As the temperature drops, the heating myths become activated. Today we will be talking about some common heating myths that we hear when the weather gets cold.
CRANK THE HEAT FOR FASTER RESULTS: FALSE
FACT: It’s never fun coming home to a cold house because you either forgot to turn it up or you were faced with unexpected weather conditions. Your first thought might be to crank up the heat to 85 so your house will warm up faster. Don’t do it! Think of your furnace like a light switch and not a dimmer. What happens when we crank up the heat is that we end up heating our home to an undesirable temperature and wasting energy and money! When our thermostat is turned up, it does not cause the furnace to blow hotter air, it just requires it to run much longer which in turn costs more and leaves you still feeling uncomfortable. Instead, cozy up with a big blanket until your furnace has done its job of efficiently heating up your house.
KEEP TEMPERATURE CONSISTENT FOR LOWER ENERGY BILLS: FALSE
FACT: There’s a myth out there that says it is cheaper to maintain a constant temperature in your home rather than changing the thermostat at different times of the day. This is not true. If a system is running less, it will cost less. If a system is running more to maintain a higher temperature, it will cost more. The best way to save money is to set your thermostat lower at night while you are sleeping and only increase the thermostat during times when you are home. Better yet, install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature.
USE SPACE HEATERS TO SAVE MONEY: FALSE
FACT: Many people believe that turning off their furnace and using space heaters in the rooms they use most will lower heating utilities. This myth would work if electricity was cheaper than natural gas, but it’s not. Choosing to use electricity to heat your home rather than using natural gas can end up costing you three to five times more. So now you know, heating just a few rooms with electricity could end up costing the same or even more than heating your entire home with your furnace.
CEILING FANS ARE ONLY FOR SUMMERTIME: FALSE
FACT: Did you know that your ceiling fans can actually push warm air down to your level and create a heating effect? Make sure that your fan rotates clockwise and this will force down the warm air that has collected at the ceiling, causing your home to feel warmer without turning up your furnace. There should be a switch on the side of your fan to switch this setting from counter-clockwise (cooling) to clockwise (heating).
Need to schedule maintenance on your heating system? Call our team at 72 Degrees Comfort Company, 515-965-7272. We would be happy to help!