Natural Gas Furnace | How to Lower Your Energy Bill
Edmonton homeowners need to pay bills – it’s the nature of the beast. That being said the lower our bills are the more money we have for ‘play time.’ Car payments and mortgage loans are pretty set bills, but areas around the home can cost less with some preparations and guidance. Perhaps the biggest area that a homeowner can save their hard earned cash is through the natural gas furnace. Here are nine heating tips to follow so that you’re burning less of your money.
Related: How to replace a furnace.
1. Get Low
It’s nice to be comfortable in the cold Winter months, but it’s important to be realistic. For instance, there’s no need to crank up the heat to 27° and run around the house in shorts and flip flops if you expect to pay normal, natural gas furnace bills. For every 1° that you lower the temperature over a 24-hour period, you can decrease your utility bill in the range of 6% to 9%. Lower the thermostat a few degrees and put on a sweater if it is a little cold to see real savings.
2. The Sun Is Your Friend
During the day, the sun is a natural (and free) source of warmth and light. Open up the shades during the day and let the sun warm up the home a few degrees to try and keep the thermostat from running. Remember to close those drapes at night though as the cold air will suck the warmth right through the window.
3. Seal Cracks and Doors
No matter how high you crank the thermostat on your natural gas furnace, you’re never going to be able to heat the outside. So why do Edmonton homeowners allow warm air to escape through door cracks, window gaps, and other holes into the outside world? Seal them up and keep the warmth inside.
4. Insulate…Everything
The obvious thing to insulate is the outside walls of you home. What many homeowners might not be aware of though is that you should insulate pipes, crawlspaces, attics, and more. Whatever you spend in insulating will be recouped undoubtedly sooner rather than later.
5. Go Duct Hunting
High natural gas furnace bills can result from lost heat from the source to the delivery point. Most of the times, this happens when leaks in the duct work let out the air.
6. Install a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat costs only about $50 but can have huge savings on your natural gas furnace bills. You can program cooler temperatures on downtime such as while you’re working or sleeping while still coming home to a warm and cozy house.
7. Change Filters
Lower your gas bills by allowing your natural gas furnace to work more efficiently. Specifically changing the filter allows a more abundant airflow that results in less cycling and less wear and tear on parts.
Related: How to clean your furnace
8. Use a Secondary Heat Source
If we’re lucky, there are some ‘free heat’ days that can be taken advantage of on an unseasonably warm Edmonton day. It seems a shame to have the natural gas furnace run on a day like this and instead a homeowner could benefit from a secondary heat source such as a space heater or wood stove.
9. Buy a New Natural Gas Furnace
If you’ve tried everything and your furnace is still wreaking havoc on your wallet, the most cost effective approach may be upgrading to a new energy efficient model. With Government kickbacks and tax stipends on top of lowered utility bills, the final costs may not be as damaging as expected.
I hope you enjoyed these 9 natural gas furnace tips.