Take these steps to reduce the cost of Seattle home ownership.
Buying your first home is exciting, but being new at this, you probably don’t realize all the ways you could be saving money on the cost of home ownership. These tips will help you uncover hidden costs you can avoid.
Weatherize
Checking attic insulation is a great first step. Often, you’ll find areas with damaged, missing or matted down insulation that need some attention. The City of Seattle has an excellent program for homeowners of limited means called HomeWise. They will come out and do a complete inspection for you. Otherwise, you can call MM Comfort Systems for a Home Energy Audit to find all the areas your home could be losing heat or wasting electricity.
Check the Water Temperature
Some folks like their water extra hot. So, they crank up the water heater a few notches, which drives up utility bills. Considering you only use water at its hottest temperature a few times a day, overheating is a huge waste of money. Check the setting on the water heater in your new home and drop it down to 120 degrees to save energy. Otherwise, your water heater is constantly overworked trying to keep the temperature hotter than necessary. While you’re at it, cover the water heater in an insulating blanket to increase its efficiency.
Check the Ceiling Fans
Not everyone knows you need to switch the blade direction of ceiling fans for hot or cold weather. Check that the fan blows air straight down, circulating warm air down from the ceiling for winter. In mid to late spring, you’ll want to reverse that, so the fan brings cool air up to your level.
If you don’t have ceiling fans in almost every room, it could be worth the investment to install them. You’ll get away with one or two degrees colder in winter and warmer in summer. If your calculations don’t show a big savings, at least consider a fan in large open rooms to help circulate the heated or cooled air.
Evaluate the Thermostat
The home may have a programmable thermostat, but does it let you set several different times of day when you come and go? If not, you should consider a new one that lets you set when the heat turns on and off, providing several time zones that you can customize to your schedule. You’ll save a lot on energy with this one simple improvement.
Call MM Comfort Systems for a Heating System Inspection
Don’t forget to call us to inspect your heating system. Although a home inspection is done at the time of sale, the inspector doesn’t specialize in HVAC equipment and probably didn’t offer a thorough inspection. We’ll inspect and maintain your system, ensuring it runs as efficiently as possible, saving you on heating costs. Call us at 425.533.9058 or use or online contact form to set up a heating system service appointment.
