Closing vents in all of your unused rooms has potential to waste energy instead of saving it.Who knew?
With the frigid winter months edging closer, it's important to prepare by cutting back on home-heating costs.
However, are you making major mistakes when it comes to combating Jack Frost? Armed with a renewed quest for energy efficiency, there are a few old-school misconceptions that may increase the monthly electric bill while leaving an Abominable Snowman-sized environmental footprint.
Here are a few common home-heating errors:
- Maintaining a constant temperature while you're asleep or away at work may not be the most efficient way to keep the house warm. Instead, invest in a programmable thermostat. The device has potential to cut your heating bill by five to 15 percent depending on the climate.
- While closing vents in unused rooms may seem like a no-brainer, it's wasting energy instead of saving it. Shutting off more than 10 percent of your home's vents will make the furnace run inefficiency by altering the air pressure in the system. Instead, seal your ducts to save energy.
- Replacing drafty windows may seem like an obvious way to combat the cold, but it may not be an iron-clad solution. There's generally a hefty price tag attached to those costly pieces of glass and you may be shelling out more than saving by replacing them. Typically, more heat is lost in a home that's poorly insulated. However, if you do replace the windows, make sure they're installed properly to avoid drafts and leaks.
