Even if you have the world’s greatest heating system, here’s one thing it wasn’t designed to accomplish: heat up the space outside your home. And yet it can’t help but try when heat is permitted to escape your home.
To prevent heat loss while taking a big bite out of your monthly heating costs, simply follow these steps energy conservation steps:
- Attic insulation – Pardon us for repeating the obvious, but heat rises, and unless your attic is well insulated, heat could be rising into your attic and through your roof. If it’s been a while since you’ve inspected your attic insulation, now’s the time. For best results, the insulation should be at least 6” thick and cover the entire surface of your attic without gaps.
- Window and Door Insulation – On cold and blustery days, you don’t need an expert to tell you that heat is escaping through or around windows and doors. Simply stand next to one and feel the added chill. That’s the time to beef up or replace window caulking or the weather stripping around doors. If you can feel cold air coming in from beneath a door, installing a door skirt can help a great deal. Thick shades are drapes are also a big help.
- Wall Insulation – It’s estimated that about 35% of heat loss occurs through outside facing walls. Insulation placed inside those walls will help reduce your heating costs even more.
- Fireplace, Switches & Outlets – Your fireplace opening is such an easy exit point for heat, it might as well have a neon sign pointing the way out! To prevent large scale heat loss, cover the opening with airtight glass doors while your fireplace is not in use. Warm air can also escape through switches and outlets – you’ll find specially designed insulation at your local hardware store or home center.
How’s your heating system performing? If it’s been a year or more since you’ve had it inspected, it’s time to contact Nero Heating & Air Conditioning for our heating system preventive maintenance service. It’s a great way to further reduce heating costs while cutting back on repairs and extending your system’s lifespan.
