Many households are affected by the significant increase of heating costs, especially during winter. Prices tend to go up each year and we should make enough commitments to reduce it. Fortunately, there are ways we could do to stay within a specified heating budget this year. We should do proper actions to lower the overall costs. Here are things we should do:
1. Understand our heating system more:
One effective way to lower utility bills is by being informed consumers. We should fix faulty equipments and do things that can improve out system. In some cases, simply changes can reduce utility bills bay five percent or more.
2. Ask professionals to review our system:
We should ask professionals to check our system before winter arrives. We also need to examine our entire energy expenditure, so we will know that we won’t spend too much money. We should take a step back and look closer at our own energy usage. This can be done simply by gathering monthly data from the past 12 months or more. In some cases, we are able to detect some billing errors and it is possible to get a refund. Having proper billing information can put us in a solid negotiating position.
3. Purchase more fuel:
Price of oil may increase significantly and it is important for consumers to avoid price fluctuations whenever they can. In some cases, we can get better deal by purchasing larger amount of fuel when we can get a rock bottom price. In any case, it is important to protect our home from unexpected rises.
4. Perform weather stripping:
In older homes, it is a good idea to weather strip on all of our windows and doors. Stripping is intended to block unwanted cold drafts. It also keeps heat to stay in our home. As a result, we could reduce the duration of time the heater will be on. It is also a good idea to replace standard windows with thermal energy-efficient windows. Heat can still be transmitted easily through normal glass.
If replacing windows may seem like a time-consuming task, we could cover windows with objects that have poor heat conductivity. These may include shades, blinds and thick draperies. These items will also increase the aesthetics of our interior.
5. Check insulation:
Before winter arrives, we should check our current insulation or re-insulate if necessary. Garage, attics, crawl spaces, walls and basement ceilings are possible problematic areas. We should make sure that the home well-insulated; to retain much of the heat.
6. Install automatic timer:
Out thermostat should be connected with an automatic times, this is beneficial if we regularly forget to turn down the thermostat at specific time of the day, like when we leave for work. The timer may turn up the thermostat again about 30 minutes before we arrive at home. Installing this add-on should be reasonably easy and we can save hundreds of dollars after a few years.
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