If you own your own home, you've accomplished a financial feat many only dream of, and we salute you for that. However, your home might also be bleeding money every time you run the heat. Knowing how to efficiently heat your home can prove advantageous for several reasons. Do you and your family care about wasting money and hurting the environment? Making your home more energy-efficient goes a long way to helping with that. Whether you’re replacing a furnace or installing a mini-split system, better heating efficiency saves you money on your monthly utility bill. A more efficient heating and cooling unit helps everyone stay warm and comfortable.

What Efficient Heating and Cooling Means for Your Home

Heating your home keeps everyone warm and safe when it's cold outside. However, we know this might be your home's most expensive individual system. Depending on your home, heating might account for 29% to 50% of your monthly energy bill.

Making your home's heating more efficient is a process. Replacing or upgrading your individual heating unit can go a long way toward accomplishing this. Still, a whole-home approach yields even better results. Doing this can lower your energy bill by around 30% while minimizing your family's impact on carbon emissions.

Tips for Heating Your Home More Efficiently

Start with your thermostat. Set it as low as possible while still being comfortable during the winter. You can usually go lower when sleeping or not at home. Upgrading to a smart thermostat allows you to set a schedule, so it automatically raises and lowers based on your needs. Replace or clean furnace filters every month or as recommended by the manufacturer. While you're at it, clean radiators, baseboard heaters, and warm-air registers. Ensure they're not blocked by drapes, carpeting, or furniture.

Keep shades and draperies on south-facing windows open during the day. This lets sunlight in and can warm your home thanks to the greenhouse effect. When the sun goes down, close them for the night so heat doesn't escape through the windows. Choose energy-efficient products anytime you buy new equipment. Look over fact sheets for various manufacturers, designs, and individual models so you can predict your energy usage.

Turn off exhaust fans in bathrooms and the kitchen after 20 minutes of being done bathing or cooking. Consider replacing your exhaust fans with high-efficiency models that are also quieter. Reverse the direction ceiling fans operate from their summer spins. Doing so can help warm air stay closer to the floor instead of rising to the ceiling. Keeping warmer air at ground level helps everyone stay warm.

Why Mini Splits Help With Efficiency

Mini-splits have many advantages in helping you heat your home. First, their small size makes them flexible options for zoning individual rooms. You can have a thermostat for each room and heat them as needed. Ductless mini-splits are usually easier to have installed. Another advantage of no ductwork is that you don't lose energy from heated air being forced through a system and leaking into ceilings or walls. We've noticed that many clients love the mini-splits' flexibility in terms of interior design choices and possibilities. Many can be ceiling-suspended, drop-ceiling mounted, or just hung on one of your walls. There are even floor-standing models available.

Let ComfortUp Help You Stay Warm

Heating or cooling your home can be done with separate units or with one of our comprehensive systems. From quality brands like GREE, Mitsubishi and Boreal, ComfortUp has single zone and multi-zone mini split systems as well as central systems to manage your home's temperature. We can help you customize your solutions by listening to your brand preferences, helping determine your room sizes, then guiding you to any unique options you might need. Let us help you find the right heating and cooling answers for your home.

Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com

antoniodiaz/Shutterstock.com