Winter Heating Tips
Monday, November 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized
The following are excerpts from the Montgomery County Maryland’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Save Money
The average family will spend over $1,300. on utility bills this year. About half of that will go to heating and cooling the home. The rest is spent on water heating, refrigeration, lighting, cooking and appliances. You can reduce your energy bills by ten to fifty percent by using a few inexpensive energy-saving measures.
Thermostats
Instead of unbundling from all your many layers when you come indoors, try keeping your house at a temperature where you will feel comfortable with a sweater on. Keep your thermostat set to 70 degrees, or lower, during the day. Set your thermostat to lower temperatures at night, or when you are not at home. 65 to 69 degrees is comfortable for most people at night. Try reducing the temperature to 55 or 60 when you are away from the house for more than a few hours. A five degree reduction in temperature setting for an eight hour time period can save you up to twelve percent on your energy bill. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it to reduce the temperature while you are away at work, and to reduce it a little less while you are asleep at night. If your thermostat is not programmable, put a little hook in the wall beside it. Hang you keys on the hook, and that will help you remember to turn down the temperature when you leave the house. You’ll also always be able to find your keys.
Ventilating Fans
Don’t overuse kitchen or bathroom ventilating fans. Turn them off as soon as they have done their job, or put them on timers to limit their operation to fifteen minutes at a time. A fan can draw out an entire houseful of heated air in about an hour.
Heating System
Keep your furnace air filter clean, clean, clean. A dirty or clogged filter can make your furnace and fan work harder, which costs you more. You’ll be warmer for less money, and breathe easier, if you clean or replace your furnace filter often. Check the filter at least once a month, and more often if you have a lot of dust. Make sure it gets cleaned or replaced at least twice this winter.
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