Everyone wants to be comfortable in their home year-round, staying warm during chilly Oklahoma winters and cool during hot summer days. But if adequately heating and cooling your home sends your energy bills through the roof, many homeowners like yourself might decide it’s easier to just suck it up and wait for more comfortable weather! But don’t get sucked in to the home heating myths and follow our tips we provide you.
Fortunately, with the right HVAC tips and advice, it’s possible for you to have the best of both words in your Chickasha or Duncan house. Here are five ways that you can reduce your heating and air conditioning costs without sacrificing your home comfort.
1. CHANGE THE AIR FILTERS IN YOUR FURNACE
The air filters in your furnace help to keep unwanted particles like dust, dirt, allergens, and pet dander out of the breathing air circulating in your home. Changing them regularly will improve your indoor air quality (IAQ) and create a healthy living environment for you and your family.
Dirty air filters force your house’s furnace to run longer and work harder than it needs to maintain temperatures in your home. You’ll burn through more fuel, increase the frequency of breakdowns and expensive repair calls, and shorten the lifespan of your furnace.
Most air filters are inexpensive and can be changed in a few seconds, making this HVAC task a no-brainer to adopt.
2. SCHEDULE DUCTWORK CLEANING
Similar to changing your air filters, duct cleaning can make a significant difference in your IAQ as well as your utility bills during both the heating and cooling seasons. All of the dirt, pet hair, and dust that’s lying around your home can make its way through your vent covers and enter your central duct system. Think about how much can accumulate over the many years that your HVAC system has been running!
A few of the signs in your home that you need duct cleaning include:
- EXCESSIVE DUST BUILD-UP
- DIRTY OR DUSTY AIR VENTS
- AIR FILTERS THAT BECOME DIRTY VERY QUICKLY
- INEFFECTIVE HEATING AND COOLING
- ALLERGY SYMPTOMS SUCH AS SNEEZING OR ITCHY EYES
At DeHart, we can not only clean out your ductwork, but sanitize it as well for maximum HVAC system efficiency.
3. USE YOUR CEILING FANS—AND REVERSE THEM IN THE WINTER!
Did you know that your ceiling fan has a reverse setting? Ceiling fans are great for keeping you cool during the summer—but they also have a reverse mode, where they push rising warm air created by your furnace back down towards the bottom half of the room, which is where you’ll most benefit from it. You can use your ceiling all year round to save money and stay comfortable!
4. SCHEDULE REGULAR HVAC MAINTENANCE
If your furnace or air conditioner is in good working condition, you may be tempted to forget about it until something changes. But actually, the most cost-effective approach to heating and cooling your home is by scheduling regular maintenance visits. Annual spring and fall tune-ups for your HVAC equipment can ensure that you’re comfortable in your home all year long, and a technician will also be able to identify potential issues before they turn into larger (and more expensive) ones.
5. UPGRADE YOUR HEATING & COOLING SYSTEMS
Finally, even though the thought of having to replace your current furnace or AC may have you running for the hills, scheduling heating or cooling replacement for your home comes with a number of benefits, including financial ones! If your system is old, you could see a sharp reduction in fuel and energy consumption from today’s high efficiency models with new HVAC system installation. You could even upgrade to all electric ductless mini split heat pumps and replace your entire heating and cooling system. Plus, a new unit is far less likely to break down and require constant repair calls.
COUNT ON DEHART FOR YOUR CENTRAL OKLAHOMA HOME HEATING AND COOLING
When it comes to heating and cooling your Sooner State home, DeHart has the expertise and quality customer service to meet your high standards! If your furnace or air conditioner isn’t working, give our team of HVAC experts a call and find out how much a new furnace or AC unit is. From heating replacement to air conditioner repairs, and even geothermal, generators, and heated floors, our services will help you stay comfortable without breaking the bank.
There are no ifs, ands or buts about it: feeling the outside winter chill inside your own home is never fun. The cold may have you sitting on the couch without a blanket, walking on cold floors, constantly inspecting your thermostat, and puzzled as to why it doesn’t feel like the 72º on the display….
Many homeowners here in Oklahoma resort to tips and tricks to keep certain areas of their home warm and supplement their home heating systems. But could these tips and tricks be costing you much more money in the long haul? Here are the most common winter heating myths and their true cost when it comes to keeping your home cozy during the Oklahoma winter.
MYTH #1: USE SPACE HEATERS IN HARD TO REACH ROOMS
Space heaters can be tempting, especially since you can usually pick one up at a thrift store for under $10. But even a tiny space heater can pull a big draw from your electrical outlets, for just a small heat output. Not only are they inefficient, but space heaters pose a fire and injury risk to your home and your family.
If you find yourself relying on space heaters, your ductwork may be in desperate need of redesign or replacement, or your heating system may be in need of repair. If you find you use a space heater in one particular room of your home, your home is the perfect candidate for the direct heating and cooling of a ductless mini-split!
