This Winter, It'll Be Easy To Save Energy Dollars

When the temperatures start to drop, it’s time to start preparing your home for another northwest Arkansas winter. A few simple steps can make your house more energy efficient and save you a significant amount of energy dollars. Here are some tips for getting through the winter comfortably without busting your budget.

• Space heater — There’s no need to turn up your thermostat when only a room or two is being used. Place space heaters in the occupied rooms and keep the thermostat on a lower setting to reduce energy costs. Set the heaters on a secure and level surface and make certain nothing is blocking the intake or output grilles.
• Vents — Close the vents in any room that is not being used. You don’t want to pay for heating an empty room.
• Attic entry —  Heated air rises and can easily travel from your home’s living spaces to an area that doesn’t need heat. Use pieces of insulation or plastic sheeting to seal the attic entrance and prevent treated air from escaping to the attic.
• Doors and windows — Keeping air from entering or leaving the house from the gaps around doors and windows stops drafts and saves energy dollars. Use silicone caulk to seal the small gaps around windows and weatherstripping to seal around doors. Caulk around the gaps between fixtures or pipes in the attic and basement as well.
• Water heater — Insulating your water heater keeps heat from escaping and increases energy efficiency. You can insulate an electric water heater yourself, but get a service professional to do the job on a gas unit. Also, set the temperature on the heater to 120 degrees. Higher settings typically waste energy.
• Temperature — Keep the nighttime temperature setting at 60 degrees when everyone is asleep. A programmable thermostat can do this automatically and makes a good investment.

For more expert advice on saving energy dollars and other issues related to home comfort, contact us at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal. We’ve served northwest Arkansas since 1968.

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

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