Home heating tips for these cold weather snaps

Cold weather is here for a couple days and despite a quick warm up later in the week, below normal temperatures are forecasted to return in the 6-14 day forecast, so were offering some tips to stay warmer in your home while reducing wasted heat to save money.

Look for places were heat is escaping or cold air is entering your home. Windows that don’t seal well or door on the outside of your house that may have even a small gap at the bottom can cause major problems. Fixes could include recalking or placing a blanket or towel where the gaps are. Covering windows with heavier drapes can also keep cold air near the windows and not entering into rooms.

Give your heating unit a tune up and cleaning. Furnaces that aren’t running in top form can end up working harder, costing more money to run.

Close vents in unused rooms. There’s no need to heat guest rooms or the laundry room if their not being used.

If you like it extra warm, utilize a space heater in the room you spend most of your time in to make only that room extra warm. No need to heat the whole house to your preferred temperatures when you spend most of the time in a certain area.

Open curtains on south-facing windows on sunny days. The sunlight will warm those rooms for no extra charge. Close the drapes at night or on overcast days.

Make sure ceiling fans are set to the proper rotation. In winter they should be blowing down rather than sucking air up. Heat rises so the warmest air is by the ceiling. Blowing the air down brings it where it does the most good.

Turn heat down if you are away for extended periods of the day.

And turn heat down at night. You are under covers in bed heated by your own body heat. No need to keep the house as warm as when you aren’t in bed.

If you have any other tips for keeping your house warmer, let us know in the comments under this article on our Facebook page.