Last week was the start of the Fall season. That means the cold Winter season is around the corner! And you know what usually happens in the Winter season. Depending on where you live, most of you will blast your heater/furnace like there’s no tomorrow 
Winter means COLD AIR! But for those who are conscious enough to notice, winter means larger electric bills as well. Yes, it is true. Aside from summer, winter is the season of the year where your electric bills skyrocket to digits that cost you financial burden. Why is that? Because we need to warm our home. Because we want to be comfortable during winter time. Our home should have the right temperature to give us comfort. And the modern way to do it is by turning on our heating system. This consumes the biggest portion of our electric bill. Fortunately, we have the whole Fall season to prepare for it. And preparing for it means that we must have the right tool and proper information on how to save during the coming season.
Let’s get started.
THE FIREPLACE
Getting our fireplace ready will certainly results in better savings; and fall is the best time to clean and repair our fireplace. Make sure that the dumper is tightly sealed when not using them.
A small space would let the cold air rush in and send the warm air out. If you were using electric heating system, an opening on the fireplace would mean bigger work to maintain the place warm. Let professional contractor to do the proper maintenance. They are certainly more capable in securing your fireplace.
When you decide to use the fireplace, you can turn down your heater or you can even turn it off. This will save you as much as 8% on heating cost. The furnace will work extra effort if the filter is full of dirt. This will result in energy waste, since the furnace will consume more power against the service it brings. To avoid this, make sure that your filter is clean. The owner’s manual will tell you how to clean the filter. A clean filter will let you breath clean air around your house. A clean filter saves you 5% on heating cost.
THE THERMOSTAT
A programmable thermostat or a centralized heating system will let you save on the heating cost. The programmable thermostat will let you set your desired room temperature on a specific period of the day. This is much useful if you are leaving your home or are going to sleep overnight. The centralized heating system on the other hand will give you the ultimate control on the temperature of every room. These 2 will let you decide how warm a room could be. One interesting thing to note is that a centigrade lower on your heating system will let you save as much as 5% on your heating cost!
THE OPENINGS
Openings on your doors, windows, joints and sills will let the cold
air outside to go in and the warm air from the inside to go out. Make sure that these openings are sealed with either sealant or weatherstripping. It will help reduce the work of the heating system immensely.
THE DUCT
Small leaks on duct will certainly result in lost heat. Therefore, you need to make sure that this is regularly checked. Usually ducts are located on unheated places. This is another reason why heat is lost.
Insulate the ducts by wrapping it with R-6 or higher fiberglass. Never use cloth-backed tapes. You can also wrap them with UL-approved metallic or plastic tapes and mastic sealants. The note that leaking ducts work 30% more on your heating system so make sure they are sealed and secured.
THE SOLAR HEATERS
You don’t need to have solar panels on your roof to use the sun as the source of heat. All you have to do is open your drapes during the day to warm your room. This way no electricity is used. At night, you can close them at night to keep the warm air inside. Reduction of the use of heating system during the day will let you cut as much as 10% on your electric consumption.
THE WATER HEATER
Households can set the heating system between 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This range is ideal on both mobile homes and regular homes.
What do you think? Can you think of something else to prepare for the cold winter season?
