How To Cut Energy Costs This Winter

Stay Warm Without Spiking Your Heating Costs!

When winter turns particularly harash—as it nearly always tends to do here in Southern Maine—you rely heavily on your heating system to get you through those deep cold snaps and winter storms. Perhaps the easiest way to do that is to crank up the heat. But thanks in large part to the ongoing supply chain issues, prices for heating oil and propane are trending higher than they’ve been in recent years past. That means turning up the thermostat may not feel so good when the bills arrive.

5 Energy Saving Tips

We’ve got five tips to help you keep warm and comfortable in your home this winter—all while keeping heating costs further under control.

1. Get a Heating System Tune-Up. It’s never too late to schedule seasonal maintenance for your heating equipment. A tune-up ensures that your furnace or boiler is running at peak performance levels, so you’ll use less fuel to keep your home warm. Our service technicians check for and fix problems that can decrease that performance and efficiency, or could lead to potential breakdowns, no-heat emergencies, and expensive repairs.
2. Use Your Programmable Thermostat. Used correctly, a programmable thermostat can help you lower your heating costs by up 10% or more. To maximize your savings, follow these easy steps:
   • When you’re at home and awake, set the thermostat for 68°.
   • Lower the setting by 10° when you’re sleeping or out of the house.

   Smart thermostats make it even easier. They learn your heating and cooling habits and create a schedule that matches them. Some even connect with your home automation system like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

3. Turn Down Your Water Heater. Most water heaters have a default setting of 140°, which is not only dangerous but also inefficient. Reducing the temperature setting to 120° will meet all your hot water needs and save as much as 10% in heating costs. When you consider that heating water—for bathing, dishwashing, laundry and more—accounts for close to 20% of your heating costs, you may want to talk to us about upgrading your water heater to a high-efficiency model that can help you save even more.
4. Eliminate Drafts. Unless you live in a brand-new home, it’s likely that as much as a third of the air in your home escapes via drafts around windows and doors. That’s like throwing money out the window—or door. A weekend of DIY projects, like sealing up drafts with caulking, weatherstripping and expanding foam, can help save you 20% or more on monthly heating costs.
5. Take Advantage of Passive Solar Power. We’re not talking about expensive solar panels. We’re talking about the free heat from the sun! Leaving curtains and blinds open during the day lets the sun warm your rooms. Closing them at night helps keep the heat in. It can warm your rooms enough that you can lower your thermostat and use your boiler or furnace less.

The professionals at Pitstop Propane and Fuels have the knowledge, experience, and resources to answer all your questions about keeping your home and family warm while better managing heating costs. Need delivery of propane or home heating oil? Get in touch with us today to learn more.