The temperature is dropping, but your heating bill is rising. With winter upon us here in Locust Grove, VA, many people are looking for simple ways to help keep the heat in their homes without doing larger upgrades like new windows or heating systems. Take a look at these ideas for keeping your home warm all throughout winter.

1. Add a programmable thermostat. With a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the temperature inside your home according to what is happening there. Is everyone at work and school? Turn it down a couple degrees. The same goes for at night when everyone is asleep. You are still keeping your home warm, but tailoring it to what’s currently going on in it.

2. Check your registers. Look around your home at the registers where the warm air enters the room. Make sure you don’t have a big piece of furniture blocking it. You want the air to be able to freely enter the room and not be collecting, and cooling, under your couch.

3. Insulate the garage door. Garages typically are not heated or cooled spaces within a home. However, sometimes there are rooms above the garage. Investing in some insulation for your garage door can help keep the garage warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, thus keeping your home warm in the winter.

4. Use the sun. Open the blinds and curtains to let the sun do its magic and help heat the rooms that face it during the day.

5. Close the curtains. Once it gets dark, close those curtains to help prevent heat loss from your rooms. Consider upgrading to heavier curtains. They even make thermal ones if you really want to step up your game.

6. Switch your fans. Are you the type of person that must have on a fan in order to sleep? If so, switch the fan’s rotation to help bring the warm air down.

7. Check your dampers. Is your upstairs hot and your main level freezing? It’s time to check the dampers. This one depends on your home and it’s heating system. If you have a two story home, chances are you have dampers that help direct the flow of air to different levels of your home. They are usually found near your furnace. Since warm air rises, you want to force some of the air to the main living level and let mother nature bring the rest upstairs. It can take a little experimenting to get it right, but this helps with balance the heat in your home and is important in keeping your home warm on all levels.

8. Replace your filters. Dirty filters on your furnace or throughout your home make it harder to the air to get where it’s supposed to be. Replace dirty ones with new ones.

9. Get rid of door drafts Cold air can seep through small openings around doors. Replace or add weathering strips at the bottoms of doors. Add draft door stoppers, they come in all shapes and sizes, to block the draft.

All of these little changes can add up when it comes to keeping your home warm and improving your heating bill. If you happen to have a fireplace, don’t forget to have it inspected to make sure everything is functioning properly.

Thinking of tackling some larger home improvement projects, but aren’t sure of the value it will add to your home? Contact me, Sean Jones, at 540-360-5166 and we can discuss your home’s value.