Our family loves winter, we love playing outside, drinking hot cocoa, and cuddling under warm blankets while watching movies. But like most fun things, you can only handle so much…winter is awesome as long as it stays outside. The Old Farmers Almanac for 2016, predicts occasional flurries, a little sun and a lot of cold from now until the end of the month. However, a lot of cold should not mean increased energy bills. If you are like us and you want to stay warm while saving money this winter, here are a few tips to help keep the green in your wallet.
- The number one tip to stay warm while saving money this winter is to keep the heat inside your home. If you haven’t already winter prepped your home now is the time. Apply outdoor rated caulking to windows to seal any gaps, switch the ceiling fan blades to turn clockwise in an effort to push warm air down, close vents in rooms that are rarely used, program your thermostat to accommodate when family is home, and utilize a draft stopper under doors to stop warm air from escaping. On that note, I do occasionally tell the boys that we are not paying to heat the outside and to please shut the door.
- As we have mentioned before, “Annual preventative maintenance of your heating unit helps ensure a clean, well-adjusted furnace which boils down to saving you money.” There are many benefits to our budget friendly “Clean and Check” maintenance appointments. Your furnace’s efficiency directly relates to your home maintaining a constant temperature which equates to staying warm while saving money!
- Finally, get an energy audit from a professional with your energy company. An energy audit will show where air is leaking out or coming in, whether or not your attic is properly insulated and should provide a detailed report on how to fix the problems.
I hope these tips help your home to conserve energy this cold January. I’ll let you know when I figure out how to make your children shut the door every time they go outside. Until then call us, and we will send a licensed technician your way to help you stay warm while saving money this winter.
