When I was a kid growing in a small bungalow in Redford Michigan, I don’t ever remember our house being cold in the winter. I do remember it being really hot though since we didn’t have central air conditioning until I was in High School and my room was on the second floor! As far as it being cold however, I can’t remember ever feeling that way. Maybe it is because I was young and the cold didn’t bother me but I don’t even remember my parents complaining about the cost of heating their home like so many homeowners do today.
Growing up in the 80’s had its perks. The music was awesome, girls wore sweaters with shoulder pads and natural gas prices were 3 times lower than they are today! It was cheap to heat your home and homeowners like my parents didn’t have to choose between having cold toes or a high gas bill. If our house was cold, my father would just turn up the heat. He didn’t concern himself with keeping the thermostat set below 70° to save a few bucks.
Today however most homeowners are quite concerned with energy consumption. With natural gas prices on the rise, more and more homeowners are choosing to keep their homes colder and colder each year. In an effort to lower their utility bills many Michigan homeowners turn to a trusty old sweatshirt and a pair of wool socks before turning up the heat.
Pure Energy Window Company, as our name implies, is concerned with homeowner ENERGY waste. Here are a few things that you can do to your home this winter to help keep it your heat in and gas bill low.
1. Install A Programmable Thermostat
- Installing a programmable thermostat into your home is great way to reduce your gas consumption this winter. With a programmable thermostat you can automatically set your home temperature to lower just after you leave and rise just before you come home. If the school bus picks your children up at 8 a.m. and you leave for work at 8:10 a.m., why would you keep your home temperature at 70° until everyone arrives home that evening at 5 p.m.?
2. Change Your Furnace Air Filter Regularly
- A dirty furnace filter has a major influence on your energy consumption. A dirty filter directly affects air flow which in turn causes your furnace to work harder than it should to maintain a comfortable temperature. Check your furnace filter monthly and be sure to replace it when it is dirty. At a minimum, your furnace filter should be replaced every 3 months.
3. Set Your Home Thermostat to 68° or Lower
- On average you will consume between 3%-5% more energy for every degree you set your thermostat above 68° in the winter. By making a few of these suggested changes to your home, you will be able to set your thermostat at 68° or lower and not feel like your living in an ice box.
4. Upgrade to a More Efficient Model Furnace
- If your home is currently being heated with a furnace that is 15 years or older, if may be time to upgrade to a more efficient model. In the past 15 years furnaces have come a long way. A new 90%+ efficient furnace could save you 20% or more in operating costs.
5. Install New High Performance Windows
- Like your furnace, if the windows in your home are 15 or more years old, then it is time to look into new energy efficient windows. New high performance windows with Argon Gas and LowE Coatings can lower your utility bill by as much as 40%!
These are only a few ways that you can help reduce your heating costs this winter. Whether your New Years resolution was to be a little more “Green” or you are just trying to save money to take your kids on that Disney trip they have always wanted to go on, saving energy equals saving cold hard cash!
Pure Energy Window Company specializes in some the most efficient windows you can have installed into your home. If new windows are something you have considered in the past but never looked into, Pure Energy would love to discuss the many options that exist for your home. Give Pure Energy a call today to set up a FREE No-Obligation In-Home Estimate!
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