With winter looming here in the Highland area, the thought of high utility bills may have you worried. However, with the right knowledge about your heating system and how to reduce its heating load, you can remove the burden of expensive utility costs.
Below is a list of steps that you can take to reduce the load on your home’s heating system this winter:
- Seal air leaks in your home. When your home leaks the hot air produced by your heater, it forces your system to work harder in order to maintain a constant temperature. By sealing leaks in your home, you can reduce the workload on your system tremendously. The most common locations of air leaks are the basement, the attic, ductwork, and around windows/doors.
- Insulate your attic/basement. Some areas in your house are naturally cooler than the rest of your home. This forces your heating system to run longer in order to maintain the desired temperature. If you can insulate your attic and basement/crawl space with high R-value insulation, you will reduce the heat load placed on your system.
- Utilize the benefits of a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat will allow you to have full control over your heating system. With the ability to control your system, you can set a specific schedule for your heating system to follow. This will let you tailor the usage of your system to the unique needs of you and your family and will ensure that your system is never operating when nobody is home.
- Install a zoning system. A zoning system will allow you to separate your home into different areas for heating and cooling purposes. The comfort levels of each of these areas can be controlled by your programmable thermostat. So, if a certain area of your home is not used very often, you can turn down, or shut off, heat to that area, allowing it to be used in areas where you want it.
For more information on reducing the heat load of your heating system, contact the professionals at Ernst Heating & Coolingtoday.
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