Now That Winter’s Here, Try These Six Energy-Saving Steps

Winter is here, and heating costs are going up. Keeping your home toasty throughout a frigid Wisconsin winter requires a lot of energy. However, some simple tips can help increase your energy savings, freeing up money for other purposes and reducing your impact on the environment. 

Here are six tips to increase your energy savings this winter:

1. Check your home for air leaks and drafts. Look for gaps underneath doors and feel for drafts around windows, pipes and electrical outlets. Install draft stoppers beneath drafty doors, and use waterproof caulking to seal air leaks in other places. Pre-cut foam gaskets can help fix air leaks behind electrical switches.
2. If your heating bills are inexplicably high, have a qualified professional check for duct leaks. Leaking ductwork greatly reduces the efficiency of HVAC systems and causes energy costs to rise.
3. Install a new energy-efficient HVAC system, especially if your system is old and inefficient. A new high-efficiency system will have a high up-front cost, but it will save money on energy bills in the long run, eventually paying for itself. You may even be able to get a tax credit when you install a more efficient system. Research energy ratings to decide which furnace is right for you.
4. Have your HVAC system serviced at least annually to keep it running as efficiently as possible. Clean filters will increase your energy savings.
5. Set your thermostat at 68 degrees Fahrenheit or lower and wear warmer clothes if you need to. For each degree that you lower your thermostat between 70 and 60 degrees during winter, you will save 5 percent on heating costs.
6. Consider replacing an old water heater with a newer, more efficient one. It’s also a good idea to insulate water heater pipes near the appliance and turn its temperature down to 120 degrees.

For friendly and professional help with efficient home heating systems in west-central Wisconsin, contact Hovland’s, Inc.

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

Hovland’s, Inc. services Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and the rest of west-central Wisconsin. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!