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Save On Heating Costs
Save On Heating Costs For Your
New York Home
 It
is already time to turn on the
furnace in your New York home.
If you live in a part of the country
that is cold during the winter, you
spend a lot of money on heating
costs. Some people are spending up
to 50% of their monthly budget on
heating.
Heating costs have gone up
rapidly in the past two years. You
may find that you are paying twice
as much to heat your home. What can
you do to save some of this money?
Start by walking through your home
and identifying the areas where
heated air is leaking out. Check
around your doors, windows,
fireplaces and any drafty areas.
There are many ways to close off
leaks. You can caulk, weather strip
and use plastic to seal off drafts.
Put door sweeps on all of your
outside doors. If your home is
poorly insulated, the additional
money spent to insulate it will pay
for itself in reduced heating costs.
The more you prevent heated air from
leaking out, the more you will save.
Most people never think of this, but
you should minimize the usage of
ventilation fans and kitchen hood
fans during the winter. I've heard
it said that one bathroom fan can
pull all of the warm air out of an
average sized house in a little over
an hour. This could increase your
heating costs by a surprising
amount.
If you don't use portions of your
Rockland County home, such as the
guest room, why are you heating
them? Close the heating vents in
these areas and close the doors to
rooms you don't use.
Spend the money to have an
annual maintenance performed for
your furnace or heat pump. This will
keep it in good operating condition
and running efficiently. Poorly
maintained units use more energy and
fuel. Maintenance is often fairly
inexpensive when compared to the
savings in heating costs and the
extended life of the unit.
Often, people get a little chill and
crank up the thermostat in order to
warm up the room faster. This
doesn't work. The heater won't heat
up any more quickly. Your furnace
will only work harder than
necessary. Don't turn your heat
completely off when you are sleeping
or not at home. Turning it too low
will cost you more to re-heat the
air in your home. You should set the
thermostat at 68 to 70 degrees while
you are at home during the day, and
drop it to 60 to 65 at night or when
you aren't at home. A programmable
thermostat is great for this.
Take a look at your hot water
heater. It should be set at 120
degrees at the most. This is one of
the safest temperatures anyway. If
it is in an unheated areas, like an
unfinished basement, you should wrap
it in an insulation blanket to
prevent heat loss. When washing
clothes, try to wash them in cold
water whenever possible. They even
make soap powder that works best in
cold water now.
There are many ways to save on your
heating costs. From grabbing a
sweater to opening south facing
curtains during the day, you will
find many savings.
Martin Lukac
represents http://www.RateEmpire.com,
an Internet consumer banking
marketplace. RateEmpire.com is a
destination site of personal
finance, banking, investing, taxes,
debt management and mortgage rates.
RateEmpire.com provides mortgage
guides and financial rates and
information. RateEmpire.com also
operates a financial portal #1
American Financial, found at
http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com
and San Diego loan portal
http://www.LendingSanDiego.com
If you are looking for a Rockland County Heating & Air Conditioning
Contractor please call us today at
(914) 631- 6744 or click on the link
below:
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