What Causes High Heating Bills in the Winter?

high heating costAs we transition from fall to winter, we begrudgingly enter the season of spending. Between hosting family holidays and shopping for loved ones, it can be hard to keep up with bills on top of everything else. Although the colder weather leads to higher heating bills, there are some steps you can take to help your wallet this season.

The most important thing to do when trying to cut back on expenses, like a heating bill, is to figure out why the expenses are so high in the first place. If you’ve noticed a drastic increase in your heating bill during the colder months, here are some possible reasons for the change:

  • You’ve upped the temperature setting in your home to combat the cold, and your furnace is working overtime to achieve that toasty temperature.
  • The cold weather is causing you to layer up, which means more laundry, and more wet clothes to run through the dryer.
  • The poor insulation in your home is causing heat to escape through windows and doors, making your furnace work even harder to make up for the warmth your home is losing.
  • Your heating system is not working properly, and needs to be serviced by an HVAC technician.

What you can do to lower your heating bill.

Save Energy | Turn Down Thermostat for WinterNow that we know the why, it’s time to start taking steps to reduce your heating bill. Luckily, these solutions are easy to do and take little to no time at all, so that you can put your focus on planning the perfect holidays.

  1. Lower The Thermostat. This may seem hard to do, because you want to stay as warm as possible, but if it’s only a few degrees, you’ll hardly notice the difference. And even a few degrees can save 5% – 10% on your final heating bill. Experts actually suggest a thermostat set to 68°F during the winter months. When you’re asleep or away, it’s recommended to lower that temperature by a few degrees to further save on heating costs.
  2. Install a Programmable Thermostat. To further expand on our last point, having a thermostat that automatically operates based on your initial settings saves you the hassle of manually changing the temperature of your home. You can program your thermostat to cycle through temperatures based on your schedule, so that your home will be warmed up for you when you step through the door and cooled down after you’ve left in a hurry, all without you having to press a button.
  3. Bundle Up! If you’ve lowered your thermostat, then you won’t have to worry about extra laundry affecting your heating or energy bills. Make yourself a cup of your favorite hot drink and cozy up next to family, friends, or loved ones and enjoy feeling comfy in your thickest winter clothes.
  4. Improve Your Home’s Insulation. If you’ve noticed that your doors or windows are poorly insulated, take steps to keep the heat in and the cold out. Get double-paned windows as an early Christmas present to yourself, or add weatherstripping around your doors. Doing this will also help your home stay cool when summer rolls back around!
  5. Schedule A Service for Your Heating Unit. Doing all of the previous steps won’t make a difference if your furnace isn’t functioning properly. In order to be ready for the cold season, you should talk with your HVAC service provider about scheduling a maintenance call for your heating system.

Stay warm this winter while also lowering your heating bill!

Now that you know what you can do to lower the seasonal costs of your heating bill, it’s time to get started. Empire HVAC has affordable maintenance plans for your heating unit. We are currently hosting special prices for our preferred customers to help them get their home ready for holiday guests.

If your heating unit is dated and getting on in years, this is the perfect time for an upgrade. Through November 30th, we are offering a special deal where you can save up to $3,219 on a brand new, high-efficiency heating system. Become one of our preferred customers today to catch this amazing deal! 404-294-0900

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