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4 Home Maintenance Tips To Save Money on Heating

By Nordic

November 24, 2014

Home Ownership

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Fall has arrived and with it has come colder temperatures. For many of us, that means we’re turning on our heating systems once again and will soon receive our first heating bill. Dealing with high utility costs for heating and cooling is a major part of home ownership. In fact, according to the Department of Energy, home heating accounts for 48% of your utility bill! There are lots of ways to lower your heating bill, but here are our favourite quick and easy tips that will help you start to save money on heating, with almost no cost. 

Seal All Doors and Windows

The best way to lower your heating bill is to stop heat from leaving your home through drafts, air leaks and poorly insulated windows and doors. This simple project costs under $10 and could save you up to 10% on your heating bills. To eliminate these weak spots in your home’s envelope, use a screwdriver to probe along your window and doorframes. Any weak spots should be filled in with caulk. Alternatively, if the weather has already turned cold, simply holding your hands over your windows and doors will also work. You’ll be able to feel the cold air coming in.

When it comes to sealing areas around movable joints, like doors and windows, use weather stripping. Make sure to choose a type of weather stripping that will withstand the elements if you’re installing it on the outside of your home, and check it every spring and fall, replacing as needed.

Clean or Replace Your Heat Pump Air Filter

If you have a geothermal heat pump, fall is the perfect time to replace your heat pump’s filter. Dirty air filters reduce airflow through the system, which makes the heat pump work harder. This decreases your heat pump’s performance and is hard on the compressor. If you have a fiberglass air filter in your heat pump, you should replace it with a new one at least twice a year.

If you have an electrostatic air filter, you can reuse it after a thorough cleaning. To clean your electrostatic filter, pull it out of the heat pump, and spray it down with a garden hose. Be careful that you don’t use too much water pressure because that could damage your filter. Once the filter is dry, you can reinsert it into the heat pump.

Reverse Your Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans are a good source of low cost cooling in the summer time, but did you know that you could use them to increase heating efficiency when the weather turns cold? You can do this by reversing the direction of your ceiling fan. This changes the flow of air from down flow to up flow. This simple action will re-distribute warm air from the ceiling, back into the room, allowing your heating system to work less hard, and saving you money.

Switch To a Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat is a great way to save up to 10% on your heating bill. It works by allowing you to automatically lower the temperature in your home several degrees, and then raise it later. For example, you could program the thermostat to turn down the heat while you’re at work, and to turn it back up before you get home, so that you use less heat while you’re away, without sacrificing comfort.

You could also program it to turn the heat down while you’re sleeping. Most programmable thermostats come with 5-1-1 or 5-2 functionality, which means you can program the thermostat’s behavior throughout the week, and program separate behavior for the weekend. You can also manually override the settings to set a custom temperature.

The best way to save money on your heating bill is to use less heat. This can be accomplished by eliminating heat loss in your home, upgrading to more efficient home heating equipment like a Nordic heat pump, or by using heat more efficiently. Combining all of the tips above will get you the best results, and will help you save money on your heating bills this fall.

Photo Credit: Sean Dreilinger

Comments

  1. Reply

    Kevin Nguyen

    May 05, 2015

    I was not aware about maintenance to save energy while using ceiling fans. from this article I have learned about this and I thank you a lot for this post.

  2. Reply

    Alex Jennings

    May 28, 2015

    I’ve always struggled with trying to conserve energy. I’m often confused and overwhelmed with all of the suggestions that people have, because it’s a lot of work! However, your tips were very helpful and straightforward, Jordann. I’ll be sure switch to a programmable thermostat to more efficiently heat and cool my home.

    Alex Jennings |

    • Jordann Brown

      May 28, 2015

      Hi Alex,

      I’m glad you found our tips useful! Make sure to check back with how much energy you managed to save!

  3. Reply

    Deanna R. Jones

    June 05, 2015

    Installing a programmable thermostat seems like a very god way to save money on your heating bill. Usually, I just keep my heater or air conditioner running throughout the day since I’m home most of the time. I recently got a full time job that’s out of town, so I’m not at home as much anymore. Switching to a thermostat that I can program to heat or cool my home during the times of the day when I’m home would help me save a lot of money on my energy bill.

