energy saving tips to keep your family comfortable this fall

Energy-Saving Tips to Keep Your Family Comfortable This Fall

October 15, 2014

One of the great things about fall in Charleston is that there are plenty of opportunities for you to lower your energy usage and save money without sacrificing the comfort of your household. Here are some of our favorite fall energy-saving tips.

Fall Energy-Saving Tips

  • Schedule a tune-up – If you want your furnace to operate at its optimal efficiency, then you should call a technician once a year to perform a tune-up. Not only will you save money due to improved system efficiency, but the furnace will last longer.
  • Install a new furnace – Sooner or later, your furnace will need to be replaced, no matter how well you take care of it. The great thing about replacing your current system is that newer models are much more energy-efficient than their predecessors. Simply look for the Energy Star label and you can’t go wrong.
  • Get a new filter – The job of your furnace’s air filter is to keep pollutants and various other types of debris from being distributed into your air. When it does its job well, the filter will get clogged up, thereby lowering your system’s efficiency. Replacement should be done every one to two months to prevent this. No list of fall energy-saving tips is complete if you don’t add changing your filter to it.
  • Go “programmable” – If your home still uses a manual thermostat to control its heating and cooling, it’s time to upgrade. In addition to being more accurate, programmable models provide you with the ability to set the days and times during which your heating equipment is in operation. When utilized properly, this will allow you to gain more control over your energy usage.
  • Maybe even go “Wi-Fi” – For even more control over the heating and cooling of your home, invest in a Wi-Fi thermostat. These new models can be accessed through the Internet or a smartphone app so that you can make changes remotely. Plus, you get analysis tools and other advanced technologies that will help you save energy.
  • Use the 68 degree rule of thumb – Setting your thermostat at 68 degrees while you’re at home is a great way to keep your heating costs low. Lowering it a few degrees when you leave the house will help, too. Each degree you lower your thermostat will save you approximately 2 percent on your energy bill.
  • Don’t crank up the heat – Despite what you might believe, cranking up the heat to a higher setting than you actually need will not warm up your home any faster. All this does is increase the likelihood that you’ll waste energy by overshooting the actual desired temperature.
  • Upgrade your traditional bulbs – One of the easiest fall energy-saving tips to follow through with is the replacement of your home’s traditional bulbs. New types of bulbs, such as CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and LEDs (light-emitting diodes), use considerably less power than their outdated predecessors.
  • Avoid blocking registers – If your registers, baseboard heaters or radiator are blocked by furniture, boxes, etc., heat won’t be distributed into that room, which means that your heating equipment may stay on a lot longer than it should.
  • Take showers, not baths – Taking a hot bath may be soothing, but it’s also a huge waste of water and heat. Instead, limit yourself to showers as much as possible.
  • Only wash full loads – This goes for both washing clothes and dishes. Only run their respective appliances when you have a full load ready in order to save water and the energy required to heat it.
  • Use your water heater’s medium setting – Setting your water heater on high is a waste of energy and is likely to scald you or your children. Most people will never see a difference with the medium setting and it won’t affect how well your clothes or dishes are washed either.
  • Insulate your water heater – To avoid heat dissipation from your water heater and protect it from the cold air, wrap it in a heavy blanket in order to insulate it.
  • Shut your fireplace damper – If your home has a fireplace, be sure to shut its damper whenever you’re not using it. This will prevent heat from escaping outside of your home.

For more expert advice on fall energy-saving tips, or if you have any questions about home comfort, please don’t hesitate to contact the friendly professionals at Berkley Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve been serving the HVAC needs of North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant, and their surrounding areas since 1958.

Image Provided by Shutterstock.com

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