This holiday season (and indeed throughout the winter), reward yourself with the gift of lower energy bills. And what better time than the high-dollar heating season to save a few bucks? Following are some time-tested energy-saving tips for your home:
- Let the sunshine in. Open up blinds, curtains and drapes on sunny days. Those rooms will warm up several degrees and all for free. Your furnace or heat pump will thank you for the break. As night falls, close the curtains, adding a layer of protective insulation against the outside cold.
- Take a step ladder and climb up to your ceiling fan. On its motor housing, you’ll probably find a switch that will convert the blade rotation to clockwise (winter mode). That blade rotation forces the air up toward the ceiling. As a result, the warmer air that collects at the top of a room moves toward the walls and then down into the room. Family members feel warmer, and the thermostat won’t trigger furnace operation as often. That means more savings for you.
- Program your thermostat for the heating season. This means energy-saving setbacks during the day when nobody’s home and at night when the household is asleep.
- Seal air leaks in the outside walls of your home with either caulking, spray foam or (for windows and doors) weatherstripping. Search for the leaks yourself or hire a certified energy auditor to perform an inspection and find them for you.
- Upgrade insulation where it’s missing or insufficient. This is another situation in which an energy audit will help determine where energy is being lost.
- Contact your trusted HVAC contractor for a seasonal maintenance tune-up on your home’s heating system. This will involve an inspection and various adjustments and other steps to make sure your heating equipment is operating efficiently and safely, with the performance you expect.
To discuss other ways to obtain lower energy bills in your Hamilton Township area home, or to schedule a seasonal maintenance tune-up, please contact us at Elite AirSM. We have a stellar reputation for HVAC service and installation in Central New Jersey.