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Set your thermostat back 5 degrees at night or when you are not home

10/16/2013

 
It’s a myth that keeping a furnace running at an even temperature saves energy, so set back your thermostat five degrees or more at night and when you’re not home.

The energy saved by letting the house cool down and remain at a lower temperature is much greater than the energy used to warm up the house. It is a popular misconception that it is better to keep your home at a constant temperature because the boiler or furnace will “work harder” to bring the inside temperature back up from a ten degree set-back.

Not so. Your heating system always runs at the same rate when it is on. The main variable is how long it remains on. Studies have proven that turning the thermostat back 10 degrees for an eight-hour period will save you 10% on your heating bill, on average. If you can’t turn your thermostat down 10 degrees, try 5 degrees-there will still be energy savings. The longer your home remains at the lower temperature, the more energy you’ll save.

Programmable thermostats typically pay for themselves in energy savings in the first winter. Programmable thermostats are not recommended for homes with heat pumps or electric baseboard systems. Steam boilers and radiant systems may take longer to heat the house back up, but a programmable thermostat will ‘learn’ in a few days when to start heating the house up to reach your desired temperature setting.

Phil's Five Tips to Lower Your Winter Heating Bills

10/16/2013

 
Winter Heating -- Five Tips to Lower Your Winter Heating Bills

by Phil Coleman

In Woody Allen’s 1977 masterpiece, “Annie Hall,” the lead character, Alvy Singer, introduces the film by comparing life to the dialogue between two old women eating in a familiar restaurant.  One says “The food’s no good at this place,” and the other replies “Yeah, I know; and such small portions ….”  Home heating shares some aspects with this parable: The house is always cold … and it’s so expensive!

So the question faced each winter is how do you keep your house comfortable and keep the winter heating bills down?  The answers are probably much easier (and affordable) than you think.  But first you have to sift through the myths and misconceptions that run rampant in the popular discourse on home energy.  Let’s start out by eliminating the three greatest myths about what you should do to save money to heat your home.


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