Most homeowners spend more than half of their utility bills on their heating and cooling costs. Anything you can do to reduce your utility use is helpful to the environment in many ways. However, the real impact is on your wallet or bank account when you know how to save money on heating and cooling.
Run Your Exhaust Fans
These are in most bathrooms, and they’re also in some kitchens. They’re designed to get the warmest and most humid air out of these rooms as quickly as possible. That’s less humidity your air conditioning has to extract from the air, so it won’t run as much.
Have Your HVAC System Serviced Twice a Year
Spring and fall are the common times in most places for this to happen. Technicians should perform inspections and maintenance on your system at least twice a year to keep everything up to spec. Check with someone local like Priority Heating and Air to see what they can do for you.
Run Your Fans in the Right Seasonal Direction
In the summer, run ceiling fans counter-clockwise to push cool air closer to the floor and draw warm air up to the ceiling. In the winter, run them clockwise for a reverse impact. Most fans have a switch to change the direction they spin in.
Gather Around the Fireplace
If you can get a good fire going on a winter evening and have everyone cuddle up around for a few hours, then you can turn the heat in your home down for a while. You might even be able to turn it off. Do this several times in one month, and you’ll notice a serious difference on your utility bill when it next shows up.
Draw the Summer Blinds and Curtains
The more windows that have their curtains and blinds closed during the summer, the less heat is coming into your home through the sun’s rays. At any time of year, you should make sure your doors and windows are properly weatherized to prevent the transfer of heat in or out in any season.
Saving money on heating and cooling isn’t just about having some breathing room in your budget. You’ll of course save more money monthly right away, but you’ll also likely be doing things that don’t tax your home’s HVAC system as much. When you don’t need it as much, there is less wear and tear to cost you money later on. That’s even more savings you can enjoy.
