Fall is the perfect time to sit back and relax while the evenings get cooler and the days shorter. These few months between summer and winter are integral to preparing your home for the winter season. Even if the winter months are mild, it's still smart to prepare your home for winter by doing some careful inspection and DIY upgrades. If you plan well, you can save money on your heating costs once the temperature outdoor really begin to drop. Keeping your home warm once it's January can mean high utility costs. Research has shown heating costs can take up 40% of a household budget. You may be able to save money on heating costs by improving the efficiency of your heating unit and making smart choices to reduce your bill.
Why Is My Heating Bill So High in the Winter?
If you are wondering why your heating is so costly, it could be any number of things contributing to elevated heating costs. Everything from your personal temperature preferences to the condition of your HVAC system can be to blame for the elevated energy use. Your heating bill could also be impacted by your thermostat habits. Modern thermostats are programmable, so you can exact greater control over your energy usage. If your thermostat is older, you may be running your system more than necessary. Smart thermostats can also help ensure you only use your heater when people are home and it's needed. Your heating bill could be higher because your home is not adequately insulated. You could also be experiencing heat loss from drafty windows, doors, and an older roof. You should also check around your fireplace and power outlets for drafts.
Common Ways to Stop Residential Heat Loss
You can save money by reducing the energy costs associated with your heating system. You can do this by conducting a heat loss assessment to find out how the heat is escaping your home. Nearly 25% of your home's heat is lost through small cracks, so you can save quite a bit of energy by employing some DIY winterizing of your home. You can also upgrade your thermostat to help improve the efficiency of your system. As mentioned before, the condition of your HVAC system is important to its ability to heat your home properly. Older systems use far more energy than newer systems because they are less efficient. If your system is newer but not well maintained, it can also cause the system to be less efficient. Your system's efficiency is measured by how much fuel it uses annually, which is called the AFUE percentage. Higher AFUE numbers mean a more efficient system. When furnaces are older, their AFUE numbers typically drop under 70%. Newer systems have numbers in the low to mid-90s.
Wallner Provides High-Quality HVAC Products and Services
At Wallner, our HVAC specialists can help you choose the right upgrades to your system to improve efficiency. When you're ready to speak to a professional about making improvements to your heating system, call our Redding heating service specialists at (530) 223-5622 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.
