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When the holiday season starts and the winter chill comes around, the heating bill at your property will naturally increase as you keep yourself warm and cozy. However, if your home is not being heated efficiently, you are essentially letting your hard earned dollars escape into the air as wasted energy.
What are some simple and inexpensive ways that you can cut down your heating expenses this winter and save yourself some money?
If you work from home and are spending eight hours of the day sitting in your home office, there is no need to keep the rest of the house toasty warm. If you have heaters that you can turn on and off for each room, you can direct the heat to the room that you are using.
If you have a spare bedroom, you don’t even have to heat it at all unless a guest is coming to stay over.
Rather than heating your home throughout the day and wasting heat and energy when you don’t really need it, turn down the temperature when you’re not home all day at work. If you install a programmable thermostat, you can program it to turn the temperature back up about a half hour before you get home so the interior is nice and cozy. You can save plenty of energy and money with smart gadgets like these.
If the air filter on your furnace is getting old and clogged up, it will block the airflow from the furnace itself which is a huge waste of energy. This will mean that your furnace works less effectively and it will also reduce its lifespan. It will only cost you $20 to change the air filter, but this little fix will make a big difference in the long run.
You might think that turning on your ceiling fans in order to save money on heating makes no sense, but hear me out on this one. When you turn on your fans in reverse, they will actually draw the warm air throughout the house – helping to circulate it and keep it warmer. This can take a load off your furnace.
You can heat up your interior as much as you want, but if there are leaks in doors and windows, a lot of that heated air will be lost. Make sure you seal up any leaks or cracks that could be allowing heated air to escape and cold air to get in.
Furnace filters that are filthy can make it very difficult for hot air to flow easily. If the filters are dirty, your furnace will have to work extra hard to get warm air to flow throughout your home. This will not only cost you more on your utility bill, but it will also put more stress on your furnace and shorten its lifespan.
Considering the high cost of these units, you could be spending a lot more than you think when you have to replace your furnace prematurely. Be sure to clean or change the filters on a regular basis, anywhere from two to four times per year.
If you live in a cold climate and you can walk around your house in a t-shirt and shorts comfortably, you’re wasting money! If you wear warm clothing indoors during the winter, you will be able to keep your thermostat several degrees cooler and you will save yourself a lot of money over the winter.
These are just a few simple ways that you can reduce the heating costs for your property this winter. For more helpful tips and advice, feel free to contact your trusted mortgage professional.
For our last blog post on home tips, check out “How To Build An Outdoor Fire Pit” and continue making improvements and smart choices for your home!
Ready to apply for a mortgage? Sammamish Mortgage can help! We are a local, family-owned company based in Bellevue, Washington. We serve the entire state, as well as the broader Pacific Northwest region that includes Idaho, Colorado, and Oregon. We offer a wide variety of mortgage programs and products with flexible qualification criteria, and have been doing so since 1992. Please contact us if you have mortgage-related questions.
Whether you’re buying a home or ready to refinance, our professionals can help.
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No Obligation and transparency 24/7. Instantly compare live rates and costs from our network of lenders across the country. Real-time accurate rates and closing costs for a variety of loan programs custom to your specific situation.