How to Warm Your Home This Fall Without Cranking Up the Thermostat

The Greater Atlanta Area enjoys more than 200 days of sunny weather each year, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need a reliable heater to stay comfy and warm at home this fall. Temperatures often drop below freezing during the winter, and that can send your energy bills soaring. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), home heating accounts for at least 30 percent of the energy used in the average Georgia household. Instead of cranking up the thermostat when the weather turns chilly, use these simple energy-savings tips to lower your heating costs without sacrificing your family’s comfort.

Seal Your Home From the Air Outside

According to research conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you can save up to 20 cents of every dollar you spend on heating costs by making sure your home is tightly sealed against the weather. The study found that these two home improvements could cut energy bills in Georgia by 20 percent:

• Sealing Air Leaks: Gaps around your home’s foundation, attic space and windows and doors allow cold outdoor inside, forcing your heater to run longer to reach comfortable temperatures. Use weatherstripping, caulk and spray foam to plug up the leaks.
• Adding Attic Insulation: Insulation levels are specified by R-values, which is a measure of the insulation’s ability to resist heat flow. The average attic insulation in the South has an R-value of just R-13. Raising the R-value to 38 by adding more insulation can significantly lower your heating costs.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

No one wants to come home to a bone-chilling environment at the end of a long day, but leaving your heater running while you’re away wastes those hard-earned dollars that you could be saving for more important things like your children’s education or a dream vacation. Today’s high-tech programmable thermostats make it easy to preset your heater according to your personal schedule, automatically raising temperatures when you’re at home and active, and then lowering them when you’re away or asleep. You can override the settings anytime you need an extra boost of warmth without losing your programmed schedule.

Schedule HVAC Maintenance

One of the best ways to lower your home heating expenses is to ensure that your heater is running at peak efficiency. Heaters are complex pieces of equipment with parts engineered to work in perfect synchronization, and even a small malfunction can compromise the system’s efficiency. Because regularly scheduled maintenance means fewer repairs and a longer service life, you’ll enjoy long-term savings as well. At Ful-Bro Heating and Air Conditioning, our preventive HVAC maintenance plans come with additional perks, including a 1-inch pleated air filter replacement, a 10-percent discount on additional services and priority scheduling.

Serving Atlanta and the surrounding communities since 1967, Ful-Bro Heating and Air Conditioning is your resource for energy-saving tips, products and services that let you set money aside to reach your long-term goals and spend less on heating expenses. To learn more or to schedule service, contact Ful-Bro today.