Save On Heating Costs 

Heating costs have gone up rapidly in the past two years. You may find that you are paying twice as much to heat your home. What can you do to save some of this money?

Start by walking through your home and identifying the areas where heated air is leaking out. Check around your doors, windows, fireplaces and any drafty areas. There are many ways to close off leaks. You can caulk, weather strip and use plastic to seal off drafts. Put door sweeps on all of your outside doors. If your home is poorly insulated, the additional money spent to insulate it will pay for itself in reduced heating costs. The more you prevent heated air from leaking out, the more you will save.

Most people never think of this, but you should minimize the usage of ventilation fans and kitchen hood fans during the winter. I've heard it said that one bathroom fan can pull all of the warm air out of an average sized house in a little over an hour. This could increase your heating costs by a surprising amount.

If you don't use portions of your San Diego home, such as the guest room, why are you heating them? Close the heating vents in these areas and close the doors to rooms you don't use.

Spend the money to have an annual maintenance performed for your furnace or heat pump. This will keep it in good operating condition and running efficiently. Poorly maintained units use more energy and fuel. Maintenance is often fairly inexpensive when compared to the savings in heating costs and the extended life of the unit.

Often, people get a little chill and crank up the thermostat in order to warm up the room faster. This doesn't work. The heater won't heat up any more quickly. Your furnace will only work harder than necessary. Don't turn your heat completely off when you are sleeping or not at home. Turning it too low will cost you more to re-heat the air in your home. You should set the thermostat at 68 to 70 degrees while you are at home during the day, and drop it to 60 to 65 at night or when you aren't at home. A programmable thermostat is great for this.

Take a look at your hot water heater. It should be set at 120 degrees at the most. This is one of the safest temperatures anyway. If it is in an unheated areas, like an unfinished basement, you should wrap it in an insulation blanket to prevent heat loss. When washing clothes, try to wash them in cold water whenever possible. They even make soap powder that works best in cold water now.

There are many ways to save on your heating costs. From grabbing a sweater to opening south facing curtains during the day, you will find many savings.

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, an Internet consumer banking marketplace. RateEmpire.com is a destination site of personal finance, banking, investing, taxes, debt management and mortgage rates. RateEmpire.com provides mortgage guides and financial rates and information. RateEmpire.com also operates a financial portal #1 American Financial, found at http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com and San Diego loan portal http://www.LendingSanDiego.com

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