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As the cold winter weather settles into Tennessee, homeowners are worried about their upcoming heating costs. It may feel like there’s nothing you can do about it except just pay that expensive bill. However, there are multiple steps you can take to greatly reduce your wintertime heating bills.
Use a Smart Thermostat
One of the most effective things you can do to reduce your heating bills in December is to use a smart thermostat. These thermostats come with a lot of different features that will allow you to better optimize your system usage while reducing energy waste. For example, many of these smart thermostats come with geofencing technology. This technology will use the location of your smartphone to adjust your thermostat based on where you are.
Whenever you leave your home, the thermostat can decrease the temperature so that your heating system doesn’t run as often when you’re not there. However, it will automatically increase the temperature before you arrive home so that your home is still comfortable when you get there. This is just one of a number of different features you can use to maximize your system’s efficiency.
Get HVAC Maintenance
One highly recommended tip is getting HVAC maintenance. Having one of our professionals come out and service your heating system will help ensure that it’s operating as efficiently as possible. An efficient heating system is the key to lower utility bills throughout the winter months. Additionally, routine heater maintenance also reduces your risk of experiencing a major malfunction.
Change Air Filters Often
While many people are familiar with professional maintenance, you also don’t want to forget about homeowner maintenance. One of the most important maintenance tasks that you can do is to routinely change your system’s air filter. Whenever the air filter gets dirty, it affects the flow of air throughout your ducting. It can noticeably reduce the efficiency of your heating system and increase your energy bills because it will need to work harder to do its job. We suggest checking your filter every month and changing it whenever necessary.
Seal Air Leaks
One of the biggest contributors to high energy costs in the winter is air leaks. These can develop around door and window frames on your exterior walls. They allow that cold outside air to penetrate your home and interfere with comfort. This causes your heating system to run overtime to get your home back up to your desired temperature setting. It’s best to eliminate this problem altogether by sealing up any new air leaks that you find on the exterior walls of your home. You can seal these leaks with different solutions like weatherstripping or even caulking.
Capture Natural Sunlight
One thing you may not even think about is harnessing the power of free heat to warm your home. Natural sunlight is very warm and can raise your interior temperature when it’s allowed to penetrate your windows. We suggest opening blinds and curtains during the daytime hours to allow that natural sunlight into your home. The more free sunlight you let in, the less your heating system has to run to keep your home comfortable.
Use Ceiling Fans
One secret weapon to enhance your comfort in December while lowering your utility bills is the ceiling fan. We recommend putting a ceiling fan in all the major rooms of your home, like your living room, kitchen, and even your bedroom. It’s best to run your fan at low speed in a clockwise direction so that it gently pulls air upward. This creates an updraft that moves warm air trapped near the ceiling down along the walls and back into the lower portion of the room. By recirculating this warm air, you can stay comfortable while reducing the temperature on your thermostat.
Upgrade Your Heating System
One factor that can play a huge role in the overall cost of heating your home is your heating system. If your heating system is currently over 15 years old, it’s likely that it’s not very efficient. In fact, HVAC equipment produced today is much more efficient than what was produced 15 years ago. You even have the option of purchasing high-efficiency systems that can further increase your energy savings throughout the winter.
Get a Whole-Home Humidifier
Another great way to increase your comfort while reducing the runtime of your heater is with a whole-home humidification system. This integrates seamlessly with your existing heater and will run based on the settings of your thermostat’s humidity controls. It’s best to set the indoor humidity between 30 and 50%. Whenever the indoor humidity drops below your desired setting, your whole-home humidification system will activate as needed. By introducing more moisture in the air, it will feel warmer because heat lingers for longer in humid air compared to dry air.
Consider Duct Sealing
If your heating system uses ducting to deliver heat throughout your home, you could be losing some of that heat due to leaks in your ductwork. Anywhere that a leak develops over time due to the natural expansion and contraction of the metal material, hot air can seep out.
This means only some of the heat that your heating system produces actually makes it to your rooms. The best way to regain that heat and eliminate air loss is with professional duct sealing service. This can be performed using high-quality mastic sealing techniques or through advanced technologies like Aeroseal that create an airtight seal inside the ductwork.
Consider Zoning Technology
If you live in a home where you’re constantly experiencing cold spots, it may be worth considering investing in zoning technology. For example, let’s say that you have a two-story home, and the upstairs is always warmer than the downstairs. This is the natural process of heat rising to that second story. Unfortunately, with a single-zone heating system, the hot air your heating system produces is delivered to both stories of your home. This can leave the upstairs feeling overly warm and the downstairs just being comfortable.
When you invest in a zoned heating system, you get the ability to create different zones that can have their own temperature setting. In this example, you can have one zone for the upstairs and one zone for the downstairs. As heat naturally rises and warms your upstairs, your downstairs may cool off. The thermostat for your lower story will read the lower temperature and turn your heating system on.
The zone dampers will shut for the upstairs because the thermostat upstairs is reading that the temperature is where you want it. The heat your heating system produces only gets delivered to your downstairs level. This means your heating system can run less often because it’s only producing enough heat to warm the space that you need.
Get a Home Energy Audit
Another great tip for lowering your wintertime energy bills is to get a home energy audit. This is where a professional comes out and examines your entire home to identify areas of energy loss. An energy audit can provide you with the necessary information about where you’re losing energy so that you can make an effective plan for reducing or completely eliminating that loss.
Reliable Heating Maintenance Service
A/C Plus Heating & Cooling offers reliable heating maintenance service for the Murfreesboro, TN area. We can also assist with all your home heating repairs, installation, and replacement needs. Just phone our office today to book your next appointment with one of our friendly heating technicians.
