Making sure your home remains cozy can be costly, but there are ways you can reduce heating bills.
Fixing air leaks is the ideal solution to this problem; they are one of the primary factors contributing to higher heating bills.
Invest in Energy-Efficient Appliances
Energy-efficient appliances can help homeowners save on home heating. They use 10-50% less energy than standard models, as well as outlasting them more reliably in homes.
The US Department of Energy estimates that investing in Energy Star-certified appliances could cut your annual power bill by 25% – which can add up to several hundred dollars in savings over time.
Many states also offer incentives and rebates for energy-saving equipment, while the IRS provides tax breaks to assist with making upgrades more cost effective.
When purchasing new appliances, look for an Energy Guide label and an ENERGY STAR logo to indicate compliance with EPA and DOE energy efficiency standards. An appliance carrying such labels is more likely to meet those standards than its counterparts without them.
Insulate Your Home
Insulating your home properly is one of the keys to creating a more comfortable living space while saving money on energy bills. Seal any air leaks around doors and windows as well as in foundation or joist spaces of basements or crawlspaces to increase insulation performance in your home.
Insulating your home is an investment that will pay dividends over time and add value to the property. How much insulation you require depends on the material type used as well as its R-value or thermal resistance rating.
Insulating your home correctly is one of the quickest and easiest ways to cut heating costs, helping ensure rooms maintain an even temperature throughout, which means less use for furnace heating systems and increased comfort during cold spells.
Install a Thermostat
Installing your thermostat is one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to cut home heating expenses. These devices control temperature in your home, and once set at an ideal setting you won’t have to change it often.
When installing your thermostat, ensure it’s placed in an ideal spot that provides an accurate reading across your entire house. Avoid placing it near air vents or windows/doors that could produce false readings as these could affect its accuracy.
Install a smart thermostat, which enables you to program settings at the most energy-efficient times of day and reduce costs by automatically switching on and off heating/cooling when sleeping or away from the home. This could significantly lower your bills!
Installing solar power can be relatively straightforward, even without professional help from an electrician. Just ensure to check in with local utilities prior to beginning work – don’t wait until it becomes cold to begin!
Get a Home Energy Audit
Home energy audits provide an in-depth evaluation of your insulation, heating and cooling systems, energy usage patterns and overall energy costs in your home. They enable you to understand exactly where your energy bills are going so that you can prioritize areas to make more efficient while saving money at the same time.
An efficiency expert will conduct an audit on your home to detect air leaks, test insulation levels and assess its overall efficiency. Once completed, they will issue a custom report with recommendations to reduce its energy consumption.
Reducing energy use can save 5-30% off of your monthly energy bill, quickly repaying any initial investment made into energy-saving upgrades.
Energy audits offer another significant advantage: they can detect safety problems such as mold and mildew that could endanger the health of you and your family if left untreated, making an energy audit especially valuable for people who are allergic or sensitive to toxins.