7 Home Energy Tips To Lower Heating And Cooling Costs

Why you ask? Because heating and cooling alonecan account for nearly half of your total monthly utility bills and ifyou live in a temperate climate region with both long summer and winterseasons (such as the Midwest and Northeast) these costs can exceed halfof your total annual utility bills. Here are 7 energy saving tips andconservation ideas that if adopted can significantly reduce your homesheating and cooling costs.7 Home Energy Tips To Lower Heating And Cooling Costs1. If your home has a central heating and cooling system, thenperiodically check all of the vents (especially floor vents) forpossible obstructions such as furniture or rugs. 2. If your homedoesn’t have central heating, then make a habit of letting out orbleeding any possible air pockets from all of your hot water radiators.The U.S Department of Energy recommends doing this at least once everyheating season. 3. Also all hot water radiators, baseboard heatersas well as floor and ceiling vents should be cleaned on a seasonalbasis. In homes with central HVAC systems, cleaning of floor andceiling vents should also be preformed every season. 4. In homeswith central HVAC systems, it’s incredibly important to change the airfilter every 4 to 6 weeks, not months. Many homeowners often overlookthis simple and inexpensive maintenance procedure. In the summer adirty filter will force your AC unit to work harder to push cool airthrough your ducts and likewise during the winter months. Manyhomeowners overlook their a/c and furnace filter simply because they(like me) are prone to forgetting. There are several great websitesthat offer automatic email reminders. 5. Consider purchasing aventilated outdoor cover for your a/c unit. These covers areinexpensive and will provide your unit some much needed shade duringthe summer months. An a/c unit operating in the shade consumes 10% to15% less electricity than a unit that’s exposed to the scorching sun. 6. Within your comfort level, manually turn down or setback yourthermostat during the winter and manually and turn up or set up duringthe cooling season. Every degree that a thermostat is set back or uptranslates into energy savings. However keep your families comfort wellin mind. 7. Consider purchasing a programmable thermostat.There relatively inexpensive, easy to install and more importantlyallow for automatic scheduled temperature set backs and set ups. Thisallows homeowners to effortlessly take advantage of the scheduled orhabitual time periods that there often not home. Before usingthese energy saving tips and conservation ideas, ponder which measuresmay be the most beneficial and take into consideration your homesheating and cooling habits and needs

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