Heating your home doesn't have to break the bank

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - As the temperature goes down you may find your heating bill going up, but with a few quick changes you can actually save money when it comes to heating your home.

"The main thing is keeping the filters clean," Yoder Hi-Tech Heating and Cooling president Greg Yoder said. "If they don't change it then they [furnaces] start going against the limit and your shutting the burners down and it's really hard on the equipment. It will ruin the heat exchanger over time."

Yoder said clean filters allow your furnace to heat your home more efficiently saving you money. If you don't change them, Yoder said it could destroy your furnace costing you hundreds of dollars.

Ace Hardware Assistant Manager John Herr said filters only cost you a few dollars and are easy to change.

"Most of them changed about every three months," Herr said. "There's different grades of them. All the way to just protecting the furnace to keeping smoke particles, viruses, bacteria out of the air and improving air quality. A good rule with it is when ever there's a season change you switch your filter."

Another way people might try to save some money is by closing registers in rooms they don't use. Yoder said that's not a good idea.

"The system is designed to let so much air through so when you start doing that again choking the thing back and you're only kidding yourself," Yoder said. "You're not saving money, you're going to destroy the equipment."

Yoder and Herr said instead of just focusing on filling your home with warm air prevent the cool air from getting in and warm air leaking out. A quick way to do that is by caulking window seals. Another affordable option is using plastic window insulation.

"It's extremely affordable," Herr said about covering your windows. "You can do about half a house sometimes for about $10, so it's extremely affordable. Patio doors are cheap as well depending on whether you run electric or gas it can be a huge savings on your bills just by keeping the cold air out in the winter.

Yoder said if you're not going to be home for a day or so leave your furnace on just turn it down low. Doing so will cut costs to completely reheat your home.