Money Saving Heating & Furnace Tips
Sky-high energy bills, diminishing resources and a healthy concern for our environment have brought a great deal of attention to the topic of home energy efficiency in recent years. Homeowners everywhere are struggling to spend less, use less and pollute less without giving up the warmth and comfort they’ve grown to cherish. So here are a few tips for conserving energy during the winter months.
- Make certain you set your thermostat to a level you are comfortable with. We recommend setting your thermostat from 68 to 70 degrees. Once you have the thermostat set and you are content with the comfort level we also recommend that you leave it there. It takes less energy to heat air 3-4 degrees than it does to heat air 6-8 degrees. This will also help save on your heating bills. Washington DC winters can be cold so set that thermostat and leave it to save money!
- We recommend that you make certain, you clean or replace filters on furnace once a month.
- Make certain that any clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators; are not being blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes. In other words try to maintain your vents ability to flow warm air freely.
- You should consider placing heat-resistant radiator reflectors between any exterior walls and the radiators.
- Although fans may help you save money in on your air conditioning bill in the spring and summer, we recommend that you use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. These fans can pull out a houseful of warmed in no time. Make certain that you turn them off as soon as they have done their job.
- Consider keeping draperies or shades open on the south of your home and facing windows during the winter or cold months to allow sunlight to enter your home. You should also close them at night to reduce the cold.
- Make certain that you purchase energy-efficient equipment if you are replacing any of the appliances or the furnaces in your home. Magnolia technicians are trained on repair, maintenance and installation of all major energy efficient brands and are also an authorized re-seller of most major well known brands.
- So that you don’t waste your hard earned money you should always before calling a Magnolia Technician check these three items to make certain you need a technician:
Make certain you check your thermostat to verify that it is set for “heating”.
Go to your breaker box and make certain that the breaker is on.
You’ll want to check your furnaces switch to make certain that your gas is on.
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Heating your home efficiently
These tips will help you lower your home’s energy use, which will save you money and help protect the environment, while you continue to stay warm this winter.
Save power
Reduce your hot water consumption by up to 50 per cent by using low-flow aerated showerheads, and save 15 per cent off your monthly power bill. The air added to the water keeps the water pressure strong while saving you hot water and money
Save the environment
Recycle your heating appliances
Things you can do
Open curtains and blinds during the day to let heat in, and close them at night to help keep the heat inside your home
Vacuum baseboard heaters at least twice a year to prevent dust from building up, so heat can more easily move through your house
Space heaters
A space heater used 8 hours a day can cost over $21 a month to operate, making it one of the worst winter power culprits
Turn off your space heater when you leave the room or go to bed at night
Furnaces
Clean your furnace filter regularly and make sure your chimney and outdoor vents are not blocked
Have a trained professional inspect your furnace in the fall every year to make sure it is working efficiently. If your furnace is taken care of, it will be safer, use less electricity and cost less to operate
If your furnace has a continuous pilot light, shut off the pilot light for the summer and have a technician relight it in the fall during your annual inspection. An inspection costs around $100, but could more than pay for itself in power savings if your furnace isn’t running properly
Thermostats (natural gas tips)
Set your thermostat lower in the winter
Install a programmable thermostat that you can set to automatically lower the temperature when you normally leave the house or go to bed. You can also set it to automatically raise the temperature shortly before you get up in the morning
By simply lowering your thermostat by 2 degrees for eight hours every night, in the winter, you’ll save approximately 4 per cent on your heating bill
Install an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat away from natural cool and hot spots in your home. They provide more flexibility than standard models and perform one or more of the following functions: Save and repeat multiple daily settings, which you can change when needed without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program; store four or more temperature settings a day; and adjust heating or air conditioning turn-on times as the outside temperature changes
Water heaters
Your water heater is one of the biggest energy users in your home, second only to the furnace
Make sure your water heater is insulated properly
Taking long hot showers is an expensive way to warm up. Consider taking short showers instead
If you’re keeping an older hot water appliance, insulate the heater and the first metre of piping. The insulation pays for itself by preventing energy being wasted into thin air
Lower the thermostat to 55 degrees to save energy. Make sure it is at 55 degrees and not any lower, as this would risk the growth of disease-carrying bacteria such as legionella. Some older dishwashers need to have the water at 60 degrees in order to work properly. If your dishwasher doesn’t have an element to boost the temperature, you may have to set the thermostat at 60 degrees
Hot tubs
Turn your hot tub thermostat down if you won’t be using it for a week or more. It costs less to re-heat your water than to always keep it hot
Make sure your hot tub cover fits properly and is in good condition. Keep your hot tub covered as much as possible. Adding a floating thermal blanket under the cover will help retain even more heat
Put your hot tub in a sheltered area to prevent wind from cooling the water down.
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Heating Tips
Here are some low- and no-cost ideas of things you can do to reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat your house.
- Make sure heat vents and return air vents aren’t covered.
- Change your fiber furnace filter twice a year and clean it monthly during the heating season.
- Set the thermostat at a maximum of 68 degrees.
- Set back the thermostat a maximum of 10 degrees at night, unless you have a heat pump or cable heat. Save up to three percent on heating costs for every degree your thermostat is lowered.
- Consider installing an automatic setback thermostat for your furnace.
If you have zonal heating (thermostats in each room) you can turn down the heat to 50 or 55 degrees and close doors. - If you suspect your thermostat is not accurate, place a thermometer nearby and see if they record the same number.
- Don’t use the oven to heat your kitchen.
- Weatherstrip and caulk around all doors and windows.
- Keep dampers closed when fireplace isn’t in use. Unblocked, a good chimney can draw up to 20 percent of the warm air out of the house each hour.
- In cold weather, keep drapes and shades open on sunny days and close them at night.
- Repair broken or cracked glass and putty older windows; check to see that windows close properly and window locks pull sashes together.
- Make sure doors close properly; repair or replace non-working doorknobs, latches and striker plates.
- Caulk foundation cracks and openings. Make sure kitchen and bathroom vent dampers close properly.
- Install automatic setback thermostats that adjust the heat to your schedule.
- Routinely have a professional contractor perform a pre-season check-up. Having your air conditioner inspected and tuned can save you money on costs and prevent premature breakdown.
- Schedule your tune-ups early in the spring. You’ll have more scheduling flexibility, and you will be less likely to experience problems during warmer weather.
- Clean your drain lines: The hoses connected to your furnace can develop “build up” inside them over time. If it gets bad enough, water can back up into the furnace and cause damage.
- Change the batteries in your digital thermostat annually: People forget that their digital thermostat has batteries in it. If you get in the habit of changing the batteries annually, you can eliminate a no-heat situation.
For more Heating Tips visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com or call 647 833-8116
