How You Can Increase Energy Savings During Extreme Weather Conditions

Frustrating, isn’t it?

You have no control over the weather, but it nonetheless has a large effect on your energy bills. So all you can do is protect yourself from it.

The biggest problem with weather lies in the extremes. When the weather gets extremely hot or cold, it takes more electricity to keep your home comfortable.

The real problem is the temperature difference between the indoors and outdoors. The greater that difference, the more inefficient you become. That’s because air flows from hot to cold.

In winter, your warm inside air naturally wants to find a way outside. And in summer, the hot air outside wants to find its way in.

And finally, that’s what makes insulating your home so valuable during weather extremes. Insulation minimizes air flow, which keeps you comfortable and sheltered from the outdoor elements.

3 Simple, Fast Ways You Can to Protect Yourself from Weather Extremes

You don’t need to hire a professional to do this, although you might if you want maximum energy savings.

You can do many of these simple things yourself. And here’s what you can do to protect your home from those nasty weather extremes:

1. Seal Your Home

Your ductwork is the place to start. You can easily seal the obvious gaps and cracks with mastic tape.

You’ll also want to check around windows, doors, electrical outlets, and any entry/access point between your home and the outdoors. Do the same between your ceiling and attic. And inspect the same between your attic and the outside.

You may not catch all the gaps and cracks a professional would. But, you can still easily find enough issues to offset the costs of sealing your home within a year.

2. Replace Your HVAC Filters Monthly

Yep. Definitely don’t need a professional for this one. Filters improve airflow through your home and keep you energy-efficient.

Contractors are most helpful with analyzing and maintaining your HVAC system to find any existing problems and prevent future ones.

3. Install a Smart Thermostat

Programmable thermostats cost less than $100, but you still have to watch them.

Smart thermostats cost about twice as much up front but save you much more down the line.

They learn your heating and cooling habits, and then optimize when to turn your HVAC system on and off and what temperature to keep it at.

They take less than an hour to install. And they pay for themselves in under a year.

Weather extremes may not be that fun, but the silver lining is they can be great opportunities for scoring big energy savings.

And now you know how to make those savings happen during rough weather!