The best way to ensure that you conserve the most energy possible this winter is to develop a strategic plan that enables you to trim your energy use in several ways. This plan can get you on the road to conserving energy, and hopefully reducing your utility bill, during the upcoming cold weather and throughout the entire year.
Here are several steps that you can include in your strategic energy-saving plan:
- Replace Furnace Filters: This is an easy step, but many homeowners put it off or overlook it completely. When you do not change your furnace filters regularly, captured debris forms a thick screen on your filter, which makes it difficult for air to pass through. Your heating equipment then has to work overtime to push it through. When you change your filters regularly, your heating system works more efficiently, you will experience more ideal comfort levels in your home and you may see lower heating charges on your utility bill.
- Seal Ductwork: Holes and gaps in your ducts can be a huge drain on your energy costs. When the air that you are paying to heat up then leaks out of your ductwork, it ends up in unnecessary areas, like your attic. This can lower the overall efficiency of your heating equipment by as much as 30 percent. Duct mastic is easy to use, and you can use it fill cracks or leaks quickly, thereby sealing in your home's warm air.
- Preventive Maintenance: One of the best and most thorough ways to generate energy savings is to have an HVAC professional inspect your heating system. They can inspect all of your system's components closely to determine if they are in danger of breaking down, and they also can clean the components so that they operate at maximum efficiency. This not only protects you from unexpected lapses in your heating, should your HVAC system quit working, but it also helps drive down your energy expenses.
- Seal Out Drafts: When the cold air from outside is able to sneak into your home via leaks, your heating system has to overcompensate to counter it. Use materials like weatherstripping around your doors and windows to keep cold air out and warm air in.
For more information about developing an energy-saving plan that will allow you to stay warm as efficiently as possible, contact Joe Behr Plumbing and Heating. We have proudly served Mid-Ohio since 1965.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy-saving plans and other HVAC topics, visit our website.
Joe Behr Plumbing and Heating, Inc. services the Mid-Ohio area.
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