With the temps dropping, the last thing you should have anxiety over is keeping a comfortable home. It would be great to be lounging around on the couch enjoying the cozy warmth of your home and not thinking twice about what’s taking place outside. Of course, it may not be that easy, and there are a few items that could be occurring in your home that might result in a need for furnace repair or a higher than normal energy bill.
There are a number of causes for higher utility bills, but these are three of the more common ones we typically hear about at.
- Heat is getting out through the glass of your windows – when the warm air in your home reaches windows that are cold from the outdoor air, it impacts the indoor air by reducing some of the heat. An option to help minimize that impact is to make sure that you close your drapes during the evening hours and make sure that your windows are receiving light during the day before opening them.
- Lack of attic insulation – if you live in an older home there’s a possibility that it doesn’t have enough insulation. This means you could be losing heat through your attic, which in-turn makes your furnace work harder, and could eventually lead to the need for a furnace repair. It’s not hard to determine if you have enough insulation, take a look and see if the insulation is below or even with the joists. If it is, you likely need more insulation.
- 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. Be sure to thoroughly look at all of your windows and doors to establish whether it requires weather stripping to take care of those gaps. As we mentioned 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.
We hope these three tips can help you identify any problem-spaces in your home that could be inhibiting the comfort of your home. If you have any questions about furnaces, furnace repair or other ways to combat heat-loss, give us a call at 951-299-9853.