make your home warmer.
You can also save quite a bit of money this winter by utilizing the tips. You’ll be surprised by how low your energy bills are, even though you’re using your heating system almost every single day.
Contact us today to schedule service on your home’s heating system. It could end up being the most important step you take as you prepare your home for winter.
