During the winter months, it’s essential to keep your home warm, but running your heating system can get costly. Here are are few tips to help conserve energy and keep your home warm all winter long.

Make Sure Your Home Is Sealed Properly

Image via Flickr by barbasia.

Make sure all the windows are properly caulked, and your insulation is still good. However, these things can wear out over time, and poor insulation and cracks around windows will let cold air into your home. It’s essential to make sure all the cracks are filled before the winter months approach. You want to check around all windows, where electric and cable wires enter the home, and any vents and chimneys. All these locations could be poorly sealed and allow for air loss throughout your home.

Check and Replace Weatherstripping on Doors

If you feel a draft coming from the doors of your home, check to make sure the weatherstripping is still in good shape. If your doors do not have any wrapped foam or door sweeps, you can install new sets fairly easily. Be sure to check the foam and sweeps from time to time and replace them when necessary. Closing up any gaps around your doors with weatherstripping will prevent a lot of cold air from entering your home.

Get Draft Blockers for Doors

If getting weatherstripping for the bottom of the door isn’t an option, draft blockers, or even a rolled-up blanket at the bottom of the door, can really help keep a cold draft out of your home. Keeping that draft out will help save on electricity by maintaining the temperature more efficiently.

Limit Opening Doors

If at all possible, try to avoid constantly opening and closing doors leading outside. Every time you open the doors, you let a big draft of cold air in. This will lead to the heat running more frequently. The less you open the doors, the easier it will be to maintain a warm temperature.

Have Your HVAC System Serviced

Before the cold weather hits, it’s a good idea to call your local HVAC professional and have them clean your ductwork and service your system. This will ensure that the system is running efficiently and ultimately save you money. By having professionals come out to regularly clean and service your system, you will also save money on unexpected repairs, as preventive maintenance can help protect you from having an unexpected problem.

Run the Ceiling Fan Clockwise

Ceiling fans are great for more than just a hot summer day, by flipping the switch on your ceiling fan, you can change the direction it spins from counter-clockwise to clockwise. By switching to the clockwise position, you won’t get a breeze coming down, but instead it pushes up and circulates the air. Heat rises, so running your fan on low speed will really help push that warm air around the home, helping you keep your home warm more efficiently.

So this winter, follow these tips, and you should be able to save quite a bit of money on electricity while still maintaining a comfortable home.