7 Guaranteed Ways to Save on Energy This Fall and Winter

Sarah Home, Lifestyle

Reducing your energy use in your home has numerous benefits: not only is it good for the environment, it can keep your wallet significantly heavier. Utilities are among the biggest expenses in any household, right there with the rent and grocery costs.

Fall and winter are when our utilities skyrocket, due to the tremendous amounts of energy needed to heat our apartment up, especially in areas where the temperatures shift drastically. However, with a few slight adjustments, you can do a lot to minimize your expenses this fall and winter.

Here are a couple of tried and true tips to reduce your energy costs in the coming seasons.

Keep Your Furnace Well Maintained

First and foremost: your heating system has to be well-maintained in order to be as efficient as possible. Therefore, it’s important to schedule a routine maintenance appointment with a reputable company like Action AC.

Technicians will inspect if all the components of the furnace are in working order and perform a few routine touch-ups such as replacing the filters. A well-tuned furnace will operate much more effectively and therefore use less power, saving you a lot of money during the coming seasons.

You can also upgrade your electric furnace to an oil or gas furnace since these fuels can be a lot cheaper than electricity bills during winters. To install the new furnace, you can look for a professional by consulting a local HVAC company or searching for one online with the help of key phrases like Carrier furnace services, for instance. Moreover, switching to green energy appliances can make your house a little more sustainable.

Use the Sun As Much as You Can

We sometimes tend to neglect the tremendous heating power of the sun. Especially during the fall, when there are still a few sunny days left, make sure to use the sun’s natural heat to keep your home warm as much as you can. Open your curtains and blinders wide during the day to invite the sun’s heat in, then close them once it goes down to keep the heat inside. Also, to enjoy exclusive sun time along with other things you love, you can build an installation similar to Edmonton sunrooms. You can enjoy your favorite song, or movie, or even spend time doing something you love the most while basking in the glory of the rays.

Use the Ceiling Fan to Keep the Hot Air In

Energy-efficient homes are easier to keep warm during the coming months. Ceiling fans can help you keep the hot air inside your home if you set them to rotate clockwise. Turn the fan on a low setting and it will push the hot air down, keeping your home warm longer.

Stay Warm with Clothes

The easiest way to keep warm during the winter and save on heating is using warm clothes like sweaters and winter socks. Invest in a couple of warm blankets with sleeves so you can stay warm while watching TV or playing games with your family. Add a rug to keep the floor warmer and use warm beddings.

Adjust the Thermostat When You’re Asleep

The US Department of Energy advises that keeping your thermostat down by as much as 15 degrees can help you save approximately 10% on the energy bill this winter. Instead of relying on your heating system, invest in warm comforters and flannel sheets to keep your bed warm and dial down the thermostat at night.

Heat Only the Rooms You Use

There’s no point in keeping the attic or the guest bedroom warm if nobody spends any time there. Seal off the vents in these rooms to prevent the heat from reaching them. To be honest, if you stop using your furnace unnecessarily, you may only need to consider purchasing the amount of heating oil required (from the likes of https://barnespetroleumproducts.com/) to run the furnace for your main rooms. This means that you will not overspend money.

Insulate Your Home

Homeowners lose hundreds and even thousands of dollars on their energy bills simply to poor insulation. Bad insulation means the air you heat up will constantly escape your home and cause tremendous losses. Therefore, investing in good insulation is the smartest financial decision in the long run.

Cover up the leaks and areas where the heat might be escaping. Start with your doors and windows and work your way up towards the roof to determine the critical points where the hot air might be escaping.