Did you know that heating and cooling of homes is the largest energy expense in the average U.S. household? You probably spend nearly 50 percent of your household energy consumption on heating your home in the winter.
That’s why it’s really important to reduce the amount of money you spend on heating your home during the winter. Plus, it’s not only about saving money, but you can also cut your carbon emissions significantly by following our heating tips.
Keep reading for our nine home heating tips to keep your home warm and toasty during the winter. Let’s go!
1. Switch to Thick Curtains
In the winter, you can save a lot of energy by shutting your curtains when it’s dark outside.
During the daytime, you should definitely allow the sunlight to shine into your home. That’s free heat after all! But when the sun goes down, make sure you draw your curtains to add that extra layer of insulation to your home.
You can reduce heat loss by up to 17 percent by shutting your curtains at dusk.
2. Shift Your Couch
Do you enjoy having your couch in front on your radiator? But, did you realize that you could be wasting expensive energy which is being absorbed into your couch?
You’re blocking the heat from circulating around the whole home. That’s why it’s so important to move your couch away from the radiator.
The same applies to anything else you’ve placed in the way of the radiator. For example, clothes or curtains.
3. Improve Your Installation
You need to ensure your home is well-insulated. However, before you can do this, you need to know where you’re most likely to lose heat in your home.
Approximately, 25 percent of heat is lost through the attic or roof of your home. You can reduce this significantly by ensuring you have high-quality roof insulation installed.
After your roof, you also need to check whether your walls are also well-insulated or not. This is often more expensive to insulate, however, you receive the benefits of lower energy bills.
4. Block Leakages in Your Home
You can reduce your heat loss by up to 30 percent by blocking out any air leakages around your home. You need to especially check the windows and doors in your home. Have you sealed any of the gaps?
Ever wondered how to know if you have any leakages?
You need to wait until it’s windy outdoors, then place candles around your home. If you notice the wind has blown out the flame, that’s a sign that you need to caulk and weatherstrip the leaks.
5. Check Your Furnace
You need to regularly check your furnace.
Are your furnace filters clean? You may need to replace them before winter arrives. If you ignore this, the efficiency of your furnace is going to significantly decrease.
You may even require a replacement furnace to keep your home warm and cozy this Christmas.
By spotting these kinds of signs, you can determine when you’re due for furnace maintenance.
6. Put a Sweater on
If you want to save money on energy this winter, you can’t sit around in your underwear watching the television.
You don’t need your home to be really warm all the time. Especially when you’re busy around the home or out for the day at work.
You may be surprised to hear that a light and long-sleeved sweater can increase your body heat by up to 4 degrees. Moreover, if you put a big, heavy (and yes, ugly) sweater, you could add another 8 degrees to your body temperature.
You may not look your best in your big sweater, but your bank balance will thank you for the sacrifice. So turn down your thermostat and enjoy the warmth of a sweater.
7. Ask Your Energy Provider for a Discount
The energy companies are competing against each other for your business. As winter is about to arrive, the energy provider does not want to lose you as a customer.
That’s why it’s a great opportunity to ask for a discount rate on your heating bills. You may be able to receive a 10 percent discount over the winter period.
Alternatively, you can also ask whether there are other ways you can save money on your energy bills.
Some energy companies charge less if you make upfront payments rather than monthly. You may find you can money by paying online rather than via cash.
8. Close the Door!
Every household has somebody who always forgets to close the door when they walk into a room in the home. You need to trap the heat within the living room. Your heating system operates by circulating warm air around the room.
However, if you open up space, the heat is distributed around the entire home. This makes it harder to warm up the room.
You can save a lot of money by stopping the warm air escaping by shutting the door when you enter the room.
9. Install a Smart Meter
Almost half of the households in the U.S. have already got smart meters installed. Do you have one?
If you haven’t already installed a smart meter, you need to make sure you get one installed before winter arrives.
Evidence demonstrates that smart meters significantly reduce your energy bills. You can set the device to turn on and off your heating at particular times during the day. This prevents your home from getting too hot or too cold.
Even though the average smart meter costs around $50 to install, you can save around $180 annually.
Heating Tips and Other Winter Tips
Now you know how you can save money on your energy bills this winter. By following our heating tips, you can reduce your heating consumption significantly this year.
Do you want to find out more tips for this winter? Check out our blog on winter skin care tips you need to try.
