Although it is not news, winter is here and this one has been particularly cold! With temperatures floating around 0 degrees, it is likely that you and your family haven’t missed the brisk weather we’ve been having these past few months. Needless to say, this can put some additional strain on your heating bill as well as your propane system itself!
Although you can rely on Great Valley Propane to be there to keep your tank full of propane, without the delivery fee, it is smart to try to conserve energy by making sure your house is staying as efficient as possible. This will not only help keep your heating bill down, but it will help you and your family to be more comfortable, and keep your system from going through any unnecessary stress.
1. Make sure your home is well insulated!
Although it would be hard to check all of the existing insulation in your home as it stands, there are a few places you can check to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep the heat in and the cold weather out. The best place to check is your attic. Since heat rises, a poorly insulated attic means that all of that heat will go right through your ceilings and out of the roof! A good way to tell if your house is poorly insulated in the attic is if the snow on your roof melts significantly faster than other houses in your neighborhood. Although this isn’t a sure fire way to tell if your attic is poorly insulated, it sure is a good indicator. The best way is to simple check the attic itself. You should have a minimum of 12 inches of insulation in your attic. Usually, if you can see your ceiling joists, this is a good sign there isn’t enough.
2. Seal those windows!
This is especially important if you own a house with older windows. Typically, they tend to be very leaky and drafty and will let the heat go right through them! If you can feel cold weather coming through any part of your windows, you can apply a window insulator kit. This usually consists of a plastic sheet that is placed over the window with adhesive double sided tape. Of course, if this is the case, and new windows are something you can afford in the near future, it is recommended that you have them replaced!
3. Have your heating system checked!
There is nothing worse than being caught in the dead of winter without heat! If you haven’t already, make sure your propane systems has been thoroughly inspected by a professional. This should be done every year, but if you haven’t been keeping on top of this, now is the time to call someone in to have a look at it. You can contact Great Valley Propane and have us inspect and service your equipment at any time to make sure it is running at its peak efficiency and take care of any potential issues that come up. This will ensure that you aren’t caught in the cold.
