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Winter can be a magical time. With snow falling outside and the holidays approaching, it is a favorite season for many. Almost everyone, however, would admit to not enjoying the freezing nights that come with this season. Although we expect to be cold outside, nothing is worse than coming home to a cold house. So naturally, we blast the heater. Unfortunately, this can often lead to incredibly high energy bills. Luckily, there are ways to reduce your heating bill without staying cold all winter. Read on for some tips to staying warm on a budget. Adjust Your Door Thresholds If you can see light coming in from beneath your front door, you're losing warm air that you've paid for. If the door does not touch the threshold, air will seep out. Most thresholds can be manually adjusted by turning four or five screws to lift it up. You don't want to raise it so high that it interferes with opening the door, so a little bit of light is okay. Test it by holding your hand near the gap to see how much air you feel coming in. Reconsider Your Fireplace Fireplaces are extremely inefficient. They suck up the furnace-heated air in your home and release it outside. In other words, you're wasting money by heating air that won't even stay in your home. Furthermore, that warm air is replaced by cold air that moves in the opposite direction down the same tunnel. Your furnace then has to work even harder to keep your home warm. It's free and easy to close up your chimney tightly and start saving immediately. Replace Electrical Boxes The electrical boxes in exterior walls are notorious for their drafts since insulation is very rarely placed behind and around them correctly. To save on your bill, you need to ensure that air is not flowing around and through the box. You can simply solve this by removing the cover plates and filling in small gaps with latex caulk or foam sealant. This is an incredibly cheap fix that could save you a lot in the long run. Invest In Your Attic This project takes a little bit of money up front, but the US Department of Energy states that it can save you up to 30 percent on your heating bills. If your home is more than 25 years old, your attic probably needs an update. About $300 in extra insulation in your attic can drastically cut your bills. You'll also want to take a look at how much insulation you have in places like your basements, crawl spaces, and lighting features. These are places where warm air can easily slip out. A few hours of repairs in your home could save you hundreds of dollars. Even though some of the fixes seem small, you'd be surprised what a difference they can make in your home. Make sure you're ready to stay warm on the cheap this winter! To learn more about their options for heating, Newark residents should visit http://performancehcs.com.
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