6 Ways To Lower Your Heating Bills

With fall and winter approaching, everyone is anticipating the holidays and all festivities that come with it, but also the severe cold that comes with it and high energy cost related to use of heating. Every home and business owner in New Jersey generally prepare ahead of time for the chilly weather. Here are some tips to reducing the cost of your heating and energy bill.

Ensure Your Home is Insulated and Well Sealed

If your home is not properly sealed or insulated, cold air could easily blow in especially through the ceilings and walls around your home. You can personally do an examination to find out the most exposed spots in your home, especially the caulk around your pipes and cables that pass through exterior walls. Caulks are vulnerable to cracks so they need regular checks. Laying batt insulation in the attic can serve as emergency solution. In order to protect your exterior walls from cold, you can add blow-in insulation.

Keep an eye on your windows and doors for cracks around the trim. If you notice any crack, seal it in order to keep air out. You can also add weather stripping and install door sweep. If you already have a weather stripping, ensure that it is in good shape.

Have a Good Maintenance Plan

If your home is properly maintained, it will be more efficient and you will be spending less during the winter. Your heater should be maintained at least annually to help keep it in good shape. During the maintenance, ensure that the HVAC technician lubricates, tighten, clean and inspects all the needed parts. If there is any fault the technician will find out and fix it so you can have a functional heater through the winter.

If your home is built with a fireplace, make sure it is in good shape before you start using it. This is merely a safety guideline, also make sure it is cleaned. And if you are not going to use your fireplace, consider having a chimney balloon installed, this will help prevent the air from escaping.

Ensure Your Window Drapes is Used Appropriately

Heavy window drapes can help you keep cold out while sealing warm air inside. During the day, you should open the drapes to let warm air in. Once the sun is set close the drapes to trap the warmth. It will help you save energy that you heater would have consumed.

Check the Vents

There is a common misconception among residents that closing unused rooms will help improve energy efficiency, this is wrong because it disrupt the air pressure in your home which will result to an increase in the cost of energy. So make sure you leave all vent open to help improve energy efficiency and ensure there is nothing obstructing the vent.

Seal Any Openings

The best way to observe openings is by putting your hands in front of electrical outlets on exterior walls as you may notice slight drifts around there areas. It is usually as a result of negligence from the builder. First remove the outlet cover to see the spot then you seal the gap using acrylic latex if the opening is larger, use foam sealant. You can perfect the job by using a foam gasket.

Ensure You Thermostat is Set Correctly

If you are using a programmable thermostat, set it to suit your household schedule. This will help you save money throughout the cold season. When it is night, you can set the thermostat to temperature between 10 to 15 degrees. This will help you save energy cost when you are inactive. Don’t worry about the cold as you can sleep with flannel sheets and cozy blankets. If nobody is going to be at home, you should lower the temperature it will help save energy too.

If you follow the above preventive task, you will be spending less on energy this fall or winter. Simple things like wearing extra clothes can also help save money.
If you need more information on more efficient home heating while lowering your energy cost of schedule a free inspection today, call (888) 333-2422