Cut Your Home Heating Bill
The winter months are upon us, but this does not mean that your home heating bills will have to go up. Walking through your home in order to check out problem areas and fixing them up a little could drastically decrease your home heating bill while still keeping your home warm and toasty this winter. Following these steps will help to show you the main problems areas and will give you advice on how to fix them.
Reduce Worn Weatherstripping
When weatherstripping around doors and windows becomes worn and torn, drafts are created that will then let in cold air. Replacing weatherstripping is easy, you simple take off the old and tack on the new. This needs to be done every few years in order to prevent drafts.
Adjust Door Thresholds
If you can see light through your doors to the outside, then you are letting cold air in and are losing warm air and you need to adjust your door threshold so it is in contact with the door. Some door thresholds have a set of screws that when turned will lift the threshold. Be careful that you do not raise it too high and interfere with the door opening and closing and make sure that the door is not dragging on the threshold.
Eliminate Drafts Around Electrical Boxes
Electrical boxes in your exterior walls are known to be drafty due to improperly placed insulation around them. Remove the cover and fill the small gaps around the boxes with acrylic latex and for larger gaps use foam sealant. Then put a foam gasket over the outlet or switch and replace the cover.
Plug Holes in Exterior Walls
Pipes, gas lines, and electrical tables all have gaps around them that are filled in using caulk, which can crack and fall off over time. Seal these gaps with expanding foam.
Buy a Portable Heater (and Turn Down the Furnace). Putting a space heater where your family commonly gathers and turning down the furnace will decrease your heating costs. Though you will have to buy a space heater and use electricity to run it, the savings from turning down your furnace should offset these costs, while still saving you money.
With all of these tips, you will be sure to decrease your home heating bill this winter, without sacrificing a toasty warm home. So, enjoy a warm home and a low home heating bill this winter!
