Brrr. It’s that time of year again. And the cold, crisp days of fall are only going to lead to the colder, crisper days of winter… and nights. While the temperatures drop outside, it’s possible to enjoy a nice temperate climate inside thanks to home heating systems which we no doubt have already turned on.
But perhaps you’re thinking of the monstrous heating bill you’ll have to pay in exchange for the luxury of warmth. Or, even though the heat is on high, you may be huddled in a blanket, trying to escape the chilly drafts in your home. Either way, checking to make sure your living space is energy efficient and that your heating system is running at optimum efficiency will save you money, keep you comfortably warm, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Six Simple Tips for Heating Your Home
1. Seal Up Drafts – Cold air can leak in and warm air can escape around windows and doors and even other openings in your home, such as electrical plugs or outlets. Whether you live in a house or apartment, use your hand to feel for cold drafts and then use caulking or weather stripping to make your home more energy efficient. Draft-proofing is very affordable and gives immediate payback on energy savings.
2. Set Your Thermostat – A programmable thermostat is relatively inexpensive and can be set to automatically adjust the temperature to save energy. Program it to lower the temperature by about five degrees each night while you sleep. When you are out, use it to lower the temperature while you’re away and to increase the heat just before you will arrive home, so you can still enjoy walking into a warm home after being out in the cold.
3. Insulate – If you own a home, check to make sure that it is insulated properly. Older homes will probably require upgrades in this area. If you can’t keep the heat within your home, you may be paying the equivalent of heating the entire block. It is especially important to make sure your ceilings are insulated well, as heat rises and escapes through the roof of your home. Since insulation is rated on its resistance to heat flow, a product with a higher R-value means it is more efficient.
4. Let The Sun In – Take advantage of the sun – a natural furnace that can help you heat your home, especially if you have south or west facing windows. Open blinds and let the sun in during the day, but keep the window shades closed at night to help insulate the window and prevent heat loss.
5. Be Space Conscious – A large home with many rooms and long hallways is more challenging to heat efficiently than a compact, smaller home. If you are not planning to move to a smaller space, try keeping doors closed on rooms you are not using to keep the heat in the area of highest usage in your home.
6. Maintain Your Heating System – A dirty furnace will not deliver as much air as a clean one. Keep your furnace clean, including replacing filters, and get it tuned up regularly to improve efficiency as well as helping it to last longer.
Besides following these simple tips for heating your home, installing a high efficiency furnace may cost you more at the outset, but the savings can really add up over time. Having an energy audit conducted for your home can point out areas where you are losing the most heat and can therefore help you decide on the most effective ways to improve its efficiency. Living in a climate that leans towards the cooler side of the thermometer requires that we ‘get smart’ about heating our homes so that we can reduce emissions while saving on heating costs at the same time.
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Item 3 Insulate YES!! But be aware of the products you use to insulate.
Many contain formaldahyde and carcinogens. Look to blue to save the green.
UltraTouch cotton insulation is a great product that you can install youself.
And it doesnt ITCH.
Great advice all around. As a company, we’d like to suggest an alternative to simply opening the shades of south-facing windows during the winter months as a primary or secondary heat source for the room(s). Working with the University of Minnesota, we have designed and are manufacturing and marketing passive solar heaters that masquerade as vertical window blinds.
Placement in south-facing windows allows the black, high heat-absorbing aluminum insert placed inside a hollow air flow chamber to heat up significantly. The result is natural convection. As cool air is drawn into the bottom of each vane it passes over the black, sun-heated insert and can increase entrance temperatures from 60 to 140 degrees upon exit at the rate of just under 2 meters per second. Preliminary results from testing at the U of MN shows a significant heating advantage by using our passive solar heaters v. open windows.
When the testing is complete you’ll be able to read the results on our site. SolarChoice Heaters are very strong supplemental heating source for home and/or office. We invite you to visit our web site. If you have any questions when you’re there please fill out a Contact Us message and it will come right to me. My name is David and I’m a principal of the company. Thanks.