Home Heating Tips for Winter Warmth

12/9/2016 (Permalink)

Keep your home heated for less this winter Nashville!

It seems the temperature finally dropped for good this time, Nashville. So scarves, hats and long coats are officially acceptable items of clothing again. Our region may not see the single-digit numbers other areas plummet to, but that’s fine by us! As we touched on last week, extremely cold weather can present a unique set of problems. If you missed that post, then definitely use the link above and give it a read. We’ll continue our quest to keep you safe and warm this winter with some handy home heating tips directly from Energy.gov.

 A stat that maybe should not have surprised as much as it did, is that on average, heating your home typically accounts for as much as 42% of your utility bill. That’s incredible! However, having that knowledge as we head into the coldest season can help plan accordingly.

 A sweeping change you can make to immediately see a difference in your monthly bill and your home heating comfort is switching to an energy efficient furnace. This also saves the environment making it a win-win for everyone.

 We used a similar list last week, but here are the home heating tips directly from Energy.gov

• Set your programmable thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and lower the setpoint when you're sleeping or away from home.
• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as recommended.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Eliminate trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if unsure about how to perform this task, contact a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing. When replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
• During winter, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.

Also, consider having your air ducts checked for leaks. Poorly insulated air ducts can account for a huge portion of your heating bill if that energy is being wasted especially in unconditioned spaces. Talk to your heating maintenance company before attempting upgrades yourself. If your air ducts have not been checked or cleaned in a few months, consider giving us a call as well. We can make sure there is no debris impeding air flow but giving your air duct system a thorough sweeping clean!

 Winter is coming Nashville! Be prepared!