Cutting the Cost of Using Central Heating

With the economy being what it is many people are looking for ways to cut the cost of using central heating in their homes and businesses. Cutting utility costs can allow a family to have more available cash for the other things they may need. At this time of year people start to tighten the purse strings where they can in preparation of the upcoming holidays.

One of the easiest ways of cutting the cost of using central heating is to set the thermostat in one position and leave it there. When you adjust the thermostat controls up and down you cause the unit to have to kick on more often. It is the compressor in these units that pull the most electricity so keeping the compressor from having to kick on saves you money.

When the house seems to be cool to you then you need to put on a sweater to keep you warm. If you are watching television place a throw blanket on your lap to generate some heat, and getting up and moving around will also create warmth in your body. Just keep your hands off of the thermostat. In times when you get a severe chill that you cannot seem to get over you should try taking a warm shower. The hot water of the shower will help to warm you on the inside and the outside as well. Drinking warm liquids like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate also will increase your internal temperature.

When the house is warmer than you like you should use fans or ceiling fans to help create a breeze in the room and lower the temperature. The fan uses less electricity than the compressor on the appliance does. A fan cause also isolate the cool air to a location where the person that is too warm is rather than making the entire house a lower temperature.

Central heating is designed to keep all areas of the home or business at the same temperature. So another thing you can do to reduce the operating cost of the system is to close off the vents in the rooms that are unoccupied. If you have bedrooms in your home that are designed for guests to use and are not currently being occupied go inside the room and close the vent cover so that the piped air from the central heating unit does not flow through them. When you require the room to be heated you simply open the vent covers a few hours before your guests arrive. This saves a lot of money on the yearly energy bills.

Think of the other rooms inside your home that may not get used on a daily basis. All of those rooms can have the vents shut off so that you stop heating them unnecessarily. Dens, formal dining rooms, formal living rooms, and sewing or craft rooms, are a few of these types of areas that are not used every day so they do not need to be heated every day.