Winter is an expensive time of the year for people who have inefficient heating systems. Some people spend upward of $500 on their heating costs every month during the winter, and it can be frustrating when you know that you should be able to heat your house for less and be comfortable at the temperature that you choose. Thankfully, there are a few techniques that you can use to reduce the amount of money that you spend every year on your heating costs.
Open Up the Shades
If you’re interested in a completely free way to partially heat your home, consider opening the curtains and lifting the shades. The sun is a completely free source of warmth, and when you open up the draperies, you’ll spend a lot less money on heating because you can get the heat from the sun without any charge. When the blinds are up, the heat can get inside the house, and you can simply lower the shades when the sun goes down, which will reduce the amount of energy loss that you experience.
Assess Where You Need More Insulation
Most people understand that you need insulation in the attic, but you might not realize how much you need insulation in other areas of the house and how much heat you’re losing by having an inadequate amount of insulation in the attic. You can lower your heating bill dramatically by putting more insulation in the attic if you’re getting ice dams on the roof or if the roof doesn’t have any snow on it when all of your neighbors’ roofs have snow still.
Add Some Moisture to the Air
We all know that humidity makes everything feel hotter in the summer, but you can use this to your advantage in the winter. Moisture in the air makes hot summers that much less bearable because your sweat, which pulls heat away from your body as it evaporates, takes longer to evaporate. While you probably don’t like cold and damp, a little bit of moisture in the air won’t just make your skin and nasal passageways more moist and comfortable; you’ll also feel a little bit warmer, so you can keep your thermostat set at a slightly lower level. Since a humidifier costs less in electricity than a furnace, you’ll save money.
Seal the Ducts
If there are cracks in the ductwork, heat will escape through those seams. If the ductwork runs through the attic or another place that’s cold, all of that heat will be lost. Put your focus around the joints. You can use mastic sealant or foil tape.
Turn On the Sealing Fans
If you usually use your ceiling fans only in hot weather, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised to learn that there’s more than one way to use them. During the summer, you have the blades going in a counterclockwise direction so that a downdraft is created, which will cause the sweat on your body to evaporate more quickly, thereby cooling you. In the wintertime, you should set the blades to go in a clockwise fashion so that they are pushing air upwards. As the air is pushed toward the ceiling, it will collect the hot air that’s risen to the ceiling. Then, the air, along with the heat, will bounce off the ceiling and go down into the lower part of the room, where you can enjoy it.
Install a Smart Thermostat
Your thermostat might be out of date if you don’t have smart capabilities on it. But having a smart thermostat is one of the best ways to decrease the amount of money that you spend on your heating bills because you can easily change the temperature that it’s set at regardless of where you are. If you realize that you’re going to have to stay an hour later at work and want to change the time that it turns the heat back up, you can do it from any smart device. You can also increase or decrease the temperature for pets while you’re out of the home.
When you’re looking for a way to keep your house a comfortable temperature without paying a lot of money to do it, contact MD Air Conditioning & Heating in San Antonio, TX. We have the knowledge to help you with an assessment of your HVAC system, and we can help you find ways that you can lower your heating bills this winter. We also offer a wide range of cooling services.
Tags: Heating Bills