As the nights grow longer and the days colder, our thoughts turn to gathering around a fire with family and friends, enjoying the crisp, cool energy outdoors and, unfortunately, finding ways to stay warm indoors without breaking the bank.
Let’s face it, heating the house doesn’t come cheap. But luckily there are ways not only to reduce your home heating and overall utility costs without sacrificing indoor comfort. A free weekend or two, a little elbow grease, and you can easily tackle these home improvements that will leave you feeling warm and cozy all season long.
- Make sure that your home’s weather stripping is in-tact. Check your garage door, entry doors, and windows. Replace damaged or missing weather-stripping, and caulk all cracks and gaps. While you’re at it, inspect any areas where water pipes enter your home and seal them if necessary.
- Replacing all your old, drafty windows can be costly and time-consuming. Instead, you can help keep the warmth indoors by applying clear shrink film to the window pane with double sided tape and then sealing it with the heat from a hair dryer for a fraction of the cost.
- If you don’t already have a ceiling fan in your home, consider getting one. Not only do ceiling fans provide a cool breeze during the hot summer months, they are great in the off-season, as well. By running a ceiling fan in reverse, you’re actually circulating the air in your living space, pushing warm air down toward the center of the room, where you feel it most. This means you can actually turn your thermostat down a degree or two.
- Insulate, insulate, insulate. The greatest protection from the cold (and eventually, heat) is proper insulation. And while re-insulating walls is quite a costly and messy undertaking, throwing down a few rolls of insulation in your attic is not
Other ways to cut your energy costs while conserving natural resources include the following:
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
- Insulate your hot water pipes
- Install low-flow fixtures or aerators in your kitchen and bathrooms
- Unplug electronics and small appliances when not in use
- Gradually swap out those incandescent light bulbs for more energy-efficient compact fluorescents or LEDs.
Looking for a helping to enjoy more comfortable and affordable indoor living. Messmer Mechanical is on hand to assist with all your plumbing, heating, indoor air quality, water quality, and related services. And we’re never farther than a phone call away.