Many people dread the cold winter months, not for the cold but for the expensive energy bills that they need to pay. It is estimated that more than $2000 will be spent on energy bills by every household using energy for their heating needs in the country. However, there are ways to warm up your home and reduce the energy bills and given below are five of them.
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Set up a thermostat which is programmable:
Many people are under the impression that the house heating needs to be turned off when they go out and turned on when they come in thinking that it will save on energy bills. However, this cannot be farther from the truth as fully turning the heat off and then switching it on will only increase your energy bills as it will take time to completely reheat the house. If you are living in an area where water pipes tend to freeze then you should never turn off the heating completely as the pipes can burst and you will be faced with huge repair bills. The solution is to buy a thermostat which is programmable and set it up to keep your house warm when you are at home and to keep it a little cooler when you are not there. This will not only keep your house warm, the water pipes will also last longer.
Insulate your home completely:
If there is a draft of air coming inside your house, then your home will always feel cold. You need to insulate the house completely and stop the draft. To find the draft, you can do a candle test, light a candle and move around the house, if the candle flickers, then you can be sure that the air is passing from somewhere nearby and you can immediately attend to it and block the movement of air. Once this is done, you will find that the house is a lot warmer.
Walls need to be covered:
Walls have a natural tendency to get cold. If you cover your walls you can make your room a lot warmer. All you need to do is hang a few portraits or pictures on the walls and you can see the difference. If you can you can hang carpets on the wall and this will make your house very warm. You can also place book shelves against the wall to make the room warmer.
Bring in the sunlight:
Sunlight provides the required warmth for your home and if you can you should open the windows and bring in the sunlight. The sunlight will warm your house and you can save on your energy bills.
Use thick drapes and keep your windows closed at night:
Drapes or curtains are not just to keep the heat out or for privacy, keeping the drapes closed throughout the night will ensure that the heat stays in and with a thermostat functioning in your home, you can be assured of lesser energy bills.
The above mentioned five ways will assist you in warming up your house in the winter and also save money in the process. For more tips like these, check out Stratton Exteriors http://www.strattonexteriors.com
