Heat Loss Can Drain Your Energy Savings Away

Winter and heat loss are two things that unfortunately go together. The main consequence of heat loss in your home is that your energy bills will go up. There are some things you can do, however, to minimize heat waste in your home.

1. Add insulation. The best way to put the lid on heat loss is to make sure walls, ceilings and roofs are well-insulated. If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck, start with adding attic insulation.

2. Cover up your water heater. While most newer storage water heaters have internal insulation, most older ones do not. While water is being stored for future use, heat escapes through the tank walls, which wastes energy. To fix this, get an insulating blanket and wrap your water heater in it. Be careful when wrapping gas-fueled water heaters, to avoid the vents and pipes.

3. Look at your pipes. Insulate the hot-water pipes coming from the water heater to reduce heat loss.

4. Check for air leaks. While you can argue that air leaks in your window and door joints help provide natural ventilation, they also cause significant heat loss. Weatherstripping can seal movable joints, and caulking can fix any other leaks around the door and window frames.

5. Check your siding and foundation. Inspect the exterior of your home to find sources of heat loss. Small holes or cracks in the exterior can easily be fixed with caulk or spray foam. The best places to check are any plumbing and wiring entrances to the home and where the walls meet the foundation

6. Replace dirty air filters. If the filters in your forced-air furnace are clogged, they can impact your indoor air quality and lower the efficiency of your furnace, which will waste energy.

If you need help or additional advice on saving energy this winter in your northwest Arkansas home, please contact us at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Springdale, Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about preventing heat loss and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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