Looking to Shrink your Energy Bill this Season? Here’s some ideas.

It can be the center-piece to your living room and all, yet all things considered, your fireplace is not efficient —and quite frankly— it’s wasteful. As indicated by the Department of Energy, a lit fireplace sucks around 24,000 cubic feet of heater warmed air up the smokestack every hour. On top of it: It's replaced by frosty air that comes the other way through the same opening, making your furnace work overtime to keep your home toasty. Still, we love assembling round the hearth as much as anyone else. Remember to turn the thermostat down a little when you utilize it. Also, open a window in the room a little where the fireplace is and shut the doors to the room so it doesn't suck any excessive amount of warm air from whatever is left in the house. Also, make sure to close your damper when it's not being used.

Regular maintenance on your heating system will pay you back (with efficiency). Sediment builds up, dusty or ineffectively greased up fans, glimmering pilot lights, and free fan belts can add hundreds to your warming costs every year. Getting your heater tuned up consistently by a HVAC technician can do wonders for both your wallet and your general solace. Natural gas–powered frameworks ought to be tuned-up roughly every 2-3 years, while oil-lit units require a tune-up each year, since they burn differently. To make your furnace work more effectively, keep warmed air from spilling into your attics or closets via fixing ventilation work with mastic pipe sealant—a nontoxic, paint-on material—or foil-backed tape. Doing so will lessen your home's air leaks and could save you money on heat bills.

Speaking of attic space, adding insulation does a lot more than just make you itchy. The Department of Energy says you can lessen your heating and cooling needs by 30 percent just by including a couple of hundred bucks of new insulation. This is particularly true if your home is over 25 years of age, from the time before construction regulations turned out to be more aware of energy efficiency. We tend to concentrate on the attic, but at the same time it's smart to assess how much you have in crawl spaces, roofs, walls, and around recessed lighting installations (simply ensure those fixtures are intended for direct insulation contact). Look to see the R-Value is ideal for the cold weather. For the most part, R-values ought to be running between R-22 and R-49 in the attic, less in different areas.

Have any tips or tricks you use to keep your home warm? Share your comments below.