Five Sneaky Ways to Cut Your Home Heating Bills

In areas where the winter gets extremely cold and lengthy, heating bills can get extremely expensive. Instead of reducing the temperature in your home, look into ways to increase efficiency in order to reduce heating bills. Here is a look at five sneaky ways to cut your home heating bills.

Add or Replace Worn-Out Weather-Stripping:

If the weather-stripping on your doors and windows is no longer efficiently limiting outside air, look into replacing it immediately. Studies show that around ten percent of the heat loss in a home happens through windows and doors. Instead of fixing these issues, most homeowners turn up their thermostat and use more heat, resulting in higher bills. It is best to replace the weather-stripping every four or five years. If you have never added weather-stripping to your doors or windows, it is important to get it done before the next winter arrives!

Eliminate Electrical Box Drafts:

This is not the most obvious source of problems, but electrical boxes contained in exterior walls often result in a lot of cold air coming into the room. Remove the screws and the cover plates, then add acrylic latex caulk or foam sealant to deal with smaller or larger gaps. Use a foam gasket to cover the outlet, ensuring complete protection against colder outside air.

Repair Furnaces:

If you have a furnace in your main living room, it is possible that it is not operating at optimal efficiency. Furnaces that are not professionally cleaned and repaired every few years end up using a lot more energy than necessary, which leads to much higher bills. Contacting a professional for furnace repair in Boulder CO is the best way to ensure your furnace is in the ideal operating condition. Repaired furnaces that have a high efficiency rating lead to cleaner burning, fewer emissions and far lower gas usage. These professional repairs often include inspection of the fireplace, ensuring it is still safe to operate. They also catch any potential for gas or carbon monoxide leaks.

Install a Programmable Thermostat:

This may result in higher up-front costs, but programmable thermostats save a lot of money in the long run. Instead of manually turning the heat on and off whenever you are uncomfortable, set it at an appropriate temperature and let the thermostat take care of the rest. With a thermostat, it is also possible to lower the temperature at night, when everyone is sleeping. Since most people sleep with warm blankets in the winter, it is not necessary to keep the home at such a warm temperature during those hours.

Cover Windows or Transparent Doors with Plastic:

Windows are the biggest culprits of heat inefficiency in a house. Around 25 percent of heat loss occurs from this source. Clear plastic film is a great way to cover your windows and ensure that they do not allow as much cold air from the outside. Plastic film does not cost much money, and it is very easy to apply. When the weather warms up, remove the film and save it for reuse.