  4. Reply

    Lily de Grey

    June 29, 2015

    Hey, Jordann! I think you’ve written an awesome article! My husband and I are always trying to heat and cool our home efficiently, so I’m glad I stumbled upon your post. We haven’t sealed our doors, so we’ll put that on our list. Hopefully our cooling bill will be less expensive after we cover our doors. Let’s be honest: no one wants to lose money. Thanks for your helpful tips!

  5. Reply

    Irena Ryans

    July 06, 2015

    Thanks for the information. Your HVAC unit can really affect your electric bill, which is why it’s so important to keep the unit well maintained. I’m going to follow your tip about “cleaning or replacing my heat pump air filter” on a regular basis. That should ensure that it’s running smoothly. Wouldn’t you agree?

  6. Reply

    Ethel

    August 13, 2015

    I really like all these tips! It is so easy to just seal up your windows and reverse your fans! Good idea to replace the filter on your heat pump to prevent further damage. I’ll be using these tips to save money!

  7. Reply

    Jake White

    October 13, 2015

    My wife and I just moved into a house together, and we are somewhat new to heating and air conditioning, since we have always lived in apartments that take care of all that stuff. I liked these tips, and it definitely appears that we will need to seal all the doors and windows. We’ll use the screwdriver method and caulk any spots that need sealing. Thanks for sharing this information with us!

  8. Reply

    John

    November 23, 2015

    Reversing your ceiling fan is the cheapest and one of the most effective tips on this list, and people overlook it!

  9. Reply

    Justin Knox

    January 26, 2016

    Thank you for the help. This year I have been trying to make my heating and cooling both more efficient. But after the first couple months of cold weather, I realize that I can still improve the heating. I didn’t realize that simply using a programmable thermostat would make such a difference. How quickly do you think that it would pay off to have a new thermostat installed?

    • Jordann Brown

      January 26, 2016

      Hi Justin,
      It would really depend on how large your home is and the dollar value of electricity saved per month. You can visit the manufacturer’s website for estimates.

  10. Reply

    emily bennette

    April 12, 2016

    Home heating is very important especially in the winter time. I like what you said about making sure everything is sealed. That way your heating system doesn’t have to work hard to keep you warm.

  11. Reply

    Katlyn

    April 27, 2016

    Thanks for the reminder to reverse my ceiling fan back!

  12. Reply

    Kendall Everett

    June 06, 2016

    Your tip to clean the heat pump filters was really smart. If the heat pump isn’t performing as it should, it makes it less efficient which is more costly. Depending on the manufacturers suggestion, it may be a good idea to schedule the replacement in advanced so you don’t forget to have it done.

  13. Reply

    Lillian Schaeffer

    August 03, 2016

    This is some great information, and I appreciate your point that reversing your ceiling fan can help you heat your home. I didn’t realize that the different directions a fan could blow actually changes how they worked! My husband and I just had a heat pump installed, and we want to keep it running efficiently for as long as possible. We have several ceiling fans in our home, and we’ll definitely look into running those in reverse to help with heating our home. Thanks for the great post!

  14. Reply

    April Cook

    August 29, 2016

    I really like your tip to replace the heat pump air filters. That is something that I always forget to do. Can I replace these on my own, or will I need to have a professional do it? Hopefully this can help with my allergies too! Thanks for all these great tips!

    • Jordann Brown

      August 29, 2016

      Hi April,

      You can absolutely replace your air filter yourself.

  15. Reply

    Amanda Drew

    September 21, 2017

    That’s really cool that your ceiling fan can increase your heating efficiency by just changing the flow of air to up. The heating in my home hasn’t been working. There’s a weird smell and a lot of noise when I turned it on. I’ll have to find someone to help me fix it.

  16. Reply

    Taylor Bishop

    July 09, 2018

    Thanks for going over some tips to save some money on heating. I didn’t know that an electrostatic air filter should be thoroughly cleaned with a garden hose. You mentioned to not use too much water pressure, and I’m curious to know if a weaker pressure can still get the job done.

    • Jordann Brown

      July 09, 2018

      Hi Taylor,
      The water pressure from a regular garden hose should be fine. Avoid pressure washing.

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