Cold Weather Energy Tips
- The average lifespan of a furnace is 15-20 years. If your furnace is approaching this age or well past it, you’ll want to start shopping to avoid a costly breakdown or simply to save on energy costs. A new ENERGY STAR model is 15% more efficient, which can quickly pay for itself.
- Keep your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower depending on your comfort level, and whether you’re asleep or away from home. Reducing your themostat setting 10-15 degrees while you are at work or under plenty of blankets in bed can save you 5-15% on your heating bill!
- Consider a programmable thermostat to regulate the temperature of your home based on your schedule, making it even easier to keep it warmer only when you’re at home and awake. While some programmable thermostats don’t work well with heat pumps, you can talk to your HVAC specialist about finding one that will work well with your system.
- Consider using a humidifier to combat dry air and keep your home feeling warmer. Especially with forced air systems, common in milder climates, turning the heat on can mean dry skin and hair, and changes to wood fixtures like doors that expand or contract depending on the humidity. A humidifier also helps a lower thermostat setting feel more comfortable, making your whole winter more pleasant.
- Remember to change out your air filters regularly. In winter especially, we let less fresh air into our homes, and indoor air pollution can increase as dust, cleaning products, and more build up. If you live with pets especially, change the filter every 60 days, or as often as every 30 days if you have many pets, allergies, or live in an older home.
- Schedule regular checkups or consider purchasing a maintenance plan to keep your furnace running strong all season long, and to quickly detect repairs that need to be made to avoid serious consequences like carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Make sure your water heater is set to 120 degrees (or it’s ‘warm’ setting) to save energy on heating the water as well as preventing scalds.
- Find out when peak utility hours are from your utility company and tailor your thermostat schedule or other energy intensive appliances like the washer, dryer, and dishwasher until off-peak hours.
- Leave the oven door open when you’re done baking to let the heat out into your home—you’ve already paid to create it, you might as well let it contribute to the ambient temperature!
- Get an energy audit from your utility company or the Department of Energy that will pinpoint where you have drafts, where you could better insulate, and other ways to keep warm air from escaping your home.