4 Ways to Save on Winter Heating Costs

The following contribution is from another author.

Regardless of the size of your home, winter heating costs can quickly get out of hand. While you might not be able to lower the price of electricity, there are a lot of things you can do to lower your bill. The following tips will not only help you conserve energy, but they’ll help you save money too.

Stop Drafts

Some drafts are obvious, like cold air felt around improperly sealed windows and doorframes. If you can see daylight around or under a door or window or feel cold air seeping through, consider purchasing some caulking or door weather strip (as appropriate) to seal any gaps. Heat loss can also occur through holes and cracks in an attic or roof or from poorly-sealed fireplace dampers, so inspect these areas as well.

Plumbing issues may cause drafts inside the home. Get rid of drafts in the home by checking areas near water supplies, such as in bathroom and kitchen cabinets that house pipes. Also, check your garage, basement, and attic to ensure intact pipes. Hiring one of the most reputable Kelowna plumbers, or one from your area, can assess your plumbing situation to ensure your plumbing system is intact to avoid drafts inside your home. It’s advisable to hire an expert to check your plumbing system before winter months for easier and faster assessment and resolution in order to be fully prepared for the winter season.

Change Those Filters

To keep your outdoor wood furnace or heat pump in ship shape, be sure to change the filter regularly. A clean filter means your heating unit won’t have to work as hard at circulating air, which means more money saved for you. Not to mention, a cleaner filter will result in cleaner air, so you’ll be saving money and making your home’s air a little easier to breathe.

Here are some tips when changing filters:

• Change filters regularly, preferably at least every three months.
• Check the manufacturer’s instructions on the size and type of filter to use for your unit.
• Buy high-quality filters from trusted suppliers or sellers.

Turn Down the Thermostat

Although you might enjoy a toasty house, those extra degrees of warmth can really take a bite out of your savings. Try turning down your thermostat even a couple of degrees while you’re home, and even more while you’re asleep or away at work. Throwing on an extra sweater while you’re around the house or another blanket while you sleep will keep you cozy even if the house is cooler, and it will also save you some cash. Consider using a programmable thermostat, which will allow you to set a daily temperature schedule that will run automatically and save you money with hardly any effort.

When turning down the thermostat, you can keep yourself warm using the following gadgets:

• Heated Blanket: Pre-warm the bed before getting in using a heated blanket. Simply plug a heated blanket into the electricity. Choose one with an automatic shutoff feature to avoid getting too hot during sleep. 
• Electric Fire Starter: Enjoy the heat of your fireplace by using an electric fire starter to eliminate problems getting the fire started.
• Touch Screen Gloves: Never again freeze your fingertips when using your smartphone or tablet because touch screen gloves are now available. They’re equipped with electro-conductive feature so you can use your touch screen devices without removing your gloves to keep your fingers and hands comfortably warm. 
• Bluetooth Earmuff Headphones: They look stylish and can keep your ears warm during cold weather while enjoying your favorite music wearing fluffy earmuffs.
• Heated Gloves: Give your fingers a little heat source by wearing a pair of heated gloves. Waterproof and rechargeable heated gloves keep the fingers toasty during the coldest days, especially when you spend a lot of time outdoors.

Improve Home Circulation

If you have ceiling fans, turn them in reverse in the wintertime so they drive hot air from the ceiling and back down into the rest of your home. Using fans will help even out temperatures throughout your home. This is especially helpful if you have a fire-heated home or radiator heating, which might not circulate heat evenly without some help. If you don’t have ceiling fans installed, even a few floor fans will help keep warm air moving through your home in the winter.

Saving on heating costs isn’t as complicated as it might seem. By sealing your home properly, keeping the warm air flowing right and turning down the heat just a bit, your savings will really start to add up.