Although temperatures are still summer-like, it's time to start thinking about the cost of heating your home this winter.
It's expected to rise sharply, but here are some tips for keeping costs down.
This year, it's more important than ever to prep your home for winter...because the cost of heating oil is expected to go up dramatically.
"Experts are saying that heating costs are probably gonna go up about thirty percent this year."
More than six hundred fifty thousand consumers subscribe to Angie's List rating their local service providers.
Joe Todaro works with one of them, gold medal plumbing, heating, cooling, and electric in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
He shared tips for keeping indoor temperatures up...and expenses down.
First step...a good filter for your furnace.
"This middle of the line here, in most home centers, will be anywhere between eight and sixteen dollars. An again, it will last up to about three months."
Another key step: a yearly furnace inspection...where the gas pressure...and wire connections are checked. Audrey Belitz learned her lesson the year she didn't get an early inspection.
"We went to turn it on the first time it got cold. It didn't work. Gold medal came out. I needed a whole new furnace."
Also important, you should have about nine to ten inches of insulation in your home. And check your windows and doorways for drafts.
"You wanna make sure there's no flow coming through. If you feel cold air, there's a leak."
And, be careful with the temperature setting on your water heater.
"The water heater is probably one of the bigger appliances for using energy in your house. People a lot of times don't realize that. But you should keep it at 120 degrees. If it gets higher than that, it becomes less efficient."
