Even with the generally mild temperatures around the Tallahassee area, the few cold months can drive up your heating costs. Discover easy steps you can take to reduce your heating costs this winter.
Use Your Thermostat’s Programs
A commonly underutilized feature of most modern digital thermostats is the temperature program. This allows you to adjust your home’s temperature to reduce the cost of heating while you’re away.
According to the Department of Energy, you can save up to about 10% of your annual heating expenses by using these programs. Simply lower your home’s temperature by 7 to 10 degrees for about eight hours a day. The best time to do this is when everyone is away or overnight while you’re in bed.
Open Your Vents
You may have seen advice online that suggests you should close the vents in areas of your home that you don’t use frequently. The idea is that you can push more of the warm air to other areas of your home.
However, this actually inhibits the proper circulation your system needs to evenly heat your home. Your HVAC system creates high air pressure at the supply vents and low pressure at the return vents. This difference in pressure causes the air to move to equalize the pressure throughout your home. That movement also helps evenly distribute the warm air your system pushes out.
By closing vents, you prevent the warm air from evenly moving around your home. The result is usually a higher temperature setting on your thermostat and longer heating cycles.
Use Your Ceiling Fans Properly
Your ceiling fans also play a critical role in reducing your energy consumption over the winter. Warm air rises, which means you’re paying to heat the air near your ceilings. Ceiling fans should turn clockwise over the winter, which draws cool air up and pushes warm air down. The result is that you feel warmer without having to raise the temperature on your thermostat.
Vacuum Off Your Air Filter
Replacing clogged air filters is critical to keeping your system running efficiently, which translates into lower costs. However, you may only need to replace your filter every few months, depending on its size and your air quality.
Plan to check your filter each month, and gently vacuum off the contaminants it has collected between replacements. This practice gives your system an efficiency boost, thereby reducing your energy consumption.
With a little effort, you can easily control your Tallahassee-area heating expenses while keeping your home comfortable. Part of the regular cleaning schedule should include annual maintenance to prevent airflow restrictions within your system. Call to schedule your heater maintenance with the expert technicians at Payne Heating & Air.
