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Winter is that time of the year that most people spend time indoors, either watching TV or cooking their favorite meals. Lights stay on most of the time; heaters never go off, and televisions are on to entertain loved ones since outdoor entertainment becomes a thing of the past. As such, energy bills escalate, and most homeowners find it challenging to budget for ever-increasing energy and heating bills. Fortunately, there are many energy-efficient ideas for winter.
Check out energy-saving tips for your home during winter:
- Install a fireplace in your living room
Furnaces are standard and coveted features in many homes. They are useful for preparing food as well as heating the home. As such, they come in handy during winter months. They are also great décor options due to their decorative features.
Besides, there’s nothing more comfortable than curling on your sofa with a blanket beside a fire. Although choosing the kind of fireplace to install can be tricky, there are many energy-efficient fireplace designs in the market. And you won’t need to bother about energy costs while heating your home.
- Use carpets and rugs and experience a warmer room
Carpets are unique energy-efficient ideas for winter. And the best way to deal with cold floors is to throw rugs. This way, you not only warm your feet but also provides an additional layer of insulation to seal the heat in your rooms. Pick rugs made of heavy warm fabrics made of cotton or heavy wools and a broader surface to cover large areas are ideal for optimal insulation.
- Re-arrange your furniture- save energy during winter
Move your furniture to ensure that there is optimum airflow from the heating vents. Besides, your home needs a new look now and then and re-arranging your seats, beds, and music systems is an excellent idea for a new home layout. However, you need first to locate the heating and air vents in your house.
Most people hide them beneath furniture so that the house appears neat. But, when you obstruct the heating sources in your home, you block airflow from your vents. And this makes your house not to warm as required. For this reason, re-arrange your furniture to ensure that your heating system operates efficiently and optimize airflow in your home.
In most cases, vents are placed directly under the windows. If they are blowing straight up, the heat ends up storming out of the house. If yours are not directional, replace them or add vent deflector to warm your rooms thoroughly and save on energy.
- Save on energy by your choice of colors
Most homeowners don’t know that dark colors are energy efficient home ideas for winter. After all, your choice of colors determines how well your house absorbs or reflects heat and light. And this determines how warm or cold your home feels.
To make your house warmer, opt for deep, dark, and bold colors not only for your decor but for your furniture as well. The reason? Dark colors absorb light more and also retain heat, making them the best color choice for warming your home in winter. For high traffic spots like your
Selection of furniture– For busy areas like your living room, use furniture with deep warm shades. Sumptuous brown leather seats, deep mahogany end tables, wooden pieces of furniture make your home feel warmer. If you don’t wish to change your furniture, consider candle holders and mirrors. They are excellent in reflecting light making your house bright in dark winter nights.
- Cut on your energy bills with throw pillows and blankets
Throw pillows and comforters are excellent ways to save heat energy. You can easily pull a quilt behind our sofa than get up to look for a sweater. Choose deep reds or brown, they are excellent in heat retention, and you can quickly put them away once winter is over. Besides, by wrapping up in cozy blankets, you end up saving much on your energy bills.
- Energy-saving tip for winter: Upgrade lighting fixtures
Light consumes a large chunk of power in almost all homes, and this is especially true in winter when it’s dark most of the time. As such, you need to keep your home warm and well-lit, and this plays a vital role in keeping your design welcoming and refreshing. Also, consider adding more lights such as electric candles, lanterns, indoor strings of lights.
Although extra lights can increase your power bills, there are friendly ways of saving on power. As such, upgrades to your bulbs and lighting fixtures can make a big difference. To save on your energy costs, incorporate motion sensor lights in your living room. And this ensures that you only use the lighting that you need.
Motion sensor lights also come in handy when you enter into your room and leave the lamps on; this is because it will only activate when you’re in the vicinity. This way, you’ll end up saving a lot on energy bills.
And what’s more? You won’t need to change your home design or decorative aspect provided by your lights. Lastly, remember to switch your lights to energy-efficient options such as LED lights or compact fluorescent bulbs. These are simple energy-efficient upgrades for your home.
- Save energy with your holiday decor
The holidays are a favorite part of winter for many. The best festive holiday is associated with things like stockings hung on the chimney and halls decked with boughs of holly and bright lights shining on streets.
Unfortunately, all these consume lots of power and increase your energy cost. So opt for LED lights for all your porches, railings, and glistens. Also, unplug your Christmas tree and outdoor lights when going to bed. You can as well choose holiday decorations that don’t require energy. These are, for example, candles, Christmas wall art, and doorknob stockings.
Final thoughts
There are numerous energy efficient ideas for winter, and you don’t need to worry about your power bills as you warm your home. Therefore, consider an energy-efficient fireplace, upgrade your bulbs, re-arrange your furniture, choose your colors wisely, and don’t forget a rug on the floor plus pillows and blankets.
