Cheap Ways To Heat A Room
With cooler weather on the way in the Phoenix Valley a lot of people are searching for “cheap ways to heat a room”. Saving money on heating the house during the winter is just as important as reducing utilities during the summer.
1. Use The Sun
During summer we use shutters, blinds, and awnings to keep the sunlight and heat out of our homes. When the cold comes you can take advantage of the free heat pouring through your windows. When the sun is out your window treatments should be open to let in as much warmth as possible.
2. Trap Heat With Curtains
If it isn’t sunny or when night comes you should keep as much of the day’s heat inside your room and home by installing and closing heavy curtains.
3. Seal Air Gaps
Any warm air you have won’t stay that way if there are air gaps letting it out, and cold air in. Common places for air gaps will be around windows and doors. These areas should be sealed up by caulking around windows and using weather seal around door frames. If you have other air gaps in the walls of your home spray foam insulation can seal them up, once and for all.
4. Shut The Chimney Flue
If you have a wood burning fireplace there is a flue which can be closed to prevent your warm air from escaping. The flue generally has a handle that can be moved to open and close it. Whenever your fireplace is not in use the flue should be closed. If you aren’t going to use your fireplace at all you can put a chimney balloon in it to seal off the air passage. Just make sure if you decide to use the fireplace you remove the balloon and make sure the flue is open! You can also use a chimney block that’s available at your local hardware stores.
5. Improve Insulation
Getting heat in home is easy by either using the sun or by using your home’s heater. You will use your heater less if you have proper home insulation. You can add new insulation to your attic and walls to improve your home’s energy efficiency. With the right insulation in Arizona and enough sunlight during the winter you will use your heater less, or even in some cases not at all.
6. Cooking Heats The Home
It’s not just less expensive and healthier to cook at home, but it also will heat the house. If you’ve ran your oven to bake a cake, pizza, or cook up some bacon you can leave the door open when you’re done to heat the kitchen. While this can’t be done if there are toddlers or children, it is great for other families. Just switch the oven off and once you’re done in the kitchen you can swing the door open and put the heat to a second use!
7. Put Down A Fuzzy Rug
If you have bare floors or thin carpet you can help insulate your rooms with thick fuzzy rugs. Not only is the fabric warmer to walk on but it also helps keep heat in the rooms by preventing it from going through floorboards. Some studies have shown that as much as 10% of heat can escape through hardwood flooring.
8. Don’t Run Heaters All Day
Use timers to automatically switch heaters on for you when you’ll be coming home from work. Coming home and cranking the heat all the way up to heat the house more quickly will also inflate your utility bill. During especially cold periods of time just set a timer to kick the heat on a little earlier so your home can gently heat up. Automatic thermostats like the Nest thermostat can also help automatically learn your needs and create a plan to save money and keep your comfortable.
9. Adjust Ceiling Fans
Most ceiling fans have two settings, one for summer and one for winter. For cooler weather its important to set your fans to pull cool air up and mix with rising heat to keep the room comfortable. You’ll be able to see the direction of the fan blades. For winter you want the leading edge that’s “cutting the air” to be on the lower edge, and is cut upwards. For summer you do the opposite and it pushes the air down as a draft.
10. Dress Warm & Use Blankets
To keep warm as you’re enjoying your evenings and once you go to bed you can just dress warmer and use blankets. Insulating your body is just as important as insulating your home. If it is especially cold you can dress in layers to ensure you’re comfortable. Flannel and wool are both popular types of fabric for winter clothing as they do the best job at reflecting our body heat back to us.
Phoenix Valley Insulation Contractors
If you live in the Phoenix Valley and want to stay warm and save money on utilities, we can help! We are your Phoenix Valley Insulation Contractors providing all types of insulation services. We provide insulation removal, spray foam insulation, batt insulation, loose fill insulation, and radiant barrier installation to Phoenix Valley homeowners. We will help keep your home more comfortable in every season and help reduce the need to run your heat in winter and AC in summer. Take the barrier challenge and see how much you could be saving on your utilities!