Want to Stay Warm This Winter? Here Are Four Tips

Now that we are in the thick of winter, it is essential that your home is properly heated from a comfort and a health standpoint. However, as any homeowner will tell you that heat doesn’t come cheap.

There are a number of things that you can do to keep your home delightfully warm while keeping your heating bills down. Low-tech things like leaving curtains open during the day and letting the sunlight in and running your ceiling fans in reverse can give your home the heating help that it needs.

If you are interested in keeping your home toasty warm for the least amount of money, here are your top four tips.

1. Humidifier Benefits

While you may covet the warmth that comes from your furnace, the dry air that fills your home during the winter months is less pleasant. Problems from excessively dry air include respiratory illnesses, allergy exacerbation, dry skin, eyes, nose and throat, brittle hair and damage to wood floors and furniture.

Installing a whole-home humidifier can help by re-introducing moisture back into the air. The benefit of a whole home system over a standalone unit is that with the whole home unit, air is moisturized as soon as it is heated. It’s also more convenient.

2. Schedule Furnace Maintenance

You understand the relationship between maintenance and performance when it comes to your car, so why not use the same principle when it comes to your furnace? You can identify and fix small problems before they balloon into bigger ones. During a furnace tune-up, the technician will clean and inspect the parts of your system for damage. They’ll also change the filter for you.

3. Winterizing Your Home=Saving Money

Winterizing your home is all about making it airtight and using every opportunity you can to generate heat in a low-cost way.

If you have a wood fireplace, ensure that the flue is closed when not in use. Make sure that you don’t have furniture or carpets blocking airflow through the vents. If your windows are older, you may want to consider replacing them, as they become less airtight over time. As an alternative, you can apply a film over the window, and easily put in place with a hair dryer.

Check for gaps in doorways. Use a pool noodle or a draft snake to blow drafts. Raise the threshold with weather stripping or caulk around door frames to close any remaining spaces.

4. Programmable Thermostat

Want to keep your bills low, and your energy use the most efficient? It’s a no-brainer to get yourself a programmable thermostat. You can program your heat and energy use to suit your work/sleep/active living schedule, keeping wasting heat to a minimum.

How old is your furnace? There have been a number of developments and advances in energy efficiency over the last few years, so if your system is older, you may want to consider an upgrade. The operational savings can make it worth your while.

Call Colonial Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. today to find out more information and for further assistance at  (804)-526-8415.