If opening your utility bill causes you to cringe because you’re afraid of the price, you’re probably paying too much to heat your home or it’s still not as warm as you’d like.
Either way, we’ve got five key tips to help you heat your home without draining your bank account that kwELITE realtors will tell you to follow.
No, these aren’t massive projects that require calling a handyman. These are suggestions that should be fairly easy for you to pull off on your own.
1. Make Sure Nothing Is Covering Your Vents And Make Sure They’re Open. Also, Check Your Radiators.
Check to make sure all your vents are open. Blocked air could lead to mold developing in or around your vent or air ducts, it won’t save you money or energy to close them and closed vents could potentially damage your entire system.
Making sure furniture isn’t blocking radiators or covering vents is also important. Clear pathways should help warm up rooms in your home a lot faster.
2. Weatherize Your Home
There are numerous ways to improve your home’s ability to retain its warmth without your furnace having to overwork.
– Take some time to hunt for drafts around your windows and doors, and then seal them up.
– Consider putting in plug protectors to prevent the loss of heat from unused electrical plugs.
– Fill gaps or cracks where utilities come into your home
– You can always add insulation to your attic
– Make sure doors aren’t left open
3. Install a programmable thermostat
Ever forget to turn down your heat at night or turn it up in the morning when you first wake up? You can take one more thing off your busy schedule by installing a programmable thermostat, which enables you to preset temperatures for various times of the day. This could save you money when it comes to heat and even air-conditioning in the warmer months of the year. Then you don’t have to worry about what the thermostat is set at whatsoever.
We recommend choosing a setting on the low end when you’re sleeping or are away and going with a higher setting when you’re enjoying time at your home.
4. Schedule annual furnace/boiler maintenance
Preventive maintenance helps you keep your heating system running well. Sure, it costs money to do maintenance. That said, routine maintenance is ultimately cheaper than repairs. Plus, there’s nothing worse than needing repairs done quickly and having to wait for service companies’ schedules to open up. Why not just avoid those headaches?
5. Change Your Air Filter
Now this seems obvious, but it’s often overlooked and ironically one of the easiest things you can do to keep your house warm and save yourself money.
If you have a forced-air system, changing the furnace filter can save you some energy and keep the dust down in the house. Check the filter monthly. If it looks dirty, go ahead and replace it. Even if you don’t think you need to, replace it every 90 days.
If you’re looking to find a realtor, want to sell your home and buy a new home, give us a call at 402-563-4663 or stop by our office at Parkway Plaza, 4471 41st Ave., Suite 202, in Columbus, Nebraska.