Brrr! During the fall and winter months, having a cold home is usually the last thing you want. But as temperatures drop, you don’t want to see your energy bills skyrocket! Luckily there are four easy ways you can keep your home warm and your bank account full.
- Insulate Your Home
According to the Washington Post, 38% of your home’s heat is lost through cracks in your home’s walls, windows, and doors. Caulk and weather-strip your home’s windows and doors to prevent heat from leaking out. You can learn more about how to weather-strip your home here.
You should also insulate the glass of your windows. According to energy.gov, you can install plastic sheets on the glass of your windows to seal in warm air or even change to warm, insulating drapes on your windows instead of blinds.
- Turn Down the Thermostat
According to the Department of Energy, by turning the temperature down seven to ten degrees for eight hours a day in the winter, you can save up to 10% on your energy bill per year. The Department of Energy also suggests having your thermostat set to 68 degrees when you are at home and dropping that even lower when you’re sleeping. 68 degrees sounds chilly, consider bundling up or investing in a few new blankets, flannel sheets, or slippers. The more layers you wear, the more heat you retain in your body. If you go out of town on vacation, you should set your temperature to 55 degrees and you won’t have to worry about your pipes freezing. Consider purchasing a smart thermostat so you don’t have to worry about manually turning the heat up or down as you come and go from the house.
You can also turn the temperature down on your water heater. The Department of Energy estimates that water heating accounts for around 18% of your home’s energy usage. While most manufacturers set water heaters to heat the water to around 140ºF, by turning the water heater to the warm setting, you can anywhere from $36-$400 a year in heating costs.
- Don’t Waste Heat – Use the Sun!
Use the daylight to warm up your home. By opening the curtains or blinds on your south facing windows through the day, you will allow the sun to heat up your home. Then, when night falls, close those windows to keep the warmth inside.
You can also use other daily activities to heat up your home. If you know you’re going to be cooking a meal, do it when the sun is down to take advantage of the heat cooking radiates. Of course, never use your oven to heat your home! When you shower, open the door to let warm, moist air travel through your home.
- Keep Your Furnace Clean and Inspected
The most important thing you can do to keep heating bills down is to make sure your heating system is running efficiently. Change your filters every month, clean your furnace, vents, and ducts, and get a tune-up before turning your furnace on each year. A tune-up can prevent small problems from becoming big ones!
A Landmark Home Warranty provides furnace tune-ups in their home warranty plans that are only the cost of a service call fee. During this furnace tune-up, a HVAC technician cleans a furnace’s burners, calibrates your thermostat, checks heat operations, cleans or replaces filters, cleans or tightens electrical connections, tests safety and limit switches, and inspects the pilot system.
If you’re interested in purchase a home warranty that includes a furnace tune-up, check out Landmark’s home warranty plans. If you already have a home warranty through Landmark and want to schedule your furnace tune-up, log in to your account and open a service request.
