It can be a challenge to keep your energy bill down when it gets frigid outside and you may still feel chilly inside no matter how high you crank up your thermostat. To reduce the high cost of home heating during cold weather, we’ve outlined some steps that you can take to heat your home efficiently throughout the winter.
Save Money When You Heat Your Home Efficiently
It’s important to stay warm and healthy in the winter and your heating system plays a big role in helping you do this. By learning how to heat your home efficiently, you can save money while still benefiting from the regular use of your furnace throughout the cold weather season.
1. Service Your Furnace Annually
As you use your furnace regularly all winter long, wear and tear will begin to take a toll. Not only will the furnace become increasingly dirty, but some parts will wear out. Overall, the furnace will function less efficiently than it originally did. Annual furnace maintenance includes thoroughly cleaning the equipment and identifying the parts that may contribute to inefficiency. Through regular maintenance, your furnace will run more efficiently.
2. Make Your Home Airtight
Your heater will not heat your home efficiently when hot air is escaping from the building. Heat is often lost through cracks around the doors and windows. In addition, drafts from these cracks may make you feel more chilled indoors. Door and window seals can deteriorate quickly, so it is wise to replace the seals annually as a part of regular home maintenance. By doing so, you will keep heated air indoors where you want it and prevent chilly drafts.
3. Inspect Your Insulation
The quality and condition of insulation in your walls and attic can also impact heating system efficiency. While exterior walls have an inner and outer layer, heat loss through these walls can be significant. New types of insulation available today may be more effective than insulation that was installed in your home many years ago.
Also, older insulation can begin to deteriorate or become damaged by water exposure, pests, and other elements. Having a home inspection that uses thermal imaging helps identify areas in your walls or attic that are lacking insulation so that you can know where you need to add more.
4. Use Ceiling Fans
Your heating system will work more efficiently if you leave your interior doors open and run your ceiling fans on low at all times. This includes in rooms that you do not use regularly. The fans should run clockwise in the winter. By running your fans, you can circulate heated air throughout the home. Ceiling fans assist the heater in distributing warm air so that it does not have to work as hard.
Nobody wants to pay a fortune heating their home over the winter months. Each of these tips can help your furnace to function more efficiently. When you heat your home efficiently, you can save money on heating costs while staying warm and comfortable.
Inspect it Neil Home Inspections provides home inspections with thermal imaging to New Jersey. Contact us to book an inspection.