6 Ways to Conserve Heat this Winter
As the weather gets colder and colder and the winter approaches, you’re most likely going to be spending your time indoors more and more often. This means that you’re likely going to want your furnace running more often, which will put more wear and tear on the appliance and use up more costly energy. However, if you follow certain steps toward conserving heat and energy within your home, you can take some of the pressure off your furnace while still keeping you and everyone in your home warm and cozy. Most of these ideas are relatively simple and only require a small investment of time or money but can go a long way towards improving your finances and quality of life.
1. Turn the Thermostat Down
When you’re able to lower your thermostat, even if only by a few degrees and for a few hours at a time, it can add up to significant amounts of energy being saved. It can also take quite a bit of pressure off of your heating system, allowing it to remain healthier and do a more effective job of warming up your home. The easiest way to go about this is to simply lower your thermostat by anywhere from 7 to 10 degrees each night when you go to sleep. You most likely won’t need the house to be as warm when you’re in bed under the covers, and this allows your furnace to get a significant break for roughly 8 hours every night. In addition to the break this gives your heating appliance, it can also save you as much as 10% on your energy bills annually.
2. Seal Up Any Leaks
For many households, one of the biggest deterrents to conserving energy is the presence of air leaks. Even the tiniest cracks and openings can be a significant source of air escaping, and because they allow warmth to escape and cold air to seep in, they can be a major problem for your home in the wintertime. When too many leaks exist in a home, the heating system is forced to compensate for the loss. This results not only in energy bills rising but also in the appliance accumulating unnecessary wear and tear. In most cases, these air leaks will occur in the spaces around the edges of windows, garage doors, and other doorways. Before the winter arrives, we advise doing a thorough inspection of your home to find any air leaks that are present. Once you’ve located them, it’s important that you seal each of them up thoroughly, regardless of their size. You can attempt to complete this task on your own, but if you aren’t knowledgeable or experienced with doing so, we recommend enlisting the assistance of local ventilation professionals.
3. Replace Your Furnace Air Filter
Your furnace’s air filter has a very important job. To protect the appliance from becoming clogged up, it catches the particles of things like dust, dirt, and loose debris, trapping them before they can find their way into the furnace. However, over time, especially during the winter when the appliance gets used more often, this filter can become clogged up. When this happens, the furnace suddenly needs to exert much more energy to pull air through the filter. This is not just bad for the furnace, but it also results in more expensive energy being used and less reliable heating of your home. At the very least, you should make a point to regularly clean your furnace’s air filter, but ideally, it should be replaced before it becomes too clogged. The fall is perhaps the best time to change out this filter, as it will allow your furnace to have a nice, clean filter during the cold months of the winter.
4. Use Your Curtains Strategically
Did you know that your curtains can actually play a significant role in conserving heat this winter? If you choose when to open and close them strategically, they can actually help you keep your home warm and take some of the pressure off your furnace. During the daytime, when the sun is out and shining, consider opening up all of the curtains throughout your household. The warmth from the sunlight will flood into the home, providing you with heat and giving you the opportunity to turn down your thermostat. When the curtains are closed, though, they can actually help to keep warmth trapped inside due to the fact that your windows and glass doors are actually a significant source of heat escaping. So, at night, make a point to close up all of your curtains. This will allow your home to stay warmer without needing to rely so much on your heating appliance.
5. Dress Warmer Indoors
Wearing more clothing indoors may be a fairly simple and obvious solution, but it can go a long way towards conserving heat in your home. When you have to crank up the thermostat constantly during the winter, it burns up energy and gradually shortens the lifespan of your heating system. Because of this, any way that you can find to stay warm without cranking up the furnace can be very beneficial. If you prefer, simply start by choosing one day each week to dress warmer. Even being able to rest a bit for that one day will add up to make a real difference for your furnace and energy bills. Over time, you may realize that you don’t mind dressing a bit warmer indoors and find yourself doing it more often.
6. Purchase a Humidifier
In addition to being much colder during the winter, you may have noticed that the air also tends to become much drier. However, what you may not realize, is that when the air in your home lacks moisture, it actually makes it feel significantly colder than it really is. This is due to the fact that oxygen needs moisture to effectively transfer heat around. A humidifier is a relatively inexpensive investment, and installing one will allow your home to feel warmer without actually needing to turn up the thermostat. Additionally, you will no longer need to suffer the negative effects of dry air, such as respiratory issues, itchy eyes, and dry skin.
Since 1948, we at C & C Heating & Air Conditioning have been proudly serving Macomb County, MI, and its surrounding areas. We specialize in respected brands such as Lennox and Trane, and we use our six decades of HVAC experience to provide consistently high-quality service. We put an emphasis on customer service, which is why we strive to always be as upfront and honest with our clients as possible. Our highly-trained, NATE-certified technicians undergo annual background checks, random drug testing, and extensive training in both technical and customer service. In addition to our heating and cooling work, we also offer our customers duct, water heater services, and indoor air quality solutions.
Make sure you only trust your important household needs to reliable, established professionals. Call us up at C & C Heating & Air Conditioning today, and schedule an appointment with one of our friendly experts.
