Monday, January 27, 2014

Brrrrrr!

If you live in the U.S., you're probably experiencing colder-than-normal temperatures; unless, of course, you live in Alaska, which is seeing higher than normal temps! Here in Wisconsin, we're freezing our patooties off, and I've started to freak out a little over our impending gas, heating bill. It seems our furnace is constantly running, and there's going to be no letting up this week, as we are expecting another lost school day due to 40-50 below-zero degree windchill temps. I decided to do a little research and find ways to decrease our heating cost, and I thought you might like to consider some of the tips that I found:

***Here's a no-brainer: Turn your thermostat down, especially when you're not home for long periods of time and during the night. This can save 10-20 percent on heating costs.

***If you have a fireplace, make sure you keep the damper closed when you're not using it, as heat will escape.

***Close curtains at night to prevent heat  from escaping, and make sure they're open on southern-facing windows during the day.

***Insulate where you can, first making sure that your vents don't leak.

***Make sure your heat vents aren't blocked. (Today, I found a month-lost scarf completely blocking a vent behind the couch!)

***Make sure your ceiling fan is pushing air down, instead of up. Sometimes, people forget to switch the direction between heating and cooling months.

***Change your furnace filters once per month during high-use seasons.

***If your furnace is more than ten years old, it might be time to bite the bullet and buy a new one, as it could be costing you more to run it than you can imagine. While furnaces cost a lot, they can be financed.

***Insulate electrical outlets and light switches, especially when on outside walls. (This is really simple to do.)

***Wear warmer clothes inside (even a cap) to increase your tolerance of lower thermostat temps.

Kendall just sent a text to say that the University of Minnesota has cancelled all classes for tomorrow; you know it's cold when that happens!

Stay warm!


Sources:
14 Ways to Lower Your Heating Bill
How to Save on Heating Costs
Six Ways to Save on Home Heating


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