How You Can Help Minimize the Heat Leaving Your Home

With the colder weather settling in, the last thing you need to be concerned about is maintaining a comfortable home. It would be great to be lounging around on the couch enjoying the cozy warmth of your home and not worrying about the colder weather outside. Of course, it may not be that easy, and there are a few items that could be occurring in your home that could end up with you scheduling furnace repair or a higher than normal energy bill.

There are several causes for higher utility bills, but we are highlighting a few of the more common ones we encounter.

1. Heat is getting out through the glass of your windows – when hot air comes in to contact with cold glass on your windows, it impacts the indoor air by reducing some of the heat. To help reduce the effect that the glass has on your cozy home, make sure you’re closing your drapes during the evening hours and only opening drapes on windows receiving light during the day.
2. Lack of attic insulation – if you live in an older home there’s a chance that there is a lack of insulation. This means you could be losing heat through your attic, which forces your furnace to work harder to keep up, and might eventually harm your furnace. When you go to check out your attic’s insulation, you’ll want to see if the insulation is even or below the joists. If it is, you’ll likely want to add some more insulation.
3. Gaps in windows and doors – sometimes these gaps are more obvious and visible to the naked eye or large enough to feel drafts coming in, but sometimes that may not be the case. Take a closer look at all of your windows and doors to determine whether weather stripping is needed take care of those gaps. Just like it is with attic insulation, window and door gaps can require your heating system to work harder, potentially upping the chance that you’ll need furnace repair.

Hopefully, these tips help you determine any potential issues in your home that impacts your comfort. If you have any questions about furnaces, furnace repair or other ways to combat heat-loss, give us a call at 717-383-4479.