How You Can Help Minimize the Heat Leaving Your Home

With the temps dropping, the last thing you want to have to worry about is sustaining a comfortable home. In an ideal world, you would be able to relax in a warm home and not worrying about the colder weather outside. Of course, it typically doesn’t happen that way, and there are a few issues that could be happening in your home that may require furnace repair or an unnecessary increase in your utility costs.

There are several causes for higher utility bills, but we are highlighting a few of the more common ones we encounter.

Heat is getting out through the glass of your windows – the glass on your windows are cold from the outdoor temps and when the warm air makes contact, the indoor air becomes cooler. An option to help minimize that impact is to make sure that you close your drapes during the evening hours and only opening drapes on windows receiving light during the day.
Lack of attic insulation – with older homes there’s a likelihood that there is a lack of insulation. This means you could be losing heat through your attic, which forces your furnace to work harder to keep up, and could eventually harm your furnace. It’s not hard to determine if you have enough insulation, take a look and see if the insulation is below or even with the joists. If that’s the case, you’ll likely want to add some more insulation.
Gaps in windows and doors – sometimes these gaps are more obvious and visible to the naked eye or large enough to feel drafts coming in, but sometimes that may not be the case. Take a closer look at all of your windows and doors to establish whether it requires weather stripping to take care of those gaps. As we mentioned with attic insulation, window and door gaps can force your furnace to work harder, making the possibility of furnace repair later even greater.

These are just a few tips to help you determine any potential problem areas in your house that could cause heat loss. If you’d like to speak with our professionals about your furnace or indoor comfort, give us a call at 317-406-5382.