Energy-Conscious Home Heating Guide

Whether you want to save money on home heating or you just want to make a smaller carbon footprint, reducing the energy you use is quite easy and yet so many people don’t do it! If you want a way to save money on heating costs and make the earth a better place, here are a few tips to consider below.

Use the Sun to Your Advantage

Even in the cooler months the sun still comes out at least an hour a day so use it to your advantage – this is FREE heat! Open the blinds and drapes when the sun is out to allow the room to fill with natural warmth. Then once the sun disappears or goes down, close the drapes. Better yet, use blackout curtains that help to insulate the room – this will keep the warmth from the sun inside even longer.

Blackout curtains have a thick fabric backing on them, which can be used in one of two ways:

The fabric can be used to keep the cold air out.
The fabric can also be used to keep the light out – great for media rooms, living rooms, baby rooms, bedrooms, etc. The sun in conjunction with the blackout curtains is a natural home heating option.

Bundle Up

Obviously when its warmer out you probably walk around the house in short sleeve shirts and shorts/ But, in the winter and colder months a different getup might be necessary. Instead of blasting the heat, put on some warm comfy socks, a sweatshirt, and sweatpants.

Close The Flue

Sure, using a fireplace is beneficial, but something a lot of people forget to do is close the flue when not in use. As soon as the fire goes out make sure you close the flue so that the warm air – either from the fireplace or the heating system, stays inside the house instead of going right out the chimney. This will also keep the colder air from coming inside the house.

Adjusting the Thermostat

Not only is it a good idea to adjust the thermostat when you sleep, but also when you leave the house. If no one is home, you really don’t need the heat going anyway. Another thing to think about is installing thermostats which you can schedule. So for instance if you wake up at 7:00 a.m. you can set the thermostat to raise the temperature at 6:30 so it’s nice and toasty when you wake up.

On the other hand, if you leave it off during the day while you are at work, you can schedule it to turn on when you come home. There are also wireless thermostats which let you control the heating and the air conditioning for certain emergencies. For example, say you are at work and you have the heater off, but you need to leave the city for a day to go on an unexpected trip. These wireless systems are super convenient!

Replace Your Furnace for an Energy-Efficient One

This one goes without saying, but if you love waking up toasty, wearing tank tops inside, and aren’t that technology-savvy, you may benefit from a furnace replacement. Modern furnace can cut your energy bills significantly because they are more energy-efficient.