Do you know that heating your home contributes to almost 48% of your monthly utility bill? Add to it the money you spend on heating system repairs, maintenance and buying those extra blankets. Add to it the money you spend on medical expenses just because your house wasn’t warm enough during that snow storm and you caught a cold. That’s a lot of money.
And a large part of it could be saved if only you did your homework. If only, you take out few minutes from your very busy schedule to learn about some secrets of getting the most out of your heating system. You can enhance the efficiency of your heating system and save money on your home heating bills.
If you think it is time to be wise and save up some money and effort, read our heating system tips.
1. Increase in thermostat doesn’t cause faster heating
You just entered your house and finally took a sigh of relief for you won’t have to face the wrath of winter anymore. You can quickly turn up the heat and enjoy your coffee in a hot corner of your house. What would you do for this?
Most of the homeowners turn up their thermostat to rush this thing and to be able to heat up their home quickly. But it just doesn’t work that way. Your heating system isn’t designed to rush up the heating. The furnace will work at the same pace and would take its time to heat up your home.
Then what did rise in thermostat do? Well, it would make sure your house gets heated up to the set temperature, and you start feeling too hot in there and turn down the thermostat. Don’t forget the extra energy you wasted in this process.
Now that you know what happens when you increase the thermostat learn your lesson and have some patience.
2. Closing the vents in unused rooms won’t save you energy
If you’re thinking of saving some money on your home heating bills, closing a room or blocking the vent of the unused area won’t help. In fact, closing the vents would increase the air pressure in the ductwork and thus, cause more stress to your heating system. That would lead to more consumption of energy.
3. Change the air filter regularly
Now that you know about two things that won’t save you any money and bring you better results let us talk about something that does that.
If you change the air filters regularly or just keep them clean and dust free, the furnace can work with better efficiency. There would be no blockage, and your house will get heated up quickly. This would reduce the effort the furnace has to make to bring the temperature to the set thermostat level and therefore, save you some bucks.
4. Follow the tips to save money on home heating bills
If your purpose to read an article about heating system tips is to save money on your home heating bills, we have written a detailed post on everything you must know. Read it here.
5. Schedule for regular maintenance
Maintenance is the often ignored but important thing to maintain the efficiency of a machine. Be it your furnace, air conditioner or any other appliance in your home, they would work well only if you maintain them well.
If you haven’t called for regular furnace maintenance or heating ac repair or system maintenance yet, do it immediately. You can use Same Day Pros to locate service professionals in your area.
6. Understand when you need to change your furnace
Electronic appliances lose their efficiency after a certain period and to be able to save money in the long run; it is advisable to replace them after they’re past that period. Here are some signs that can help you understand when it’s time to change your furnace.
Are some rooms in your house warmer than others? This could be due to uneven heat distribution. The cause behind this might be a minor fault in the ducts or some serious issue with the heating system.
- If your furnace is more than 15 years old, you must go for furnace replacement without giving it any second thoughts.
- If the heating system is producing weird noise, it might be an indicator that the system is too small for your house and needs to be changed.
- If your winter energy bills have increased exponentially since a couple of years, the problem could be your old inefficient heating system.
7. Home central heating vs. gas fireplace
Though some factors can affect this debate of having a home central heating or individual heaters for different rooms, here are some of the key derivations.
- Go for a central heating system if you have a small house or house high ceilings or open-plan layout in your house.
- Go for a gas fireplace if your house is large and you only need to heat up a couple of rooms.
- Central heating system is better from safety and health point of view. Stepping into a cold bathroom from a warm bedroom can affect your health, especially if you’re old or have a too weak immune system.
Being a proactive homeowner is crucial. Make sure you keep all these heating system tips in your mind, and you will be able to face the winter in a much better way.
Let us know if you think these tips would be helpful to you. Share this with your friends and family.