Your Winter Heating Bills: What You Do Now Will Make a Difference Later

Yes, we realize that you’re still enjoying the fall weather. But it’s never too early to begin thinking about winter heating bills that cost homeowners so much money every year. Instead of waiting around, it’s time to be proactive and follow these simple tasks that will help you save both energy and money:

• Install a programmable thermostat – With a programmable thermostat, you can set the specific times that your heating equipment will run. Among other things, this will avoid heating an empty house for the residents’ comfort while they’re away at work or school, or arriving home to a cold house. The temperatures can be programmed to save energy during these periods, and then return to a comfort level shortly before you arrive home.
• Improve your sealing – Air leaks in your home can account for a good portion of energy usage. Check for cracks and openings around your doors, windows, light switches, outlets, utility lines, etc. and get them sealed right away.
• Get a furnace tune-up – This should be done by a licensed professional once a year to ensure that your furnace is operating at peak efficiency.
• Check your furnace filter – To keep your furnace working more efficiently, it’s important that your filter is clean. Check it periodically and once it becomes dirty, get it replaced.
• Expose south-facing windows – If you have south-facing windows, open up the blinds or curtains to let the sunlight in. This can warm up the area by a few degrees. Close them as evening falls to add a layer of insulation.

If you’d like further assistance with curtailing the costs of your winter heating bills, or have other home comfort concerns, don’t hesitate to contact the heating and cooling experts at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning Co. We’ve been serving the Twin Cities Metro Area since 1974.

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, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock