In the Midwest, homes typically consume more energy in the winter than any other season. The good news is that you have plenty of opportunity to reduce household energy and enjoy lower energy bills. Following are a few time-honored tips for cutting your energy expenses this holiday season and throughout the winter.
- Set temperature changes in your programmable thermostat that will reduce heating costs when nobody’s home for the day, or at night when everybody’s sleeping. A typical daytime, weekday setting is 8-10 degrees lower than your normal comfort level.
- Find where air is leaking from your home’s outer perimeter and seal those holes, gaps and cracks with caulking, weatherstripping or spray foam. You can hire an energy auditor to find air leaks, or do it yourself. Walk the inside perimeter of your home with a lighted smoke pencil and watch for the smoke to waver, signaling an air leak.
- An energy assessment or audit also will determine where insulation is insufficient in your home. Once you know what’s missing, install the right amount and type of insulation. This will give your furnace a break by allowing heat to stay inside for longer periods.
- When the sun is shining, make sure curtains and blinds are pulled aside to let free solar heating take place. Close the curtains and blinds when the sun goes down. The added layer of insulation will help keep out the cold.
- Adjust ceiling fans so the blades are in “winter mode,” spinning clockwise. This pushes air upwards where it displaces warm air that collects near the ceiling out toward the walls and down into the room where home occupants can feel it. Your thermostat also will “sense” the warmer air and delay kicking on the furnace.
- Schedule a maintenance tuneup for your home’s heating system (if you haven’t already). This will enhance furnace or heat pump efficiency and performance, and also ensure safety.
For more advice on how to lower energy bills this winter, please contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We provide quality HVAC and plumbing services in the Indianapolis area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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