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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Top Seven Toledo Heating Tips For Winter

By Terry Williams

A homeowner needs to do a few simple things in order to make their home ready for a long winter. To save money on this year's utility bill, here are the top 7 Toledo heating tips for winter and saving money on energy, something everyone could use. These things are fairly simply, from opening the curtains and letting in the sun light, adjusting the water temperature to turning down the thermostat a couple degrees. Each item will allow a homeowner to save money and will not cost them a lot to implement.

One of the most cost-effective and simplest things to do to help bring down utility bills is to insulate a house. Attic insulation will pay for itself after a couple of months because the heat will not be escaping, it will be staying in the home where it belongs. An unfinished basement is another place to put thick insulation in order to help keep the house warm in the colder months. Insulation could be put in place by a handy homeowner or by a certified HVAC Toledo contractor.

Every homeowner should weatherize their home and then check it every year for wear and tear. Purchasing weather-stripping is inexpensive and fairly easy to install. Of course, you could also let your Toledo HVAC contractor do it as well. Place weather-stripping along the doors to keep air from leaking out between the frame and the door. Do the same around the windows and then check around the foundation and baseboards. It's also a good idea to feel around for any air that might be leaking into or blowing out of the house near vents. When finished, open the blinds and curtains in order to allow the warm sunlight in to heat up the room during the day.

Another almost painless tip is to set the thermostat to a lower number, about 68 degrees and wear a sweater if one gets cold. This could save a household in the neighborhood of about $72 each year. By lowering the thermostat just another five degrees when the family is not home or at night, they will save even more money. By spending a little money on a programmable thermostat, available from your Toledo HVAC contractor, the house will automatically be able to cool itself when no one is home and during the late evening hours.

Another place to save money is with the hot water heater. By setting it to 120 degrees, the family will still have hot enough water for showers and baths, but not hot enough to scold someone and the savings will be about $10 a year. Investing in a hot water heater blanket, which sells for under $12, will help to keep the water in the tank warmer longer and save energy as well.

Several little things will add up to big things when it comes to saving energy. Begin by replacing all regular florescent light bulbs with CFL energy efficient light bulbs and this will save a homeowner about $40 per light bulb over the lifetime of the bulb, and these bulbs last a long time. A great furnace Toledo tip is to Keep up with changing the air filters in your furnace because it's a big energy saver too. These filters collect pet hair, dander from pets and humans, and simple dirt and dust. They need to be changed once a month in order to keep your Toledo furnace running at optimum performance. By waiting until the sun goes down to use energy draining appliances such as a dryer, washing machine or dishwasher, a family could save good amounts of energy and money.

Purchasing all energy efficient appliances that are up to code when it comes to Toledo HVAC, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, is yet another way to help lower utility bills and keep a house warm in the winter months and cool in the summer months. Replacing old appliances may seem extreme or sound costly, but in the long run, the old appliances are what is costing more money and draining a home of most of its energy consumption. Switching to highly energy efficient rated appliances such as hot water heaters, Toledo furnaces and air conditioners would be ideal to lower energy consumption and save money.

Homeowners can still save money while heating their home this winter season and there are plenty more than the top 7 Toledo heating tips for winter available. Many of the community's local energy providers will come to a homeowners house to give them an energy audit, some free of charge, and go over what they see as being wrong with the home in terms of loosing valuable energy. It would be worth a call to the local power plant or energy resource provider to see if they provide such a service or where a homeowner could find information on getting a home energy audit so that they know just where to begin implementing these tips for winterizing their home.

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