TRY SOME SIMPLE YET EFFECTIVE WAYS TO SPEND LESS ON YOUR HOME HEATING BILL

A large portion of household budgets across the country goes into heating bills, especially during colder months. If you want a comfortable home, you need to allot enough in your budget for heating. It can be quite a financial challenge to families with fixed incomes and those who just get by.

However, it doesn’t always have to be that way. There are tips and tricks you can apply to lower your heating bill. Though they seem quite simple, you may be surprised by how much they can help you save money.

INVEST IN WEATHERSTRIPPING

Drafts around doors and windows can let in cold air and lose warm air. This forces homeowners to turn up their furnace, making it work harder than it should. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2vX5CAm

Heating Tips: 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing a New Furnace

If you are using a furnace that is nearing the end of its service life, there’s a good chance that you’re already shopping around for a new furnace. After all, your furnace is a vital component of your heating system in Edmonton, especially once the temperature begins to drop.

Purchasing a new furnace can be a simple task, especially since there are so many models to choose from nowadays. However, choosing the right furnace for your home can be a little trickier if you don’t do your research. With that in mind, here are a few common mistakes homeowners in Edmonton and Stony Plain should avoid committing when purchasing a new furnace:

Failing to Check AFUE Ratings

Many of the latest furnaces are labeled as energy-efficient units. Keep in mind, however, that energy-efficient furnaces are not made equal. The higher the AFUE rating a unit has, the more efficient it is in terms of energy consumption. If your budget permits, try to go for units that have an AFUE rating of 90% or higher to maximise your energy savings. Read more from this blog : http://bit.ly/2ksd04z

Geothermal heating systems explained and evaluated

Geothermal heating systems use the constant earth temperature at deeper levels of 6-10 metres, unaffected by surface temperatures, to provide heat. In summer, they cool and the heat extracted from the air is carried deep into the ground for use in winter months.

Annual Central Heating Service—What to Expect

An annual boiler service is an important part of central heating system maintenance. It is also a condition of many boiler warranties. Here is a guide to what you can expect from a service.

Step 1 – Visual inspection

Your plumber will start your central heating system service with a visual check to ensure that your boiler and its associated pipework has been installed correctly.

Step 2 – Interior examination

Your plumber may remove the boiler casing to take a look at your boiler’s inner components. He will then check and possibly clean the inside of your boiler.

Upgrade Your Home's Heating for Savings

Most people only think of calling a plumber or technician when something goes wrong. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right? Wrong. Almost everything in the world today is getting better, smarter and more cost-efficient. So it is with the majority of heating systems.

Take your water heater for example. Modern electric water heaters take less time to heat and keep your water hotter for longer. Replacing existing heaters is a relatively straightforward process and is usually carried out well within a day.

Keeping the Furnace Functional All Year

Since Canada is placed well in the North, temperatures can get low even in the summer months. In Stony Plain, the hottest month is July with an average high of 25 degrees. Still, it can get a bit cold at night, reaching as low as 13 degrees. From there, the temperatures will drop, reaching an average low of zero degrees on October. Come December, even the average high gets below zero – only rising above zero on March.

With this kind of climate, it’s important to keep heaters in good condition throughout the year. When cold nights strike, heating in the home is going to be invaluable. Thus, it’s important to conduct a regular inspection of your home’s heating system, especially if it’s more than 10 years old.

Taking care of your furnace should ultimately be left to the professionals, though a homeowner can do certain things such as minor inspections. For example, you can take a look at the filter. If its dirty or worn out, it’s just a matter of cleaning or replacing the filter – a task the average homeowner can take care of easily. You can also take care of maintaining cleanliness on the area around the equipment.

Other things to watch out for are unusual sounds, smells, and other oddities when the equipment is in operation. It might mean it needs a further inspection from professionals.

Summer: Best Time To Explore Home Heating Options

As the weather warms up, your reliance on home heating begins to decrease. This is obviously the best time for those wanting to replace their dysfunctional heating systems to begin hunting for a replacement. Before you do, you may want to understand the many available options here in Stony Plains. 

Fortunately, Alberta and Ontario are deregulated, the only places where you have a choice of supply, so you get to base your decision on two separate things: fuel and delivery. Fuel options include natural gas, propane, oil and electricity. Common distribution systems cover hot air and steam, radiant and hot water.

Since it’s summer, the prices of these fuel options may drop down a bit so it’s not really advisable to make a decision based solely on costs, though they’re still a good indicator of how much you should expect to spend when the cold clutches of winter arrive. In case you need a recommendation, experts say that propane and oil provide the best heating efficiency.

Distribution systems also have their considerations, usually depending on your preferences and the amount of heat needed to warm up the home. For example: radiant systems are more expensive since installation and repairs usually involve ripping the floors or wall.

It’s of course possible that the existing one in your home may just need a few parts repaired replaced. Either way, consult your plumber first for the best course of action.

On Resolving Typical Heating System Problems

It can get quite cold in Canada, and many turn to their heating systems to keep themselves warm and comfortable during such nippy weather. As vital as furnaces and heaters are, they can experience the occasional hiccup that upsets their performance or prevent them from even working at all. Homeowners should know how to approach heating system problems the moment they notice something off with their furnaces or heaters.

Homeowners who experience a sudden loss of heat in their systems should check their heaters for any issues; power surges have been known to stall electrical heaters. If a surge did not cause the heater to stop, homeowners should check their fuse boxes to make sure that power is still being supplied to the major appliance. If none of the issues check out, homeowners should consider calling a contractor to diagnose and repair their furnaces or heaters.

Inconsistent room temperatures should also be a concern for homeowners to troubleshoot. Imbalanced airflow is often caused by dirt clogging the ducts and filters of the heating system. While homeowners can choose to clean their systems on their own, it would be better to call upon contractors who have the tools to perform a thorough cleaning job.