How To Effectively Lower our Home's Heating Load

When your budget is tight and you want to reduce your seasonal heating bills, the first thing you should do is look for ways to effectively reduce your home’s heating load. The “load” is the amount of heating that is required to keep your home at the desired temperature.

Your home’s heating load can increase significantly if the structure isn’t energy efficient. As your heating load goes up, so do your utility bills as your furnace runs more often to keep up with temperature settings. Since your heating system is working harder than it needs to, more fuel is wasted as it tries to compensate for air leaks and energy loss. By reducing your heating load, you reduce fuel consumption, cut down on excess wear on your heating system and improve the comfort level of your home.

Here are steps you can take to lower your home’s overall heating load:

• Find and seal air leaks. Check chimneys, furnace flues, exhaust fans, roofs and anywhere gaps might occur.
• Add insulation to walls, ceilings, crawl spaces and the basement and attic. Make sure the heating system’s ductwork is also thoroughly insulated. Seal holes where pipes, wires or conduits enter your home.
• Seal gaps around doors and widows with foam or rubber weatherstripping. Seal leaks around glass panes with silicone caulking.
• Install storm doors and windows and insulating window treatments to block cold air and drafts. If possible, replace windows with energy-efficient models with double-pane insulation, low-e glass and other beneficial thermal characteristics.
• Schedule preventative maintenance on your heating system. Regular professional maintenance is the most important thing you can do to keep your furnace or heat pump running at its best level. Regularly change furnace filters; fresh filters improve efficiency and reduce breakdowns.

In you have for answers to questions about reducing your home’s heating load and improving its overall energy efficiency, contact the pros at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal.

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

Paschal Heating, Air & Geothermal services Northwest Arkansas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!