How to Stay Warm for Less
Posted By :Ben Williams
Posted At : Wednesday, Nov 03, 2010
You may have noticed a pattern. During the winter months, as the temperature goes down, so does your bank account. You have to stay warm somehow, and although cranking up the heat on your thermostat may be the most obvious way to do that, it is not always the most cost effective. Here are some ways that you can stay warm during the upcoming winter months and still have money for Christmas presents!
1. The same ceiling fans that keep you cool during the summer months can be used to keep you warm in the winter. Most ceiling fans have a switch that controls their direction. During the winter switch your fan so that blades are going in a clockwise direction when you look up at them. Also set your fan to run at a lower speed. What this does is pulls the lower cool air up and pushes warmer air that rises to the ceiling down to the rest of the room.
2. At night, try turning your thermostat down a few degrees and use an extra blanket. Turning your thermostat down one degree can translate to up to a 3% decrease in your bill. During the day, wear a sweater and socks around the house to keep warm.
3. Make sure your furniture is not covering any of your heating vents and inhibiting the flow of warm air into your rooms. Also, open the drapes in your home during the day to allow the sun to heat your rooms naturally.
4. Make sure that all of your doors and windows are closed when not in use. Open doors and windows not only let in cold air, but they let out warm air that you have just spent money on heating! Hot air can also escape underneath doors. Invest in a door draft stopper or use a towel to keep warm air in. Also, make sure your chimney duct is closed when not in use!
5. If you have a heating system it is important to make sure that it is operating properly. Have a HVAC maintenance check done before the winter months come and change your furnace filter if needed.
6. In order to keep your home more insulated during the cold months, you may want to consider having storm windows installed. Storm windows can help to reduce the amount of air movement in and out of windows which translates to lower heating costs for you.
If you want to find more ways to save money on heating your home, have a home energy audit done by an approved Energy Star Auditor. They can tell you where your house is leaking out warm air as well as several other tips and tricks to save during the winter months. Stay Warm!
