For the perfect balance of comfort and energy efficiency in the winter, set your thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. You can save another 10 percent on your utility expenses by dropping it another 8 degrees when you’re sleeping.
It sounds great, but the reality is that you may be tempted to turn up the thermostat a few more degrees. Not every house is the same, and sometimes leaving the temperature there won’t be enough to keep you comfortable.
That’s the focus of this article: How to make sure your Havertown, PA home is comfortable while keeping the settings at an energy-efficient 68 degrees (or less!) during the winter.
We’ve split these into two parts. The first section is all cost-free DIY stuff. The second half involves your heating and cooling system, and a few will have some small costs associated with them.
But, they’re still inexpensive, easy, and — most important of all — effective.
So, start with the free items and work your way down. If you have any questions or want to go a little deeper, call or email us here at John Cipollone.
Four DIY Ways To Keep Your House Warm in the Winter
If 68 degrees still feels too cold, start with these easy DIY tips to keep heat from escaping your house:
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- Seal Your Windows
- Use Your Curtains
- Reverse Fan Directions
- Use More Blankets
Seal Your Windows
About 35 percent of the heat you lose in the winter gets out through your windows or walls. So, we’ll focus on those first. Short of adding more insulation, which gets expensive, the best step is to seal your windows.
Now, this doesn’t exactly look aesthetically pleasing. In fact, it’s pretty much just plastic wrap stretched across the frame. But, it’s effective at keeping heat inside. That’s especially so if you have older windows without today’s insulation technology.
If you don’t want to throw plastic over the windows, a second option is putting draft blockers on the windowsills. You can find these in all sorts of designs that can look nice in the room. And, they’ll prevent drafts from where the window closes.
Use Your Curtains
On the one hand, you may lose some heat through the windows, but on the other, they let in sunlight – and that makes your house a lot warmer. You just need to harness it the right way.
And, doing that is really simple. Just open your curtains in the daytime and close them at night. This lets in the sunlight, which gets magnified by the glass.
Then, at night, make sure you close the curtains to prevent heat from escaping. Since thermal energy (the fancy word for heat) is always drawn to cold areas, it will be drawn more toward the outside at night when it’s even colder outside.
You can even take an extra step here by putting up thermal curtains. These trap even more heat than regular decorative ones. And, like the draft blockers, you can find them in colors and styles to match your décor.
Reverse Fan Directions
In the summer, your ceiling fans should turn counter-clockwise to draw heat up and away from you. In the fall, reverse them and run them on the slow setting.
Once the blades are going clockwise, the fan pushes heat back down toward you. There should be a black switch on the fan’s side, near the lights and under the blades. Flip that switch to change the direction.
Three More Ways To Optimize Your Heating In The Winter
If you’re looking for ways to stay comfortable and reduce your utility bills in the winter, you can optimize your heating and cooling system with these three steps:
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- Get A Furnace Tune-Up
- Replace Your Air Filter
- Clear Around The Vents
Get A Furnace Tune-Up
Your first step when the weather starts cooling down should be to call for a furnace tune-up. That’s when an HVAC tech inspects, cleans, and optimizes your heating and cooling system.
This way, the system works smoothly and delivers warmth all winter. And, it uses less energy, so you pay less on your utility bills.
Replace Your Air Filter
Next, replace your air filter, especially if you haven’t done so in a while. We recommend once a month, although we’ve seen other people only do it four times a year.
Either way: If the cloth screen on it is grey when you remove it, that means it’s clogged. And, it likely has been cutting down your air circulation. A fresh one should let more heat get into the house.
Clear Around The Vents
Each vent in your home needs a square foot of open space around it. Otherwise, the air coming through the ductwork won’t spread through the room as you want it to.
And, remember, you also have return vents in a few rooms. Those suck in the air and send it through the furnace for heating. When you block these, your home won’t get as warm as you want it in the winter.
Furnace Repair And Service In Havertown, PA
We hope these easy fixes make it easy for you to keep your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower in the winter without sacrificing comfort. But, if they’re not working, please give us a call or email. We’ve provided furnace repair and service to homes in Havertown, PA for decades, and we’re ready to help you stay comfortable with low energy bills all winter long.