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| Best Ways To Help Keep Your Heating And Cooling Costs Down |
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| Written by Stephen Baldy |
| Monday, 09 January 2012 10:43 |
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Heating and cooling costs are things that affect most people, whether they own their own home or merely rent it. People who live in warm climates have to deal with the task of keeping their home cool throughout the year, while those that live in cold climates focus on keeping their home warm. The people who happen to live in more temperate climates have to do both heating and cooling.
Heating and cooling costs are things that affect most people, whether they own their own home or merely rent it. People who live in warm climates have to deal with the task of keeping their home cool throughout the year, while those that live in cold climates focus on keeping their home warm. The people who happen to live in more temperate climates have to do both heating and cooling. When it is possible, the initial step towards decreasing heating costs would be to make sure you have a heater that is energy-efficient. The most common method of checking is to find out if it is ENERGY STAR certified. To be eligible for the ENERGY STAR label, a furnace must maintain an annual fuel usage efficiency of 85% or higher. Additionally, ENERGY STAR models have blower motors that are extremely efficient, which significantly helps the overall process. After you have ensured that you have an energy-efficient furnace, the next key ingredient is insulation, which is important for both heating and cooling. Air drafts and cracks in walls and ceilings in particular can be a nasty detriment to your utility bills. You can check for air drafts by burning a stick of incense and holding it next to strategic points in your home. A few problem areas include windows, doors, and light fixtures in ceilings. If you find any breaches, foam insulation is a fairly painless and inexpensive way to shore them up. Another idea to lower heating costs is to simply put on more clothes and lower the thermostat. Additionally, you can raise or lower your thermostat when you are out, and then adjust it to its normal position when you get home. A programmable thermostat is an additional way you may help keep utility expenses low. Many operate on schedules, and automatically alter their temperatures appropriately, according to how you program them. Lots of people could be more likely to raise or lower their temperature while they are off at the office, if it wasn't something which required manual adjusting at least two times a day. Programmable thermostats solve this issue. Stephen Baldy is former heating service Maple Grove MN contractor who's got a passion about new furnace productivity. He was working at Comfort Solutions Heating & Cooling, (763) 565-2121 for 15 years. |