MYTH #2: A FIREPLACE IS ENERGY EFFICIENT
There is a reason Netflix has so many video-versions of a crackling fireplace on their list of programming. Fireplaces are seemingly cozy, and that crackle will warm your heart. Unfortunately, fireplaces don’t always warm your home. Flames require oxygen, so when your fireplace is burning, it is pulling in oxygen for the flames, and that oxygen is coming from your living space. This creates a draft, pulling heat from your home and sending it up through the chimney. So, instead of supplementing your furnace to heat your home, it is causing it to work harder. Plus, the particulate matter in the smoke from a fireplace can be harmful to your health and your indoor air quality.
FIREPLACE CONVERSION
If you are not quite ready to replace your fireplace with the synthetic roar of the television, DeHart can retrofit your fireplace with a gas log. You can have a cozy fire at the push of a button, without decreasing the quality of the air you breathe!
MYTH #3: JUST CRANK UP THE THERMOSTAT!
Your home is made up of a series of systems that keep you and your family comfortable. So if your thermostat is reading a much higher temperature than you feel, simply turning it up won’t always do the trick.
In fact, if your ductwork is leaky, deteriorated, or just poorly designed, you will get diminishing returns from your furnace in the winter. This increases the wear on your furnace, which can lead to more unexpected breakdowns. Plus, the more your furnace is running, the higher your heating bills! If you’re continually making trips to turn up the thermostat, call in the pros to diagnose your heating system.
MYTH #4: PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTATS WILL SAVE YOU MONEY
It is true that a smart or programmable thermostat can save you money, but only if it is programmed correctly. Make sure you are choosing the right temperatures for when you are at work, when you are at home, and when you are sleeping.
If you have little ones that like to change the thermostat to their own liking (we know how enticing those buttons can be to a seven year old), take advantage of any control locks available for your thermostat. Especially for smart thermostats that learn from your behavior, a young one setting the thermostat to 85º in the middle of a Saturday could really throw a wrench in the schedule!
WHEN TO CALL IN THE PROS
If you’ve already been feeling the winter chill this year, it may be time to bring in the professionals so you can gain peace of mind when it comes to your furnace and heating equipment. If you have noticed symptoms like:
- HIGHER THAN USUAL HEATING BILLS
- MORE FREQUENT TRIPS TO THE THERMOSTAT
- UNEVEN ROOM-TO-ROOM TEMPERATURES
- COLD AIR COMING FROM YOUR VENTS
DON’T GET SPOOKED BY YOUR HEATING BILLS THIS FALL!
The leaves are changing, pumpkin spice flavoring has found its way into just about everything, and the neighborhood kids are scoping out which houses just might be giving out the king sized Snickers bars this Halloween. We get it, it’s a scary time of year…
But one thing that shouldn’t be scaring you this fall is your upcoming heating bill. As the temperature and the leaves both start to drop, you may have your eye on turning your thermostat from “cool” to “heat”, but is your furnace still in optimum operating shape after sitting dormant all summer? And what about the other inefficiencies in your home that are turning your home heating bill into a horror scene?
WHAT SHAPE IS YOUR FURNACE IN?
Chances are, if you haven’t checked in on your heating system since the end of last winter, it needs some form of maintenance. It’s easy to put your home’s heating system out of mind, since it’s usually out of sight. But just like any other major appliance or piece of technology you use on a daily basis, your heating system needs a periodical “look under the hood”: checking air filters, tightening and lubricating any moving parts, and looking for any leaks.
Scheduling preventative heating repair and maintenance from a DeHart home comfort specialist will ensure your furnace is operating at peak efficiency for the duration of fall and all through winter. No matter your home heating system, DeHart repairs all brands and types of heating systems from furnaces and heat pumps to ductless mini-splits and geothermal systems.
THE SILENT HEATING BILL KILLER: LEAKY DUCTS
Quietly lurking overhead and under your feet are the dark highways of your home heating system — your ductwork! Though these ducts are like the veins that deliver you much needed cozy, warm air from the heart of your heating system, they could be hemorrhaging your hard earned money through holes, leaks, and poor design. DeHart has specialized in ductwork redesign and replacement since our humble beginnings in sheet metal back in 1920.
We also specialize in cleaning and sanitizing ductwork — because you know what might be even scarier than losing money because of your ducts? Breathing in all the bacteria, dust, and contaminants that have infiltrated your home through your neglected ductwork. Well designed, clean ductwork brings many benefits, like:
- LOWER HEATING BILLS
- A COMFY, COZY HOME
- REDUCED STRESS ON YOUR HEATING SYSTEM
- HEALTHIER INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ)
- LOWERED RISK OF A FURNACE BREAKDOWN
LESS TRICKS & MORE TREATS THIS FALL WITH DEHART
Opening your fall energy bill shouldn’t send your heart racing. Stay healthy and cozy for less this year when you trust the experts at DeHart to keep your HVAC system in proper working condition. We can even convert your existing fireplace to a gas fireplace, providing your home with a cozy centerpiece all winter long!
Quit screaming at your energy bill! Stay cozy this fall for less when you trust the home comfort specialists at DeHart. Schedule your heating repair and maintenance today by calling 405-300-5863 or contacting us.