Extreme cold temperatures often result in skyrocketing electricity bills during the winter. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, increased fuel costs and inflation could significantly affect a home’s energy bills across the country during winter. This is predicted to increase heating costs by between 30 and 50% for houses using a propane furnace and a natural gas heating unit.
Fortunately, as the temperatures drop, there are numerous things you can do to make your house more energy-efficient and reduce your energy costs. Read below for amazing energy-saving tips that will help reduce your next energy bill:
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Weather-Strip Your Windows and Doors
Are you looking for ways to reduce your energy bill this winter? Weather-stripping your house by sealing any drafts is the best place to start. Even a tiny gap in your windows or doors could lead to more lost heat than you could ever imagine.
You can stop heat from escaping your home by installing weather-stripping material all around it. You can also install door sweeps to help you seal the space between your door and the floor. This prevents any heat from escaping through the hole below your entryway.
Alternatively, draft stoppers are another great option. They can offer your home an extra layer of protection from cold temperatures.
Install a Smart Thermostat
During the winter, you need to take advantage of any tips to help you reduce your energy bills. And one way to do this is by installing a smart thermostat. This is a high-tech way to make your home more energy-efficient.
A programmable thermostat will save energy by giving you the ability to optimize and fine-tune your heating unit while it’s running. When you are away or sleeping, you can program your thermostat to turn down.
Likewise, you can program it to turn up the heat and make your home warmer just before waking up or getting home after work. This way, you will lower your energy bills without sacrificing your household comfort.
Always Schedule an Annual Maintenance Check for Your Unit
Before winter, always ensure you schedule a maintenance check for your propane gas furnace. This makes sure that the unit is tuned-up, clean, and ready for the winter. As a result, ensuring that it runs efficiently is critical.
During the check-up, the HVAC expert may find potential problems with your unit, saving you any additional repair expenses. It also saves you from the pain and inconvenience of having your furnace break down in the middle of the winter.
Additionally, a tune-up ensures that the unit works efficiently, saving you from high energy bills. An inefficient unit is expensive to run as it uses too much energy to warm up your home, increasing energy costs. Therefore, an annual furnace repair and tune-up will lower your bills, and increase its lifespan because it will not work twice as hard to heat your house.
However, choosing the right contractor is also essential for the health of your furnace. Before settling for a furnace repair service, ensure you check their reputation and the type of services they offer.
Change the Unit’s Filters Often
If your heater is always on every day during the winter, experts advise that homeowners change their air filters monthly. This helps clean up your unit and allows the furnace to work more efficiently. In fact, the Department of Energy states that replacing your filters could reduce your home’s energy consumption by up to 15%.
Check Your Home’s Insulation
Proper insulation of your home is a great way to lower your energy bills during the winter. You can start by installing insulation material in your attic to prevent heat from escaping from your living spaces.
Heat could also be escaping from your home through your walls. Examine any areas where utilities enter your home or near electrical outlets. You also pay attention to your plumbing pipes; this is another way that heat could be escaping your house.
Insulating the walls will protect the plumbing pipes from freezing while keeping your house warm. This lowers your heating costs by reducing the energy needed for your propane furnace to keep your home warm.
Open Your Blinds and Let the Sun Rays In
No one will charge you for opening your blinds or window coverings and letting in the sunshine. Therefore, it’s essential to take advantage of this free heat source during the day. Close your blinds and curtains when it starts to get dark outside.
Some energy-efficient window coverings, such as curtains and blinds, may even act as a valuable insulation layer for your windows. This reduces the amount of heat your home loses, keeping it warm and cozy throughout the winter.
Reverse the Fan Blades
One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that ceiling fans should only be used during the summer. However, this is wrong; you should also use your fan during winter. Switching your fan’s blades will make it rotate in a clockwise direction instead of the anti-clockwise direction it normally takes during summer.
This is an easy way to keep your home’s temperature warm without breaking the bank. The fan will produce a calm updraft by flipping the fan blades by grabbing warm air from the room and rotating it around, leaving your house warm. This makes sure that the room stays at a stable temperature, making you feel warmer even if there are no changes in the overall temperature of the house.
A researcher found that reversing the ceiling fan blades has resulted in people lowering their thermostat temperatures by up to 4 degrees without any changes in their comfort levels. Mixing the air could save you 20-30% on heating costs.
Are You Ready to Reduce Your Propane Furnace Heating Costs?
Winter brings with it the coldest months of the year. Unfortunately, this also comes with high energy bills for many homeowners. And thanks to the rising cost of fuel and inflation, heating costs are predicted to skyrocket.
Fortunately, our guide above can help you reduce your heating costs, especially if you run a propane furnace. Follow our tips above, and you will significantly reduce your heating costs.
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