Tips for Reducing Your Fall Heating Bills

There’s no denying the fact that fall can bring out some beautiful color changes in the leaves throughout Boston. However, with the changing season comes colder weather and costly heating bills. If you struggle to keep up with the cost of your heating bills, you’re going to absolutely love these cost safety tips that we’re going to share below.

Upgrade to a Programmable Thermostat

If you’re looking to drastically reduce your wintertime heating bills, you should consider upgrading to a programmable thermostat. This type of thermostat allows you to program in different desired temperatures, depending on the time of the day. This means that you can program your thermostat to have a lower temperature when no one is at home during the daytime. Then, you can program it to increase the temperature just before you get home so that your house is nice and warm when you walk in.

Let the Sun Shine

One of the greatest sources of free heat is the sun. You can take advantage of this heat by opening up your blinds and curtains during the daylight hours. It’s a good idea to arrange your furniture in a fashion where you’ll be sitting closest to where the window is letting in the sunlight. This will allow you to feel much warmer inside of your home without having to turn up the heat.

Seal Your Ductwork

After your furnace produces heat, that air is transported throughout your home via ducting. Over time, it’s very common for ducting to develop holes and gaps. All of these open areas allow the heat from your furnace to escape into the wall cavities. This is heat that is not delivered to the rooms of your home. By sealing off all of those holes and gaps in your ductwork, you can ensure that all of your furnace’s heat makes it to the rooms throughout your home.

Turn on Your Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans can be a great addition to your home to help reduce the cost of your heating in the wintertime. By having the fans rotating in a clockwise direction, they force the heat at the top of the room towards the walls and down towards the floor. Think of your ceiling fans as a recirculation method to get the heat that rises back down towards the floor. By bringing the heat back down towards the floor, you’ll have to rely less on your home heating system to keep your house warm.

Upgrade Your Windows

If your windows are over 10 years old, it’s likely that they may not be as efficient at keeping the cold air out of your home. One of the biggest hazards that your heating system has to contend with is cold air from outside seeping indoors. By upgrading to new windows, you can better seal up your home to prevent that outdoor cold air from making its way inside of your home. When you’re able to keep the heat inside, you can run your furnace less.

Insulate Better

Apart from upgrading your existing windows, insulation is another option that can help to create a thick barrier between the interior of your home and the outdoors. If your home is lacking insulation or is under-insulated, you should consider adding more. If your attic is exposed, you can simply add batts of insulation on top of your existing insulation. If you lack insulation in your exterior walls, you may want to opt for foam insulation that can be installed with minimal need for cosmetic repairs afterward.

Prep for Colder Weather

Another great way to reduce your energy bills during the cold winter months is to simply set your thermostat to a lower temperature. To ensure that you stay comfortable in your home at this lower temperature, you should prepare for the colder weather in a few different ways. First, trade out those shorts for a thick pair of sweatpants. Make sure you put warm blankets within reach of your couch and recliner. In addition, consider putting flannel sheets on your bed as they can actually keep you warmer than other materials.

Unblock Your Supply Vents

Every room throughout your home should have at least one supply vent that forces warm air into that room. If you have an object that is situated in front of your supply vent, it can hinder the ability of that vent to deliver warm air throughout the entire room in an efficient manner. In fact, you’ll find that you’ll run your heating system more in order to get enough heat into the room.

Take a few moments and walk around your house to look where the supply vents are. If you notice any furniture or objects in front of these vents, you want to rearrange your room so that they’re not. There should be a free flow of air straight out of your supply vent and into the center of the room.

Replace Your Air Filter Regularly

One big mistake that many homeowners make that costs them money on heating expenses is continuing to use a filter that’s past the end of its lifespan. When your air filter gets full, it creates a barrier of airborne debris. As a result, your heating system’s fan has to work much harder to try and force air through that barrier, which wastes precious energy.

By simply replacing a clogged air filter, you can make your furnace more efficient so that it uses less energy. It’s a good idea to check your filter every month to see if it needs to be replaced. If you pull your filter out and can no longer see through it, it’s time to replace it. You should always have a couple of spare filters around so that you can replace them if need be.

Use Humidifiers

Many people are familiar with the fact that when the humidity levels are high, it can feel hotter than it actually is. You can use this knowledge to your advantage by simply installing some humidifiers throughout your home or a whole-home humidifier as part of your HVAC system. It’s very common in the wintertime for the humidity levels to drop significantly. You can help to combat that fact in your house by running humidifiers to increase the amount of moisture that’s in the air. When the air feels warmer in your home, you’ll need to run your heating system less often to feel comfortable.

Use Space Heaters Strategically

If you’ve noticed that one room of your home just doesn’t seem to be getting as warm as the others, it may be a problem with the design of your ventilation system. Instead of cranking up the thermostat to make sure that the room is warm, you can utilize a space heater. You may also want to consider utilizing a space heater in your bathroom. Instead of jacking up your thermostat to ensure that you don’t freeze when getting out of the shower, you can simply turn on your space heater in the bathroom to keep your bathroom warm.

Excellent Heating Service Provider

Blue Bear Plumbing, Heating & Air is an excellent heating service provider in the Boston area. We’re also here for all of your cooling and plumbing needs. Simply give us a call today to schedule your next appointment.