In recent years, the weather and climate has changed dramatically, causing the weather to be intense and the temperature to drop in winter further more. In this scenario, keeping yourself and your house properly protected against the chilly atmosphere has become very costlier.
Below are a few home improvements that can help you with the costs of keeping your house warm without being a burden on your wallet.
Locate & Close Air Leaks
Foremost of all, you must check your house for the air leaks and close them for better protection against the wind and for effective heating which will ultimately reduce your cost. These air leaks are the gaps which can be found around your windows, doors, floors, walls or fireplaces from where chilly winds of winter can easily seep in. We suggest you to fill them by using caulk or spray foam which will be a one time cost only and wouldn’t be more than 35$-40$.
Window Treatments Can Be Useful
Another thing that can improve your house decor as well as help you save on your heating bill is the window treatment. You can opt for heavy drapes and curtains which will give your house a very lavish feel but will also help in keeping the heat of the house locked inside. The cold air outside will not pervade inside your house through the glass and the heat and warmth of your house will not fade either. Getting these curtains and window treatment is also a one time cost which will help in saving from the monthly heating bill.
Buy More Rugs
We often tend to walk in our homes with bare feet which ultimately push us to increase the heating level and thus we end up with heavy bills. In this case, the best hack of winter is to go for wall to wall carpeting or rugs on the floor. This will keep your feet warm and will even help as insulation against cold. If you are worried about the expense you can visit a sale point or you can even shop from the online stores to find affordable rugs.
Ducts Can Be a Problem
The heating duct in your house can be a big problem as they more than often have a leaking issue. Often survey reports depict how they affect your heating from 25% to 40% overall. The best advice to prevent from it is to seal your heating duct. This will not only keep your home efficiently heated but will also reduce your heating bill.
Invest in a Programmable Thermostat
Another home improvement that can help you save on your heating bill is to purchase a programmable thermostat. You can easily get it from the market and its installation is pretty easy too. Through this, you will be able to monitor, regulate and control the heating level in your home. This makes things very easy for you if you have to turn the heating up or down or turn it off when you are not home which will eventually save you a lot annually.
Insulation can be Handy
According to Consumer Reports, the conditioned warm air escapes through the gaps in the floor and attics just like air leaks. So, proper insulation can be very handy as it keeps your heated house intact with the heat and keeps the chilly wind and winter outside your comfortable house. It costs you very reasonable and has numerous other advantages too.
Install Energy-Efficient Doors and Windows
A wise move in home improvement that can keep your house and its temperature at your comfortable level is to replace your doors and windows with the energy efficient options. If you have glass doors or sliding windows then you must look into this option. If you will install insulated doors and windows you will be able to keep your house ideally warm even at a very low heating level. It also makes your house air tight which will neither let the outside temperature affect the inside nor let the inside warmth leak from it in any way. They are available in a vast variety of types and makes like aluminium, wood and fibreglass. You must research about them before selecting one for your house.
Get Your HVAC Unit Serviced Annually
Someone rightly said, it is better to prevent and prepare instead of repent and repair. The last tip for your home improvement which will help you save money is to get your HVAC unit serviced annually before they break down and cost you immensely. Look up a professional service that can come to your house to check your heating unit and service it to improve its efficiency.
