With winter coming, you know it’s going to be cold outside. But inside you want to be warm. At the same time, you want your heating bills to be under control. So, in addition to making sure your furnace is in good working order, here are some more tips. Note that many of them are year round suggestions.
- Let the sun shine in. Keep drapes, curtains and blinds open during the day to let the sun warm your home. Then close them at night. (Of course, do the reverse in the summer).
- Bundle up. Instead of turning the heat up, put on an additional layer of clothes, and put another blanket on the bed.
- Make sure your ceiling fans are rotating clockwise to push hot air down.
- If you put another blanket on the bed and your ceiling fans are rotating clockwise, you may be able to set your thermostat lower.
- Speaking of thermostats, invest in a programmable thermostat.
- Invest in a humidifier to add moisture to the air. Moist air feels warmer, and will also allow you to keep your thermostat set lower.
- Only heat the rooms you use. Close and seal off the vents in rooms you do not use.
- Seal. Make sure there are no cracks by your doors and windows that allow cold air to enter your home.
- Get the LED in. Use LED lights for the holidays. They use 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lights. Make sure you uplug them before going to bed.
- Actually, do this for all your lights…even the ones you use every day.
- And turn off the lights when you are not in the room.
- Enjoy your fireplace, but make sure the flue is closed when you are not using it.
- Turn the temperature of your water heater to 120 ○ F.
- Avoid using exhaust fans. Bathroom fans and oven hoods are sources of heat loss, so use them sparingly.
- Insulate water pipes to avoid them freezing and possibly bursting.
