With the colder weather settling in, the last thing you want to have to worry about is sustaining a comfortable home. In an ideal world, you would be able to relax in a warm home and not worrying about the colder weather outside. Of course, things don’t work that way, and there are a few items that could be happening in your home that might result in a need for furnace repair or trying to figure out why your bill is so high.
There are a number of causes for an increase in your energy bill, but we are highlighting a few of the more common ones we encounter.
- Heat is getting out through the glass of your windows – when hot air comes in to contact with cold glass on your windows, that air loses some of its heat. One way to help reduce the loss of heat is to make sure that you close your drapes during the evening hours and only open the drapes on windows that have light coming in during the day.
- Lack of attic insulation – with older homes there’s a chance that there is a lack of insulation. This means you could be losing heat through your attic, causing your heating system to work harder than necessary, and could eventually harm your furnace. It’s not hard to determine if you have enough insulation, take a look and see if the insulation is below or even with the joists. When the insulation is even or below the joists, it’s likely your attic needs some additional insulation.
- Gaps in windows and doors – sometimes these gaps are more obvious and visible to the naked eye or large enough to feel drafts coming in, but sometimes that may not be the case. Take a closer look at all of your windows and doors to determine whether you need to add weather stripping to take care of those gaps. Similar to attic insulation, window and door gaps can force your furnace to work harder, potentially upping the chance that you’ll need furnace repair.
We hope these three tips can help you identify any problem-spaces in your home that could be inhibiting the comfort of your home. Our experts are available to answer any of your questions about furnaces, repair or indoor comfort, give us a call at 256-270-1196.