Love it or hate it, winter is upon us. However, that doesn’t mean you should immediately crank up your thermostat without keeping a couple things in mind. As sustainability is becoming an even more important topic year-on-year, homeowners have to think of the environmental – and consequently, financial – costs that reckless heating mistakes entail.
A heating installation doesn’t come cheap – and the cost of keeping one running can be a pain to most homeowners. However, by avoiding these mistakes, you’ll save your wallet a good deal of pain, and you’ll reduce your environmental overhead.
1. Missing out on sunlight
An important thing to watch out for is missing the morning sun – keeping your curtains drawn might be a habit, but if you keep them drawn in the early mornings you may waste energy on heating that you could’ve gained naturally, simply by letting your rooms bask in a few hours of sunlight. South-facing windows in particular may get stronger rays – and keeping the windows clean will allow light to filter in more efficiently.
2. Turning the thermostat up when it gets colder outside
According to the Telegraph, half of all British homeowners do this. Although it might make sense to turn up the heat inside when it gets colder outside, thermostats and furnaces don’t work that way – a heating installation is basically there to be told how warm you want the temperature of your home to be. Cranking up the heat when it gets colder outside only nets you a warmer home environment.
3. Heating the home when no one is around
It may also seem like starting a furnace up is less efficient than keeping it at a low temperatures, but heating a house in any way when no one is around is far more inefficient than turning your heating off, and then on again. Which bring us to:
4. Cranking the thermostat up to heat the home faster
When you get back home, turning the thermostat up higher than your preferred temperature just to get things warmer quickly is actually misguided. A thermostat doesn’t heat up more rapidly at high temperatures – it only heats up to a higher temperature. Leaving you with a more expensive bill, and a home that’s too warm for your tastes.
5. Overworking a furnace past its limitations
Finally, keep an eye on your furnace’s limitations. Cranking a thermostat up to 60 degrees when the furnace only goes up to 54 will waste a lot of energy. Get your furnace checked often, to prevent a loss of heat and energy. Cheek Heating and Cooling can help you in that matter, with regular check-ups and suggestions.
