With the cold temperatures that grip the Twin Cities during the winter, your home should be a warm place to escape the chill. Unfortunately, the heat has a variety of ways to seep out of your home, causing your home to get chilly and your utility bills to rise. Here are several solutions for staying warm this winter and reducing energy loss around your home:
- Turn down your thermostat. Did you know that your gas bill can be reduced by 3 percent for each degree that you lower your heating system? Find an energy-saving temperature that you and your family can live with.
- Take advantage of a programmable thermostat; you can regulate the temperature of your home automatically with pre-programmed settings to minimize energy loss.
- Keep the flue closed when you’re not using your fireplace. While a fire can create a cozy environment during the winter, it can also waste energy. For this reason, consider limiting the number of fires you have.
- Convert your ceiling fans to run clockwise at the lowest speed to evenly distribute heat throughout your home. Just don’t forget to switch them back when the weather warms up.
- To maximize the amount of heat coming into your home, keep furniture away from vents, registers and radiators.
- Utilize a door sweep to prevent unwanted drafts of cold air from entering your home.
- Adjust your water heater by lowering its temperature from 140 to 120 degrees. Also, while it may be tempting to take a warm bath, a hot shower will use less water and less energy.
- Make sure to regularly change your air filter as it can reduce energy usage up to 5 percent and improve the air quality in your home.
- Keep window drapes open during the day to allow natural sunlight to heat your home, and close them during the evening to preserve heat.
For more energy saving tips, the experts at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning are here to help. Please contact us to learn about more ways that you can reduce energy loss around your home.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Reducing Energy Loss and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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