by Andrea K Eldert, Senior Mortgage Underwriter
Brrrrr…winter is back, bringing with it bitter cold temperatures as well as sky-high heating bills. There’s not much you can do to control the weather, but there are steps you can take to reduce your heating costs.
Keep equipment clean and functioning efficiently. Your furnace or heat pump has a tough job to do in the winter so it is important to make sure that it is working at full capacity. A heating professional should do an annual check to ensure that your heating equipment is running safely and efficiently. You can also check the filter on your heater and replace it every month to ensure that dust is not choking the efficiency of your unit. At some point, it may even be cost-effective to consider replacing older equipment with newer, more efficient appliances.
Keep the cold out. It is cold outside – nobody has to tell you that! Being diligent to keep that cold outside and not inside your house can really make a difference. Any openings are potential places for the cold temperatures to sneak into your home. Doors should fit tight. If you can see light through the cracks when your door is closed, then cold air is getting into your house. Raise your door thresholds so that the door is flush against the threshold, and install weather-stripping around door frames to keep the cold air where it belongs – on the outside!
Heat only when and where you need it. Why heat your whole house if you live mostly in one room? In cases where your awaking hours are spent mostly in a single room, it is often advantageous to turn the thermostat down and use a space heater to heat that one room. Or why heat your house all day if you are only there for a few hours in the evening? Turning your heat down while you are gone or even while you are sleeping can really affect the bottom line of your heating bill. Just decreasing the set temperature by one degree can make a difference. Throw an extra blanket on the bed and you’ll never notice! A programmable thermostat can be a great investment because it allows you to automate the set temperature of your house based on your habits and preferences. Set it once and then you don’t have to think about it.
Here in central Illinois, we will be at mercy of winter for the next couple of months. But it is good to know that there are some little things we can do to keep the heating bill from getting the best of us!
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