How Do I Conserve Heat During the Winter?
Little else is as essential to your home on a freezing winter night as heating. But, keeping your household warm and cozy during those long winter months can be costly.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, costs tend to skyrocket for many families during this time. It’s because consumption goes up by more than 200 kWh.
With that in mind, the best course of action is finding ways to conserve heating to lower your bills. There are many steps you can take, which are explained in detail below. Each requires implementation before and during winter for the best results.
1. Double Up on Insulation
Did you know that about 30% of your house’s heat gets lost due to poor insulation? Your walls, roof, and ducts are capable of siphoning most of the heat from inside. The result is more heating, which increases your energy consumption.
Therefore, doubling up on insulation makes sure you lose as little heat as possible. One way to accomplish this is by installing insulation materials all over your residence.
Consult a professional to ensure the job gets done correctly, and you won’t need to crank up the heat throughout the winter. Though the initial installation might be costly, the long-term benefits will be worth it.
2. Get Timers and Sensors for Systems
Running your heating system throughout the day is expensive. It would be best if you found ways to conserve the heat inside and reduce the time the system is on. A great way to do this is to get a new unit with a timer or upgrade the one you have.
Having a timer works better to conserve energy in your house and lower utility bills. For example, when you set the central system’s timer well, it can activate 30 minutes before you get home. Once you arrive, your residence will be toasty, and the system will shut off.
Also, you can activate a sleep mode sensor that will detect when your residence is getting chilly again, and the unit will turn back on. That way, the system is only active when needed.
3. Wear Warm Clothes
Want to save on energy bills that tend to skyrocket during the long winter months? Well, it’s time to wear more clothes indoors. Winter clothes are ideally made to keep you warm, which means you won’t need to crank up your house’s heat. However, you need to check when you’re most warm because it depends on your body’s tolerance levels to the cold.
Additionally, you can opt to wrap yourself with a warm blanket as you watch TV. Also, add one or two more warm blankets to your bed.
4. Have Smaller Winter Lounges
When you’re building a home in a winter-prone environment, add a smaller, cozier winter lounge as part of the plan. It’s where you and your family can spend evenings eating supper and relaxing after a long day.
The good news is that the small room is set up to use less heat to remain warm and retain most of it for some time. So, you end up with one airy and more expansive summer living room and a smaller one for winter that takes less energy to heat.
5. Annual Heating System Checkup
When was the last time you had a professional come in to check your heating system before turning it on? It’s about time you made this an annual affair since it saves you on costs. Winter lasts for several months, so it’s best to have an efficient heating system at hand.
Besides, it will typically cost less than $150 to have a professional come in the fall and make repairs before the winter. Not only does this save on energy bills, but it also ensures the unit is safe to use. When it’s running at its best, you can enjoy the heat and be safe.
6. Reverse Running Ceiling Fans
Ever wondered what other use ceiling fans could have when summer comes to an end? By running them in reverse, you can ensure your house remains toasty.
Hot air is light and tends to rise to the ceiling of your home. When you have ceiling fans running in reverse, they push it back down, meaning you won’t need to turn up the heat. It’s a neat trick that minimizes the amount of energy you need to heat your residence during the winter.
This process is pretty straightforward. Check the reversal switch present in many modern fans and turn it on. After that, slow the speed of the fan and enjoy your warm home.
7. Shut the Fireplace Damper
Only about 36% of the homes built in the 1970s in the U.S. have a fireplace that’s functioning today. Most modern houses omit to have one, while people who own older ones opt to seal the damper.
Still, if you have a fireplace damper in your home and don’t want to use it during winter, find a way to shut it off. Dampers are responsible for siphoning most of the heat from your property. Sealing the damper ensures you won’t keep cranking up the heat to remain warm.
8. Check for Drafts
Nothing disrupts your comfort during winters like drafts on frigid days and nights. Drafts are responsible for driving up winter heating bills by up to 20% per annum. Therefore, you must locate where the draft is coming from and seal it off immediately.
For instance, many houses have windows that are perfect for summer, but they can be a nightmare in winter due to cold air slipping through all day. If this is the case, start sealing off such places in your home during the fall to prevent heat loss during the winter months.
But wait, there’s more. You can opt to weatherstrip your house before winter at a small cost and end up saving more on energy bills for years to come.
9. Rearrange the Furniture
Winter calls for coziness, which you can achieve by moving furniture closer together. It makes it easier to conserve heat and also avoids blocking any radiators. By moving all the furniture away from sources of heat, you’ll allow more hot air to enter the room.
Instead of having furniture face in all different directions, you can arrange them nicely in front of radiators and enjoy all the warmth. However, ensure the pieces of furniture are a few feet away from the vents and radiators to avoid a fire hazard.
10. Call an Energy Auditor
Is your home using up too much heat during winter, resulting in growing energy bills annually? If so, it’s time for a full-scale energy audit of your house.
Energy audits are crucial, and pricing depends on the size of your property. It can cost you $100 to $2,000 for the audit, but in the end, you’ll have learned a lot. Once it’s complete, the auditor will recommend steps to take that ensure your residence uses less energy to heat up.
Wrapping Up
Heating your home during winter doesn’t have to be costly if you take measures to conserve the heat. The above tips are straightforward and easy to implement in each house and have long-term benefits, especially in lowering energy costs.
You can talk to our professionals at [company name] for any energy-related service such as energy audits and weather stripping. We understand our customers’ need to keep energy costs down while enjoying ample warmth during winter in their homes.
We’re also specialists in AC installations, repairs, and servicing, plumbing services, and heating services. If your energy bills keep going up in your Kansas City, MO, home because of inefficient heating, contact us today to get to the bottom of it.
