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When cold weather arrives, the cost to heat your house rises. That’s common sense and you expect it, just the way you expect to pay more to run your AC during the summer.
You’d like to pay less for home heating, of course, but you may not think that’s possible. “Heat costs are what they are,” you might say. But the truth is really that heating costs are often more than they should be. You don’t have to be a fatalist about heating costs—you can take steps to pay less and still enjoy comfort.
We offer several heating services in Conyers, GA that can help you wrangle control over your heating bills this season. There are also several steps you can take on your own to help. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Never forget to schedule heating maintenance
This is the #1 easiest way to avoid paying more for heating. Unfortunately, homeowners often forget to arrange for this basic job during the fall and early winter. Each time a heating system misses its annual maintenance, it will lose about 5% of its energy efficiency and therefore cost 5% more to operate. If you have our technicians maintain your heater before the serious cold arrives, you’re already saving money.
Have the air ducts tested and sealed
How long has it been since you had your home’s ducts tested? The answer may be “never,” and if that’s the case, the source of those high heating costs may be air leaks in damaged and aging ductwork. Plenty of heated air will escape through those leaks—sometimes 30% of it!—and that makes running the heater costlier. We can test your ducts to see if there are leaks and seal them up if they are. This can make a huge difference in heating costs.
Regularly replace the HVAC filter
Make replacing the HVAC system’s air filter into a strict regimen: we recommend changing the filter every 1 to 3 months (depending on the filter’s strength). Leaving a clogged filter in place will cut into the energy efficiency of the heater and raise your bills—but all you need to do is stay on top of this basic maintenance step through the winter and you won’t have this needless hike in heating costs.
Lower the thermostat to slow down heat loss
Pressing the thermostat up high to attempt to heat your house up fast won’t work. In fact, it will waste energy and leave your house feeling too stuffy. Keep the thermostat down to as low as you find comfortable (68°F during the day is a good target) because this will cause heat loss to the outside to slow down. Not only will you have a heating system that won’t run as long to reach its target temperature, it will also run less often because it will take longer for the house to get cold again.
Replace an over-the-hill heater
Sometimes you have to make the big move to save money in the long run. If your heating system is over its estimated service life (this is approximately 15 years for a gas heater, to use one example), then it will cost you much more to run each year. Starting over with a new heating system with higher energy efficiency than your old system ever had is a great way to enjoy money savings for many years.
Experience the Premier Difference! Premier Heating & Air has been family-owned and operated since 2001.