1.Change your ceiling fan settings
Many people assume ceiling fans are only for cooling in warm months, but they can be your best friend in winter too. During the summer months. Your ceiling fan blades turn in a counter clockwise motion and use what’s known as the wind chill factor to keep you cooler.
However, in winter, you’ll want to find the reverse switch on your fan to change things up. As warm air generated by your heating system naturally rises to the ceiling, and cooler air sinks, your ceiling fan will push the warm air back down to a comfortable level. To locate your reverse switch, look on your fan above or below the blades, or check the manual from your fan manufacturer.
2. Install a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to preset temperatures for different times of the day because you don’t need to keep your home at 68 degrees around the clock. Although one shouldn’t be used with heat pumps, a programmable thermostat is a real money-saver with air-conditioning as well as with heat. Choose a setting on the low end when you’re sleeping or are away and go with a higher setting at other times (see table bellow) for savings of between 10 and 20 percent of your bill. Some units can store up to four temperature settings each day. morning, day, evening, night. All have a manual override switch.
3. Use timers on your central heating For Warm
The Centre for Sustainable Energy advises that programming your boiler to turn the heating on a little earlier – such as 30 minutes before you get up in the morning. But at a lower temperature is cheaper than turning it on just as you need it at a higher temperature. This is because a boiler heats up at a constant speed whether you set your thermostat to 20°C or 30°C. But don’t make the mistake of leaving your heating on low all day. Because then you’re just paying for heat when you don’t need it.
4.Prepare your vents/registers.
At our heater maintenance company, we suggest dusting the vents or registers throughout your home before you use your heater. This will clear away any extra build-up that may end up in your air. In addition, check to make sure that nothing is obstructing the airflow from your vents and make sure your vents are opened all the way.
5.The Spin on Ceiling Fans
Spinning counterclockwise, they move air around the room. Not all energy experts feel it’s a good idea to use them in the heating season (doubters says they cool the air too much). But the fans do help bring heated air down to earth in rooms with cathedral or high-sloped ceilings.
However, that’s only if you slide the reversing switch on the side of the motor housing to the winter (clockwise) position. Then run the fan at its lowest speed. If you can’t reverse the blade rotation or if you think the fan is cooling off the room too much, leave it off.
