During the long winter months, your energy bill spikes because of your heating system. Heating can account for up to 50% of a household’s energy consumption. However, you can find ways to reduce how much energy your heating consumes without compromising on keeping your home warm.
Focus on making your heating system more energy-efficient and ensuring that it remains this way by undertaking annual inspections and maintenance by professionals. Here are some tips to get you started:
Modernize
Old heating systems were designed well before the focus on energy efficiency intensified. This makes them inefficient energy guzzlers that drive your utility bill sky-high each winter. Your best alternative might be to start from scratch and overhaul or replace your heating system. You need heating with energy efficient electric radiators, such as radiators from BestElectricRadiators. The company sells a considerable range of electric radiators designed with energy efficiency in mind. Its products optimize room usage as they do not take up any floor space. Additionally, you only use the radiators you need, preventing the unnecessary heating of rooms not in use.
Smart technology from Herschel Select and Elnur Ecombi means that homeowners can operate their heating systems via Wi-Fi using a special app. This eliminates needing to run your heating system all day. You could turn your radiators on while traveling home and walk into a preheated home. As modern heating systems are much more efficient, you can turn the thermostat down a degree or two and still have sufficient warmth throughout the house, saving you many dollars on energy costs.
Weatherize
Heat escapes a non-weatherized home, placing more demand on the heating system and using more energy. Take active steps to prevent heat from escaping your home. Start by checking the roof, doors, and windows. Cracked or missing roof tiles or doors and windows that do not seal tightly cause hot air to leave a structure and cold air to enter.
Window glass is a heat conductor that allows warmth to escape, which is why it is usually cold to the touch. Double glazed windows are thicker and make it easier to trap heat indoors. Keeping curtains closed at night acts as an additional insulation layer, although they should be open during daylight hours to allow sunlight in. Roof and wall insulation act as a barrier to prevent heat loss. This insulation seals drafty areas, so the heating system does not need to work as hard to maintain an even warm temperature throughout the structure.
Consider heating alternatives
Utilizing your living room’s fireplace can warm the area without using any electricity. However, ensure that you adhere to safety protocols to prevent any harmful effects. Start by having professional chimney sweepers check and clean your fire ventilation system, ensuring that it is clear. If smoke from a fire cannot leave via an unobstructed chimney, it seeps back into the room. This leads to high levels of carbon monoxide, which could be fatal. Installing carbon monoxide detectors should be undertaken as an additional precaution.
Keep a fireplace clean and have fire extinguishers handy in case embers land on the carpet and catch alight. Do not leave a fire burning unattended, as it can take only seconds to set your house ablaze. Install additional smoke detectors near a fireplace.
Utilize existing heat
During winter, the kitchen tends to be the warmest room in your home because an oven and stove emit heat during cooking and baking. Even opening your dishwasher or dryer after its use can release more warmth into the air.
Take advantage of this by congregating in the kitchen, spending time around your kitchen table as a family. It is an ideal way to spend quality time together, something most families benefit from.
Turn on your fans
It might sound counterintuitive to use ceiling fans during winter when they are effective at cooling your house during the summer months. However, they can be helpful in retaining heat in a room. During the summer, a fan sucks hot air upward and pushes cooler air down.
A ceiling fan can do the opposite during the winter months if you set it to rotate in the reverse direction. Then it pushes the hot air down, preventing it from moving upward where no one can feel its benefits.