Keeping Your Family Warm and Comfortable in the Coming Frigid Winter Months Can be a Challenge
And an expensive challenge at that!
Never fear! Here we have a whole list of DIY energy saving techniques brought to you by the home heating experts at Raynor. These tried and true techniques are guaranteed to give you and your family the toastiest winter of their lives—and what’s more, while your family is keeping cozy, you are saving money!
- Dialing back your thermostat 10-15% percent for just eight hours every day could potentially cut your annual heating bill by 10%.
- Weatherize your home by caulking and weather-stripping all doors and windows. These adhesive sealants keep warm air in and icy drafts out. Installing locks on your windows can also help make them tighter and more draft resistant.
- Increase, repair and replace insulation in your attic, basement and outside walls. For a truly insulated home, be sure to also cover in-wall air conditioners and prevent cold air from leaking into your home.
- Be sure your thermostat never rises above 68°F when you are home. This is an optimal, energy efficient indoor temperature for the winter months. You’ll be warm without being hot and you can rest easy that a steady temperature of 68°F isn’t pushing your trusty furnace to the brink. And don’t forget to lower the temperature when you go to bed or leave the house. This makes for an energy efficient home heating around the clock.
- Turn your water heater down to 120°F. Although most manufacturers’ default setting is 140°F, changing it to 120°F is both a safety and cost-cutting measure. The lower temperature requires less energy to maintain and also decreases risk of accidental scalding.
- Install water-flow restrictors on your plumbing fixtures. These handy devices are highly eco-friendly, and can be helpful in lowering water bills. For example, flow restrictors can help homeowners use minimal water to perform typically water-intensive chores like doing the laundry or the dishes
- If you’re a bit chilly, think about throwing on your favorite sweater before reaching for the thermostat. Remember—for every degree you lower your thermostat you’re slicing around 2 percent off your heating bill!
- Plugging those pesky air leaks with caulk or new weather stripping could knock about 10% off your monthly energy bill. The most common air “escapes hatches?” Floors, walls, ceilings, ducts, fireplaces, plumbing penetrations, doors, windows, fans, vents and electrical outlets.
- Close the fireplace damper when not in use. This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how often we see this in the field. You worked hard to build that roaring fire for your family—don’t let that warmth get away!
- Keep shades and curtains open during the day on the south side of your home to allow solar heating and close them at night to retain heat.
- Be sure not to block your radiators or heating vents with furniture, draperies or anything else. Regularly clean all radiators, registers and baseboard heaters—keep them dirt and dust free! It’s also a must to keep vents and doors closed in unused rooms.
- If radiators are located near cold outside walls, place a sheet of aluminum foil between the radiator and the wall to reflect heat back into the room.
- And last, but certainly not least—have your heating system serviced annually and replace those furnace filters religiously. During the heating season, change or clean furnace filters once a month.
As I write these words, the cooler months of fall and winter are just a few flips of the calendar away! Is your house prepared for those first mornings of frigid frost and those long nights of endless snow? If not—it’s not too late! Get to work on this handy checklist and you’ll be thanking us come that first blizzard!
Call Raynor today to learn more about how you can save on your energy bill this winter!
A man, a plan, and a rundown red pick-up.
In 1993, Tom Raynor began taking on electrical construction and service jobs across southern New Jersey. With just one assistant and one beat up truck, Tom crisscrossed the state building a reputation for his small outfit as one that offered professional, hands-on service and reliable, high quality results. By 1994, it was official—Raynor Services was born!
What is Raynor Services today?
Today, we have evolved from a “man in the van” operation into a top-tier, “one stop shop” service company, specializing in electric, heating, cooling, generators and solar services. These days, that red pick-up has been upgraded to a fleet of ten fully stocked trucks.
Service the way it used to be.
Raynor Services has never lost the spirit of professional, hands-on service that it was founded on. Family owned and operated, we combine small business service with big business expertise. Raynor technicians are among the best in the industry. Each must complete a rigorous hiring process that includes a background check, illegal substance test and HVAC or electrical proficiency examination. They have been trained according to Nexstar principles, a best practices organization that adheres to a strict code of conduct and ethics.
The Raynor customer service experience.
Our technicians will call before they arrive and wear full uniforms. They will use shoe covers and floor mats and pride themselves in leaving homes as clean as they found them. They will provide you with an upfront price so there are no surprises and they will not do any work without your approval. When the job is completed, clients receive another “Happy Call” from the Raynor Services office to ensure every customer’s satisfaction.
Get the Raynor Advantage in your home today.
We have knowledgeable phone operators standing by our service line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So call Raynor Services at 609-385-9697 today and let us know how we can make you smile.
