by Cooper Climate Control
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When winter weather descends in Arizona, it can seem exceptionally cold, especially after the hot summer you experienced. While the heating season is short from East Valley to West Valley, taking steps to button up your home to keep the chill out can save energy and your pocketbook.
If no one is at home during the day, turn down the thermostat. You save three percent for every degree that you lower the thermostat. Add more blankets to your beds and keep the thermostat low at night. If you’re using an air-source heat pump with an auxiliary electric heating coil, check your manual first or contact your Heating & Cooling Specialists. You may not save money lowering the temperature.
Use your kitchen and bathroom fans efficiently. According to the Department of Energy, running a fan that vents outdoors can deplete a home of conditioned air within an hour.
Insulate your water heater and turn its temperature down to 120 degrees. An insulation blanket is easy to install and lower temperatures reduce mineral buildup inside the heater.
Consider upgrading to thermal or Energy Star windows. If your budget doesn’t allow it, use storm windows or obtain plastic film kits to reduce heat transference and air infiltration from the outdoors. If you see cracks between the window frame and your home’s siding, caulk around the windows.
Change your furnace filter regularly. A dirty filter increases the cost of heating your home by slowing the rate of air flowing through it and creating wear inside the furnace. Next, make sure that your heat registers are not covered with furniture, rugs or drapes.
Leaking ducts can waste up to 60 percent of the warmed air during the heating season. Remove the register grills to see that the ducts make a good seal with the duct opening. If your ducts are hard to reach, consider having us check your duct system for leaks.
If you’d like more information about saving energy this heating season, contact Cooper Climate Control Air Conditioning & Heating. We’re happy to answer any questions.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about utility bills and other HVAC topics, check out our blogs.