As the temps continue to get cooler, the last thing you should have anxiety over is maintaining a comfortable home. It would be great to be lounging around on the couch enjoying the cozy warmth of your home and not even concerned with the cold temps. Of course, it typically doesn’t happen that way, and there are a few issues that could be occurring in your home that may require furnace repair or trying to figure out why your bill is so high.
There are a variety of causes for an increase in your energy bill, but we are highlighting a few of the more common ones we encounter.
- Heat is getting out through the glass of your windows – when hot air comes in to contact with cold glass on your windows, the indoor air becomes cooler. An option to help minimize that impact is to make sure you’ve closed your drapes during the evening hours and only opening drapes on windows receiving light during the day.
- Lack of attic insulation – if your home is older, there’s a chance 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 result in furnace repair. You can easily check if you have enough insulation by looking in your attic to see if the insulation is below or even with the joists. If it is, it’s likely your attic needs some additional insulation.
- Gaps in windows and doors – it’s not always easy to tell by just taking a quick look if there are large gaps. Make sure to take a close look at all of your windows and doors to determine whether you need to add weather stripping to take care of those gaps. As we mentioned with attic insulation, window and door gaps can make your furnace work harder, making the possibility of furnace repair later even greater.
We hope these three tips can help you identify any problem-spaces in your home that could be inhibiting the comfort of your home. If you’d like to speak with our professionals about your furnace or indoor comfort, give us a call at 847-362-0262.