Heating Tips

No matter what type you have, your heating system is an incredibly important part of your home. It ensures that you and your family will stay warm and safe through all those chilly winter days and nights, and so you want to have confidence that it will continue to work well whenever you need it. However, you don’t want to be paying an arm and a leg for this level of comfort either. And by utilizing some of the following heating tips, you won’t have to.

Tightly Sealed Homes are More Energy Efficient

One of the first and best things to do when you’re trying to reduce your home heating bill is to seal up any leaky or drafty spots in your home. Make sure all insulation is in place and close any storm doors or windows tight. After all, you don’t want to be paying to heat the whole neighborhood. If you let that warm air escape or let more cool air in, your heating system will have to work overtime to keep the indoor temperature up.

Since you don’t open your windows in the winter, you can even give yourself better insulation against the cold by putting up plastic over them. Covering windows, and even doors you don’t use, with plastic provides an extra layer of protection against cold drafts coming in and keeps the heated air where you want it.

Maintain Proper Humidity

While it’s probably not something you think about much, the humidity level in your home is an important factor that contributes to the overall indoor comfort level. If it’s too dry, as often happens in the winter, the air won’t hold the heat as well as it would if the humidity way properly regulated. Air that’s too dry can cause your skin to dry out and can even damage wood furniture and fixtures.

In order to remedy this situation, investing in a humidification system is really the best option. Once the humidity level in your home is properly regulated, you will be able to turn the thermostat down a few degrees without sacrificing comfort. Even turning the thermostat down a couple of degrees will make a big difference in terms of the size of your heating bill each month.

Benefits of Programmable Thermostats

Another way to save significant amounts on your heating bill is to invest in a programmable thermostat. After all, you don’t need to keep your house at the same temperature all day long even when no one is even there. You do want to come home to a warm home.

A programmable thermostat can help you achieve this goal. Simply set the heat to come on shortly before you’re due to arrive home or before you get up in the morning and you’ll be able to enjoy a cozy house without heating it unnecessarily.

Regular Heating Maintenance

You can also help keep the efficiency of your home heating system high by keeping up with a regular maintenance schedule. This includes a few simple monthly tasks you can take on yourself as well as an annual visit by professional heating technicians.

On a monthly basis, you can take some basic steps like cleaning out vents and changing filters. This helps to keep dust and other contaminants from getting into your heating system and gumming it up and it also cuts down on the number of airborne contaminants circulating through your home.

When they come out for their annual visit, home heating technicians will complete a thorough inspection of your system and clean some of the areas that you can’t reach on your own. With this type of service, your heating system will be able to maintain peak efficiency and should continue to work well for you for many years to come.