Fall and winter is not just the cold season, it is also the holiday season. Needless to say this is the time of year where people see a sudden drop in the bank account as they shop for gifts, fine food, and even travel expenses. Just because you have the additional expenses doesn’t mean you have to cut down on the essentials. We at Sentry Electric would like to offer some tips and advice on ways you can save on energy costs without sacrificing the holiday indulgences on activities and making memories.

Ways to Save on Heating Costs & Conserve Heat in Your Home

1) Seal the holes, gaps, and cracks. Inspect your home and look for places where the home is leaking the heated air you already paid for. These places are common utility cut-through for pipes, gaps around chimneys, around windows and doors, recessed lights in insulated ceilings, as well as unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets. Weather stripping is the optimal solution around windows and doors in addition to the caulk, and all the other places need to be proper sealed with caulk or more intricate repairs.
2) Maintain heating systems. The central heating system should be maintained by a professional to ensure the unit is operating at maximum efficiency and energy is not being lost due to insufficiency. Additionally, ensure you replace the furnace filter monthly.
3) Water heating. A good safety tip to avoid scalding hands and to save money on water heating costs is to lower your water heating costs turn down the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees.
4) Cost effect Christmas lights. To reduce the cost of traditional decorating, replace your Christmas light display with LED (light-emitting diode) holiday light strings. In addition to LED lights, invest in Christmas light timers to help defray the costs.
5) Traveling. When you leave your home from holiday traveling for a weekend or more, be sure to unplug the unnecessary appliances and electronic devices, even these things turned off will draw power.
6) Invest in power strips. For every day us, invest in enough power strips around the house that can cut the power at the flick of a switch when you are away at work or sleeping.
7) Optimize sunlight. The sun can help heat your home, even during the winter. Open up the curtains for the south-facing windows during the day as the sun will contribute to warming your home as well as maximize the lighting without using lights in some cases. Don’t forget however, to close up the curtains after the sun has set to ward off the cold.
8) Treat drafty windows. During the cold months, you can better retain the heat on those drafty windows by taping a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on the window frame. To help keep the cold out and not use extra cost in heating to compensate, ensure the windows are tightly sealed. For aesthetics and a little more cost, invest in custom tight-fitted insulated drapes to those windows that still feel chilly. To further improve the energy efficiency, there are additional window treatments or even energy efficient window replacement options.
9) Adjust your thermostat. Most homes are outfitted with a programmable thermostat these days, be sure to adjust your settings. Keep the thermostat as low as you can be comfortable, during the hours the house isn’t empty and people are awake. Turn the thermostat back 10-15 degrees for around 8 hours to save 10% a year on your heating bills while everyone is asleep or out of the house.

Electrical Inspections, New Circuit Installation & More in Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Southbury, Stamford, CT & Fairfield County, Connecticut

Call Sentry Electric for a specialist to come to your home and perform a comprehensive energy audit. At the conclusion, you can where all the energy costs is being used, and our expert will offer some solutions to help reduce the energy consumption to help you save some cash. Contact us today!