Keeping the temperature of your house at a comfortable level can lead to excessive power bills whether you are talking about heating or cooling. This is primarily because heating and cooling systems utilize fuel or electricity to function. There are basic steps that you can take to keep utility bills under control.
Regular maintenance of your heating and cooling system
If the performance of this system is under par, it will lead to wastage of energy. This inefficiency will ultimately reflect on energy bills. You should routinely repair problems with your furnace or air conditioner and check on it it every few weeks. An expert furnace or AC tuneup once a year is advised.
Use a programmable thermostat to control your house temperature
You should install a digital programmable thermostat to save energy. A programmable thermostat will make certain that the temperature is held at a stable level and allows you to set it to a different temperature when you want to conserve money. For instance, you can set your furnace temperature lower throughout the day when no one is home to feel the cold and set it to start increasing and hour or so earlier than everyone returns home so the house is comfy when people arrive. You can do the same thing at night while everyone is resting snug under their blankets. This will ensure that you don?t use up energy heating or cooling your home when no one is there to enjoy it.
Regularly change air filters
The air filter can cause your cooling system to waste more energy if it is not clean. You should change it after every 30 days. An uninterrupted flow of air will ensure that the system will not use additional energy to try to get cooled air into the house.
Improve the insulation of your house
It is crucial that your house be well insulated. The insulation helps to retain the temperature in the house. In doing this, heated air in the house doesn?t leak out in the winter and cold air won?t leak out in the summer. Conversely, good insulation will also prevent the outside air from seeping in. Walls and attics should be insulated, but so should the seals surrounding doors and windows.
Keep vents clear
You should make sure that all vents used for heating and cooling the house are free from any obstruction. Furniture, rugs and curtains are the biggest culprits.
Turn off extractor fans
These are the fans installed in bathrooms and kitchens to remove heated or moist air. Forgetting to turn them off after the air is expelled means that heated air from the furnace will go to waste.
Install drapes
Drapes ensure that air doesn?t escape through the window. They also stop solar gain or the rise in temperature from direct sunlight getting into the house during the day. This will save energy that would have been used to cool the house.
Source: http://diyhomebuilding.org/lower-your-energy-bills-7-easy-tips/
diane sawyer clay matthews kenny chesney matt kemp rumpelstiltskin rumpelstiltskin david nelson