10 Energy Saving Tips for Winter in Las Vegas

Winter is a time when you have to inspect your home to make sure that it is as energy efficient as possible. When the cold weather arrives, you need to take steps to ensure that your house does not waste energy while keeping your family warm. This fall, follow these 10 energy saving tips to make sure that your home is ready for the winter weather when it arrives in Las Vegas.

Seal Drafty Windows

One of the most common ways that a home waste energy during the winter is by leaking out warm air through drafty windows. Drafty windows also let cold air into your home. To prevent this, you can purchase kits from a local hardware store to seal the window frames inside your home. Popular kits include cut-to-fit weather stripping that is easily applied with adhesive. Alternatively, you can alsouse caulking to seal leaks around door frames and windows.

Lower the Temperature on Your Water Heater

A commonly overlooked task on the winter efficiency checklist for homeowners is lowering the temperature on the hot water heater. When the cold air of winter arrives, you want to make sure that your hot water is not so hot that it dries out your skin. You should lower the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to save money on your energy bills this winter.

Savings resulting from turning down your water heater temperature are based on two components: reduced standby losses (heat lost from water heater into surrounding basement area); and consumption (from water demand or use in your home). Set too high, or at 140ºF, your water heater can waste anywhere from $36 to $61 annually in standby heat losses and more than $400 in demand losses.

Raise Your Refrigerator Temperature

You should also raise the temperature on your refrigerator. Setting the temperature on your fridge between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit is considered best practice by EnergyStar.gov. The FDA recommends temperature on your freezer 0°-F (-18°-C). Setting these temperatures any lower than this is a waste of energy and money.

Add Insulation to Your Home

One of the easiest and most profitable home renovations you can do is to add extra insulation to your home. To determine if you should do this, go up and take a look at the insulation level in your attic. If you do not have at least five inches of insulation, you need to add more. You should have insulation in your attic with a depth of between five to 12 inches to maximize the energy efficiency of your house.

Inspect Your Furnace

An important part of prepping your home for winter each year is to get your heater/furnace inspected by an Las Vegas heater repair company. You need to test your furnace before the cold weather arrives to ensure that it is fully functional and operating at peak efficiency. If you have an older model in your home, you may consider upgrading to a newer heater that may be more energy efficient. An honest HVAC technician will go over your options and help you with determine the right solution for your home. Newer furnace models are much more energy efficient than those from just a few decades ago.

Heating your home uses more energy and costs more money than any other system in your home — typically making up about 42% of your utility bill.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

If you do not have a programmable thermostat installed in your home, then you need to do so immediately. There is no simpler way to save money on your energy bills. You can use a programmable thermostat to lower the temperature automatically while you are asleep and at work. The thermostat will then automatically raise the temperature so that it is at the desired level by the time you wake up in the morning or arrive home from work. There are several options available today with apps that can allow you to access your thermostat remotely from your smartphone or tablet. This convenience can help you keep your heater running a optimal energy efficiency this coming winter in Las Vegas. If you do not have a smart thermostat currently, contact Right Now Air to have a technician go over popular options.

Add Draft Stoppers

An often overlooked way that homes waste energy is underneath the exterior doors. If the doors leading out of your house are not perfectly sealed, then they are constantly leaking hot air out of your home during the winter. To prevent this, it is a simple fix. All you need to do is to place draft stoppers at the bottom of your exterior doors to make them airtight and improve the energy efficiency of your home.

Change Your Furnace Filter Every Month

When you get your furnace inspected at the before winter arrives, the HVAC technician will put in a brand new filter, but one filter will not get you through the whole winter. In fact, you should make it a habit to change the filter in your furnace every month to keep it operating at peak efficiency. A dirty filter makes the furnace work harder to blow warm air throughout your home, which increase your winter heating costs.

Shut the Vents in Unused Rooms

If there are rooms in your home that you rarely or never use, then you should shut the doors and vents in them. This will prevent you from wasting energy to heat rooms that you never use. You can always reopen the vents if you have need of the rooms sometime during the winter.

Take Advantage of the Sunshine

An asset that we have in abundance here in Las Vegas is sunshine. You should take advantage of the ample sunshine to lower your winter heating costs. To do this, you should make sure to keep the curtains on your south facing windows open during the day so that the natural heating provided by the sunlight can help lower your energy bills. Don’t forget to close the curtains when the sun goes down to prevent warm air from leaking out of your windows at night.

Winter is not that harsh in Las Vegas, but you can still waste a lot of energy and money if your home is not ready for it. To make sure that your winter heating costs are as low as possible this year, follow these ten tips to improve the energy efficiency of your house. These ten simple tips will get your home ready to face the worst that winter can dish out.