Be Smart with your Thermostat: Electric Furnaces and Electric Zonal Heat (Baseboards, in wall, or ceiling cable)
Turn down your thermostat while sleeping or away from your home. Install a smart thermostat to make sure your home is comfy again before you wake up or return home. Setting the heat at 55 when you’re sleeping or away from home could save as much as 10% on your heating costs.
Be Smart with your Thermostat: Heat Pumps
Ask your heating contractor, or call Flathead Electric to find out how much you can turn down your thermostat at night or while away for the day before your expensive electric backup is turned on when you change your thermostat back to a comfortable temperature. If you want to save more install a smart thermostat that allows bigger set-backs on your thermostat and then will return your home to comfy without the energy penalty.
Wear the layered look: Consider wearing layers of clothing inside the house. It will keep your body heat in and you won’t need to turn up the thermostat.
Keep the warm air in:
- Dampers: Chimneys are designed to suck smoke out of your house but will continue suck away your comfort if you don’t close the damper when they are not in use.
- AC Units: Remove your window AC during the winter or seal over it on the inside with a cover to prevent cold air from sneaking in.
Let the sun shine in: Open the shades on south facing windows during the day to let the sun in and close them at night to keep the warmth in.
Keep your heat flowing: If you have furniture or curtains in front of your wall/baseboard heaters or register vents, you could be blocking the heat they’re delivering. Each fall, check to be sure the heaters or vents are not blocked.
Use your zone heating: If you have baseboard, wall heaters, or ceiling cable heat turn down the thermostats in unused rooms and close the door. Zone heating like this can produce energy savings of more than 20% compared to heating both occupied and unoccupied areas of your house.
Be smart with your space heater: You can save on heating costs if you use a space heater to heat where you are in the home rather than turning on your furnace and heating the whole home. Be sure to turn off the heater when you’re not in the room.