Keeping Warm

Nothing is nicer than coming home to a warm apartment. But nothing is worse than getting the electric bill for all those warm, toasty winter days. Running the central heat or air conditioning unit is the number one cost of your electric bill. So now would be a good time to learn how to cut those costs and decrease those nasty bills.

Balancing the heat:
  You may have noticed already that some rooms and areas of your home gets warmer than other areas. This is the impact of air balancing. If you have a central heating unit (which most units have), the heat goes along some duct-pipes in the ceiling and through room vents into the room. To prevent heat from coming into the room, simply close the vent or close the path in the actual duct.

Rooms that you don’t use very often or closets should have their vents closed to prevent wasted heat loss. This will direct the heat to other more used rooms. If there is more heat blowing into those rooms then the heating unit does not have to work as hard or as long (and thereby saving you money).

If you live in a two-story or multi-story unit or an apartment with a loft, close the vents on the upper floors. As we all know, heat rises. The bottom level will warm up and eventually the heat will dissipate to the upper floor. As the heat from the bottom floor rises, the heating unit will not have to work extra-hard to heat the upper level.

Keep doors closed to rooms that do not need heat. As heat flows through a home, it moves into rooms with open doorways. This means it takes longer for the entire home to heat because the heat keeps spreading out or thinning out. If, however, some of the closets and bathrooms are closed, the heated air will move down the hall to the next room which needs more heat. Or, if you want those rooms to be heated, leave the doors open. Keeping doors open also increases the circulation throughout the entire house. It is good practice if you don’t have roommates.

Lower the Temperature:
  A good way to save money is simply to lower the thermostat. If you followed the above suggestions, you won’t need to run the heating unit on a high temperature to feel comfortable. The heat should be balanced and your entire home comfort-level should remain constant. It takes some trial-and-error to get a balanced home (and you will need to re-balance for the summer months when you run the air conditioning unit), but in the end it is worth it.

Turn down the heat when you are not home. This is what makes programmable thermostats so valuable and cost-saving – they can be programmed to turn down the heat when you leave and turn up the heat when you get home or wake up. In good practice, you want a constant temperature in your home, so turning off the heating unit isn’t the most efficient method. Turn the temperature down instead.

Other Ways to Get Warm:
  If you are like most people, you want the home to feel warm, but running the heat too high means more using more electricity (or gas) and more wasting money. Invest in other ways to keep warm and watch those energy bills drop.

Get a really good portable heater. Be wary because these tend to overload the circuits and some have been known to start fires. Follow the safety instructions exactly and be extra cautious with pets or babies. Do not leave a heating unit unattended – ever. If one does overload your circuit, you might need only to “flip the switch” at the breaker box. Call your landlord before you use a portable heater to learn where the circuit breaker and fuse boxes are just in case. Keep a flashlight handy. Of course, there is a good chance you might never have any trouble with your heater.

Buy an electric blanket for sleeping. If you don’t need the heat running throughout the entire house at night, turn it down and use an electric blanket instead. Please follow the safety instructions with electric blankets. Invest in a good, long-lasting and safe blanket. If it looks cheaply made, it is probably dangerous.

Throw down some floor mats and rugs over ceramic and linoleum tiles. Use rugs and mats in the bathrooms. Use draft-dodgers, which are special air-blockers you can put up against the bottom of doors to prevent drafts from leaking into a nice warm room. Avoid using bathroom and kitchen vents since they draw away the heat.

Be sure all the windows are covered properly and sealed. Check that the doors are sealed and no cold air is leaking inside. If necessary, call the landlord or handyman to do the job.

Websites for good information:
misterfix-it.com
consumerenergycenter.org
bpa.gov/Corporate/KC/energytips/heat.shtml
warmair.net