Labor Day weekend is fast approaching. With it, as always, means closing the door on summer and looking ahead to the cooler temperatures and falling leaves of Autumn. Like any other season, Fall brings with it a unique set of challenges and reminders for home performance and home energy.
As the Labor Day weekend approaches, we thought we’d develop a blog series with ways that you can ensure you’re saving the most energy possible as we move into cooler temperatures this fall.
Here are some tips that you can follow on your own to help:
- Adjust your thermostat when you are gone. When nobody is home, heat isn’t needed nearly as much. Before you are away, lower your thermostat 10-15 degrees (that is, if you can’t get away with turning it off completely). Just this minor switch could save more than 10% on your annual heating costs. When you are home, find a good balance between comfort and minimizing energy usage. When you get your next monthly energy bill, you’ll be glad you did.
- Run ceiling fans in reverse. Though not commonly known, many ceiling fan models have switches built in to reverse the direction of the blades as they spin. While fans are thought to only be for cooling you when you’re in the same room in the summer, ceiling fans running in reverse can push warmer air that has risen to the top of the room back down into air circulation, lowering the requirement for additional heat.
- Maintain your heating system. Before you start to use your heating system (whatever that system may be) on a daily basis, have it cleaned and inspected. Not only will this ensure that your system will run safely during the fall and winter, it will also maximize its efficiency. By having a professional inspect and/or clean your heating system, you’ll save big time.
We’ll be following up with more tips for the fall to increase your home’s efficiency shortly. Stay tuned!
