How To Lower Your Propane Bills This Winter

5 Ways To Improve Home Energy Efficiency

As we head toward Thanksgiving and the cold weather settles in, heating bills often increase. We’re here to deliver some good news: this doesn’t have to be the case! Here are a few suggestions that will help lower costs in your propane-heated Massachusetts home this winter.

1. Schedule your yearly maintenance check. Be sure to have your propane boiler or propane furnace tuned-up annually. This is an ideal way to be sure your system is ready for the season and to ensure that it will operate at maximum efficiency. You want to keep your home as comfortable as possible while using less energy, which of course, reduces your bills.

   In addition, your regular annual maintenance gives your technician a chance to see if your system has any bigger—and ultimately more expensive—issues that need to be addressed. Our Efficient Comfort Plan and Secure Comfort Plan both include a covered tune-up. The Efficient Comfort Plan offers 15% off all repairs, and the Secure Comfort Plan includes no charge on covered repairs! Check out the details on our service plans to learn more.

2. Check—and change—your air filter. If you have a replaceable air filter, it should be changed at least once every three months. If it sits unreplaced, it will get clogged and your propane furnace will have to do more work to produce the same amount of heat—not good for your system or your bills! Make it easy for yourself by setting a reminder on your phone’s calendar (or the calendar hanging in your kitchen!) to change your air filter quarterly. Note: If anyone in your home has allergies or if you have furry pets, you should increase the replacement frequency to monthly.
3. Keep the cold air out. Nobody wants to live in a drafty house! In addition to the discomfort you’re sure to experience when you have to endure drafts throughout the winter, it will also be quite a letdown when you see the increase in your bill. Purchase some weather stripping and caulk, and put them around windows and doorways to seal off any openings. Sealing cracks in exterior walls will also prove helpful in reducing how much work your system has to do to keep you and your family comfortable.
4. Adjust the temperature settings on your water heater. Did you know that according to the Department of Energy, about 18% of the energy usage in your home is from water heating? That’s a big chunk of your heating budget, so here’s a helpful hint to pull it down a sizeable amount: Lower the temperature of your water heater so it’s set below 120° F—doing so could save you hundreds of dollars while simultaneously reducing the risk of a scalding-related injury.

   If you’re headed out of town, or if this is for your second home, set your water heater to “Vacation” (or the heater’s lowest setting) to cover the time while you’ll be away for additional savings.

5. Get a programmable thermostat. If you don’t already have one, we recommend that you purchase a programmable thermostat. With the help of this “smart” device, you can lower the temperature within your home while you’re out or while you’re sleeping, and then set it to go back up to your personal comfort zone before you get home or wake up. Lowering your propane-heated home’s temperature by just seven to 10 degrees for about eight hours daily can reveal a decrease of about 10% off your bill! Contact us if you’d like to purchase a programmable thermostat for your Massachusetts home and we’ll be happy to help.

Learn more about the heating systems we service and sell at Pioneer. Contact us today!