winter
As the fall weather gradually gives way to winter in Fredericksburg, homeowners are once again forced to think of the best heating practices over the coming months.

Not only do you want to keep your family comfortable as snow blankets the area and nighttime temperatures drop, but you also want to make sure your heating system doesn’t have to work too hard in the process.

Keep reading for some valuable tips on the best heating temperature for your home to accomplish all your winter heating goals.

Where to Set Your Thermostat

temperatureFinding the right temperature to set your thermostat at in the winter should be more of a strategy than a direct rule.

Some HVAC experts suggest 72F in the daytime is good if people are home, or 66F if no one is home in the day and the same 66F at night.

However, it may be easier to use a winter best heating strategy based on energy-efficiency to ease everyone into it and get the best results. Try setting your thermostat at the temperature you and your family prefer, then each week, try lowering it by one degree.

The US Department of Energy says that maintaining that one-degree reduction for even 8 hours can reduce your energy bill by 1 percent. With such a gradual change, you’ll never notice the difference, only on your bills.

Different Types of Thermostats

thermostatToday, there are several different types of thermostat you can have in your home. Some of the most common are:

Mechanical / Non-Programmable – this is the most basic you can get, with no programming features at all. These used to be in every home but are being phased out because they contain mercury.

Digital Non-Programmable – this is basically a mechanical thermostat with no programming features but with a digital readout.

Programmable – this type of digital thermostat allows you to program your temperatures over a specified time period and will adjust on its own.

Wireless – these may still include wires, but there are several options that include remote indoor sensors or thermostats with no actual wires. The term “wireless” mostly refers to how it communicates with your HVAC equipment.

Learning Thermostat – this is a programmable thermostat that will program itself based on your heating and cooling preferences. They can be connected to Wi-Fi and managed remotely. They work best for families with a consistent home schedule.

Communicating Thermostat – most modern thermostats function as a communicating system, and many will even have features like maintenance warnings and troubleshooting assistance.

How the Winter Can Affect Your Electric Bill

billsIt makes sense that your electric bill would be higher in the winter.

After all, you’ll be using more electricity to keep your home warm, to have hot baths and to use electric blankets to counteract the outdoor temperatures.

The cost of electricity is also impacted because there are more people using electricity than when temperatures are warmer. Line companies must pay a fee to use the transmission grid, which needs to be used more if there are more people that need electricity. The line companies pass the fees to electricity retailers, who pass it onto the consumer.

If you have any best heating tips for the cold weather, be sure to leave them in the comments so we can all make this winter a little easier. And if you need any help with your thermostat or any part of your HVAC system, give us a call at (540) 373-9780 today!

Pin It on Pinterest