Tips for Best Temperature Efficiency for the Winter

In Colorado, you depend on your HVAC system the most during the winter, and that means a rise in energy bills as you run your furnace more often to heat the house. Keeping a furnace running efficiently is vital at this time of year, or else your energy bills can rise unnecessarily high.

The good news is that it isn’t difficult to maintain temperature efficiency in your home. In this post, we’re going to look at the best tips for enjoying energy-efficient warmth for your household through the winter.

Have Your Furnace Tuned-Up If You Haven’t Already

This is an essential step for ensuring a furnace operates at its maximum efficiency and doesn’t start to deteriorate early. And this isn’t all a maintenance tune-up does: it helps the furnace run safely, prevents repair issues, and extends equipment service life. We recommend having this job done in the fall, but it’s definitely not too late to schedule it now—it’s far better than missing it entirely! Our Peak Home Performance Maintenance Plan is the best way to manage regular tune-ups for your furnace and the rest of your HVAC equipment.

Know the Other Maintenance Steps the Furnace Needs

Only professionals can do a furnace tune-up. But there are other maintenance steps you can take on your own during the season. The most important is to remember to change the furnace filter every one to three months, otherwise the furnace will suffer a severe drop in efficiency. Also check around the house to ensure all room vents are unblocked and open, and keep the area around the furnace itself clear for about a foot.

Use the Thermostat Efficiently

Pushing the thermostat up high when you want to get warmer may seem like the basic way to run a heating system, but this is actually a major energy waster. The furnace won’t make your house warmer any faster with the thermostat pushed up high—the thermostat just puts a limit on how hot the house gets. We don’t recommend raising the thermostat by more than 5°F to warm up, or lowering it by more than 5°F if it gets too hot. The most effective way to use the thermostat is to find a comfortable indoor temperature and keep the thermostat steady. A good daytime setting is 68°F when people are home, with a setback temperature around 8°F cooler at night or when the house is empty.

Keep Outside Vents Clear of Snow and Ice

If you use a high-efficiency furnace, there are intake and exhaust vents on the outside of the house that must remain clear for the furnace to operate efficiently and safely. Most furnaces have an automatic shut-off if the vents are blocked, but you still don’t want your furnace shutting down suddenly. Keep a three-foot area around the vents clear of ice and snow, and always check after any snowfall.

If you need assistance with your home heating system this winter, never hesitate to call our technicians. We have 24-hour emergency service available to see that you and your family stay safe and warm through the season.

Call Peak Home Performance today to schedule heating services for a great, energy-efficient winter. Guaranteeing comfort at an affordable price!