Energy Saving Tips for Cold Weather

Winter isn’t far off, which means that you’re probably going to start cranking up the heat any day now. While the comfort of your home is important, odds are you’re not going to be looking forward to those heating bills. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can save energy around the house in order to help reduce your energy costs. The following are a few tips for saving energy this winter:

Install a Programmable Thermostat

Although you want your home to be as comfortable as possible, there’s no need to heat it when nobody’s around. More often than not, people will put their heat on and then leave the house, forgetting to turn it down to a more energy efficient setting. A programmable thermostat allows you to set your thermostat to change automatically during certain times. For example, if everyone leaves the home for school and work by 9:00 AM and nobody returns until 3:30 PM, you can set the programmable thermostat to automatically drop in temperature at 9:00 AM and then go back up at 3:30 PM. This will save a considerable amount of energy.

Seal Air Leaks

Air leaks can pose a big problem when it comes to your energy costs. Air leaks result in the heat your heating system is producing to escape outside while allowing cold air to come in. Not only does this make your home less comfortable, it results in your heating system having to use additional energy in an attempt to replace the lost heat. By sealing your windows, doors and duct system, you could save upwards of 20 percent off of your energy bills.

Change Your Air Filters

If you use a furnace to heat your home, then make sure that you either clean or replace your filters once a month. This could help you cut your energy bills down by five percent.

Use Your Shades

Believe it or not, but the way you use your window shades can have a big impact on how energy efficient your home is. Keep your shades open during the day on the side of the house that the sun is shining. This will allow you to bring in as much of the sun’s heat as possible, thereby allowing you to rely less on your heating system. Once the sun goes down, don’t forget to close the shades in order to keep heat trapped inside and to prevent cold air from coming in through the glass windows.

Use Your Ceiling Fans

Run your ceiling fan in a clockwise direction during the winter. Doing so will help push rising hot air back down around the room, thereby providing your home with more even heating. By doing this, your heating system won’t have to work as much in order to heat the entire home.

For additional advice on how you can cut down on energy use, or for information about our heating and HVAC services, be sure to contact us at Woolley Home Solutions today.