With gradually decreasing temperatures, shorter days, and talk of an early winter, many homeowners are once again faced with the challenge of keeping home energy costs down without sacrificing their family’s comfort. And while lowering the temp on your thermostat a couple degrees is sound advice, the truth is no one wants to spend the next 4 to 5 months in their home shivering under layers of clothing.

So what’s a homeowner to do? Well, here are 5 fairly easy and inexpensive home improvement projects that can help reduce your energy consumption, lower your utility bills, and keep your family warm this fall and beyond.burton

  1. Check your lights. Pretty soon, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an incandescent light bulb on store shelves, so why not phase the energy guzzlers out of your home now? LED and compact-fluorescent (CFL) bulbs may cost a little more now, but will save you money in the long run.

 

  1. Get the air moving. It’s a fact, warm air rises. So unless you have gravity-defying super powers, all that warm air near your ceiling is doing you and your family no good. Instead of spiking the thermostat, try installing a ceiling fan and running it in reverse. It will help push warm air down where you need it most.

 

  1. Update the thermostat. Installing a programmable thermostat is an inexpensive way to take control of your home heating (and cooling) costs.

 

  1. Prevent and patch air leaks. Air leaks account for about 30% of heating and cooling loss in most homes. Properly sealed windows, entry doors, garage doors, sockets, switches, and more can make a huge impact on your energy consumption and costs.

 

  1. Check your insulation. Poor attic insulation allows cold air to sneak into your home in the cold weather months, and warm air in during the summer. But a few inexpensive rolls of insulation and a couple hours of your time can easily solve that problem.

 

Here’s something else to consider. With a new, high efficiency heating system, you can take a big bit out of your heating costs and every year thereafter with proper maintenance. At Burton we offer numerous heating system options for every home and budget. Why not contact us today for an in-home quote and home heating analysis.