Save Electricity and Your Home
Freezing temperatures are upon us, let’s not forget Valentine’s winter storm 2 years ago. Yes, I have blogged many times about how much you can save when setting your thermostat correctly. This time I want to remind you that you can Save Electricity and Your Home with the Correct Use of the Thermostat in Wintertime.
Let’s get your home ready for freezing weather
The Correct Use of the Thermostat in Wintertime is not only about saving a few hundred dollars a year on electricity. This could save you thousands of dollars on home repairs.
Prepare your home for the winter
Don’t turn off the heating system thermostat, keep it in “AUTO”.
Get your heating system checked.
Inspect and clean your chimney, buildup can start a fire.
Test your smoke and CO (carbon monoxide) alarms.
Check your home’s insulation.
Trim the trees over your vehicles and roof.
Clear the gutters.
Wrap all pipes and valves around the house.
Be ready to cover your plants.
Have rock salt or snow salt ready.
If you are leaving your home for a few days make sure you do the following
Check your home insurance coverage.
Check the weather, look out for freezing temperatures days ahead.
You can lower the temperature on your thermostat, but do not turn off your heating system.
Leave faucets dripping from hot and cold taps.
Drain and turn off your lawn sprinkler system.
Leave cabinets where are water pipes open.
Think about food spoilage in your fridge in the case of rolling blackouts.
I understand that this is a lot to do, however, think about what could happen if a pipe breaks. Think of all the damage this may cause. Some things will be irreplaceable, and you may be looking somewhere from $5,000 to $10,000 in-home repairs.
The Correct Use of the Thermostat in Wintertime can help you in many ways. It will keep your plumbing from freezing and breaking, and your indoor plans from dying, floods, costly repairs, etc.
Avoid doing this during wintertime and save on your electricity bill
A lot of people think that shutting the thermostat off will save energy, thus, will result in a lower bill during wintertime. This is a mistake.
What will happen if we turn off the heating system when we leave for work, school, etc.?
The house will get too cold, then, when we come back, we want the furnace to warm up our home, right? This will make the heating system work nonstop until reaching the desired temperature. This can take a long time. If you set the thermostat too high, the furnace will not reach that temperature. This will waste more energy than the energy you tried to save when turning off the furnace.
When leaving home for your daily routine, let's say 5-7 hours, I suggest you set the thermostat at 60˚F. When you come back home, never set it at more than 68˚F or 70˚F. When everyone is sleeping, you can lower the temperature to 65˚F.
This is the Correct Use of the Thermostat in Wintertime
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