It’s Time to Cozy Up in the Cold! And save money on energy, too.
With winter season approaching fast, don’t let energy bills skyrocket. Here are a few steps you can take to get your home safe and ready for the season, and save money on energy, too:
- Clean the Chimney. Even if you only use your fireplace a few times a year, an annual pre-season chimney sweep is extremely important. When wood is burned, creosote builds up along the walls of the chimney and can catch on fire. Whether your burn wood or use gas logs, blockages or cracks in the flue can push smoke or other unwanted gases into your home. A chimney sweep will also remove unwanted visitors–insects, birds, or rodents that may have set up shop in your chimney over the summer.
- Show Your Furnace Some Love. You’ve been blasting the AC since before you can remember… what’s a furnace again? An HVAC (heating and air conditioning) technician can clean and adjust your furnace to increase efficiency and lower the risk of overheating or potential fire hazards. A cleaner furnace can mean a smaller gas or electric bill for you and less carbon for Mother Nature. To make it easy, many HVAC companies offer automatic seasonal inspections.
- Make the LED switch. It’s a fact—there’s less daylight during the winter months. To light up your home and save money, make the switch to energy-conserving products. To really save on energy costs, install lights with automatic daytime shut-off or motion sensors. And, if you decorate your home with lights for the holidays, make sure they’re also low-energy LEDs! LED lights perform better in extreme temperatures, support the fight in reducing carbon emissions, and last longer.
- Hit rewind on your ceiling fans. Reverse the direction of your ceiling fans in the winter. Here’s why: in the warmer months, ceiling fans push cool air down. When fans are reversed they have the opposite effect, pushing warm air down. The reverse switch is usually on the fan’s exterior on or near the motor. If your fan has a remote, you may be able to switch it with the click of a button. Doing this for all your fans will allow you to set the thermostat a little lower, but still feel comfortable.
- Thermostats just got smarter. If you are really looking to save on energy costs this year during the winter and summer, consider a smart thermostat. These easy-to-use thermostats are programmable to maintain your preferred temperature when you are home and then switch to an energy-conserving temperature when you are out of the house. Smart thermostats can be controlled from a smartphone or tablet, making it that much easier to be sure you’ll always be comfortable when you arrive home. And did we mention they’re super easy to install and program?
Credit for article in it’s entirety (including photos) to Westwood Insurance Agency Newsletter Winter 2020.
