Another winter, another season of using your heater to help you and your family make it through the cold weather and enjoy cozy times indoors. You may also think of this as a time with higher energy costs and occasionally scary utility bills.
We won’t lie: heating a home costs money, especially in a place that can get as cold as Rochester during the winter. But those high heating costs you pay may be higher than they need to be. We’re experts at handling home heating in Rochester, and we have some tips on ways to reduce your heating costs this winter and every winter to come.
#1 – Schedule professional heating maintenance before the fall
This is the best and most reliable way to avoid unnecessarily high heating costs. During maintenance, our technicians give your heating system a complete tune-up and cleaning that helps it to run at better efficiency. Maintenance stops age from getting an early hold on your heater and driving up bills. Plus, heating maintenance prevents expensive repairs and an even more expensive early heater replacement.
#2 – Know your energy-saving thermostat settings
It’s tempting on extremely cold days to push up the thermostat higher. This isn’t the best practice when it comes to using your thermostat in winter, however. Instead, keep the thermostat set steadily at a lower temperature during the day when people are home, and then lower it further at night or when the house is empty. We recommend a daytime setting of 68°F, which is comfortable enough for most people if they wear warm clothing. At night or when the house is empty, lower the thermostat to 60°F.
#3 – Change the HVAC filter regularly
If you have a forced-air heating system, i.e. a furnace or heat pump, it has a blower filter that will get dirty and eventually become clogged as the heater runs. If a clogged filter remains in place, it will cause the blower to work harder to draw in air and waste energy. It will also cause other problems, such as the heating system overloading the circuit breaker, so please make routine filter changes a priority! Most filters will need to be replaced after one to three months.
#4 – Make sure all room vents are open and unobstructed
No, shutting room vents is not an effective way to save energy! The heater will still produce the same amount of heat, but the pressure within the ventilation system will rise because of the blocked vents. This leads to more strain placed on the heating system and energy going to waste. It will often cause duct leaks. If you want to control which rooms receive heat, invest in a zone control system.
#5 – Have any needed repairs done quickly
Don’t delay calling us for heating repair in Rochester, NY if you suspect something is wrong with your central heating system. Even if the heater is still producing the level of comfort you want, issues like strange noises and odors or other odd behavior from the heater are still a cause for concern. If you leave these problems without attention, not only will they grow into bigger problems, they will force the heater to work harder and drain more power.
Triple-O Heating, Cooling, Electrical & Plumbing Is Your One-stop Shop for HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical. Call us for all your home heating needs.