{"id":1083,"date":"2022-11-22T11:14:41","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.njairquality.com\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2022-11-23T10:41:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T15:41:30","slug":"stopping-inflation-from-robbing-you-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/stopping-inflation-from-robbing-you-this-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Stopping Inflation From Robbing You This Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now that the elections are over no one can\ndeny the fact that inflation is affecting everyone and everything from the eggs\nin the supermarket to the filters in your HVAC systems. But we can attempt to\nkeep those costly repairs at bay by using some tried and true steps to keep\nyour heating system from absorbing your precious dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We all know the story that when a major\nappliance breaks, we are at the mercy of time and our trusty repairmen. I don\u2019t\nknow what is more dire, a broken dryer or a failed heating system in the\nwinter. Both affect our loyal families negatively and no one wants crying\nchildren complaining that they can\u2019t get out of bed in the morning because it\nis too cold in the house. It would be prudent to purchase an inexpensive but\nsafe portable heater to keep in your garage in case of an emergency, however,\nit is wise to check your heating system before the winter chill hits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With prices running rampant due to runaway\ninflation, folks are looking for ways to save and conserve their hard-earned\nfunds. Just last week my friend informed me that she had been out of the\ncountry for ten days only to come home and be shocked at how the supermarket\nprices had risen in such a short time span. Her favorite ready-made and checked\nfresh spinach were placed in a smaller plastic container than before she left\nso that the store would not have to raise the already upscale price on such a\ncoveted item. It\u2019s worse than the trick that sugar companies used beginning\nseveral years ago, when changing from the historic five-pound bag to a four\npounder. Your heating system is no less a candidate and culprit for these\nunbelievable price increases even though you have not received your heating\nbill as of yet which will reflect the increase in charges for your HVAC system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some folks mistakenly believe that just like\nbears, squirrels and other animals hibernate in the winter so we can leave our\ncentral air conditioning at peace during the cold months of the year. This\ncould not be further from the truth even if your air and heating systems are\nnot united in one HVAC unit, we must still check on the different parts of the\nAC unit both indoors and out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before detailing ways to save money on winter\nfuel costs, let’s just give you two important prompts to keep your central AC\nfrom costing you money come the spring. First of all, even if your AC is off,\nthe filters must be checked so that the water condensation will not cause\nleaking, damaging your new carpets or floors. Always make sure that you still\ncheck your filters monthly and more often if you see tiny drops descending from\nthe ceiling units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Secondly, how are you treating your outdoor AC unit? You may forget to cover your barbeque come the winter, but a barbeque costs a few hundred dollars while your AC unit costs thousands and if it is ruined there are other parts that will go as well. Of course, it all depends on how cold it gets in your location and some folks choose not to cover their outside AC unit and that\u2019s fine. You must check it during the winter to make sure that the snow did not penetrate the coils and other sensitive parts and that strange creatures have not taken up space in the AC unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Hints That Will Keep Your HVAC in Good Shape This Winter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1:<\/strong> Ask your energy\ncompany to come in and check your units and some providers offer energy audits.\nDepending on a person’s income there are discounts for low-income families who\nconsider heating their homes during off peak hours of the day. Energy provider\naudits will specify where the problem areas in your home are and may offer discounted\nways to fix them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:<\/strong> Identify the\nways to keep costly heat from escaping from your home. Simply weather stripping\nor caulking your windows and doors as well as any leaking air pockets from\nelectrical wiring and plumbing is a good start. For example, under the kitchen\nsink is a place where the area around the pipes might have cold air entering.\nBy opening up closets and kitchen cabinets when the cold hits will enable you\nto tell where the drafts are coming from and easily close up those open spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3:<\/strong> We all want to\nbe as warm as possible but high indoor heat is drying and a breeding ground for\ncertain viruses and bacteria. By decreasing the temperature in your home by\nseven to ten degrees during an eight-hour period either during the night as the\nfamily sleeps or day when no one is home, can save a homeowner as much as ten\npercent off their heating bill. Energy companies can provide you with a\nprogrammable thermostat that will change the settings automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:<\/strong> The Inflation Reduction Act<\/a> gives rebates of up to $8,000 to replace an old furnace with a heat pump. This type of system will make sense only for someone who has to replace their furnace anyway as it is costly. Switching to a heat pump from baseboard heating can save a homeowner as much as $1,287 yearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical heat pump can be used for both air\nconditioning and heating without using fossil fuel so it is environmentally\nfriendly. In the winter the heat pump will pull heat from the outside and move\nit indoors while in the summer it will use the indoor air to cool the home\nusing a refrigerant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5:<\/strong> It is quite\nnecessary to schedule a yearly maintenance visit for your HVAC system which\nwill save you several hundred dollars a year. The company expert will be able\nto change the filters and make sure they are the correct size to work most efficiently,\nand this checkup will most likely decrease the need for emergency costly\nrepairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6:<\/strong> If your house has\na fireplace make sure that the flue is tightly closed since this is an easy way\nfor cold air to creep in. Of course, if you are using your fireplace to keep\nwarm that is another story. Who does not look forward to those cold winter days\nsitting around the fireplace especially during holiday times and sipping hot\ncocoa? For this reason, yearly maintenance of a working fireplace is a must\neven if you must say yes to those pesky cold callers offering chimney cleaning.\nSeriously, don\u2019t use anyone but get a recommendation from a neighbor or friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way a typical fireplace works is by\ncreating a column of heated gas inside the chimney. The heated air rises which\nis called a draft as more heated air is being pulled up from the fire. So it\u2019s\nvery important that before you buy your logs and hot cocoa that you make sure\nall is well with your fireplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Words<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For many folks winter conjures up playing in\nthe snow and cuddling around the fireplace with hot cocoa and roasting\nmarshmallows. Unfortunately, this winter, because of inflation, many homeowners\nwill struggle to pay their home heating bills. To prevent any sad surprises\nsuch as furnace breakdowns and drafty windows and doors, the smart homeowner\nwill start immediately to prevent unforeseeable problems with keeping their\nhouse nice and warm. The saying, \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as bad luck, only poor\npreparation\u201d, is quite pertinent to the planning\nof a peaceful<\/a> and warm winter at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are like many of us, your budget is\nsuffering from inflation and there are several ideas to keep your home heated\nfrugally. By having a yearly maintenance check (and some people have a contract\nwith their energy provider) you can be assured that your heating system will\nfunction efficiently. You may find that certain rooms are colder, and others\nare warmer so check out the reasons that this is happening. There are programs\nthat will give you money to blow insulation into your walls and you will be\nable to tell which rooms need such a rehab when you feel the cold air in\ncertain rooms. A temporary solution would be to buy a couple of safe portable\nheaters to warm up those extra cold rooms. I have one that looks like a\nbaseboard heater and is quite safe but of course you must do your own checking.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s all be thankful that we can look\nforward to a healthy winter with our normal indoor and outdoor activities even\nwith inflation snatching some of our money. Let\u2019s enjoy the winter surrounded\nby those people we love and let\u2019s have those emergency supplies handy and\nhopefully we will not need any. I hope all would agree that inflation is still\nnot as bad as the pandemic of the last few years when each of us was sitting\naround our fireplaces or kitchens alone with no one to talk to or hug.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that the elections are over no one can deny the fact that inflation is affecting everyone and everything from the eggs in the supermarket to the filters in your HVAC systems. But we can attempt to keep those costly repairs at bay by using some tried and true steps to keep your heating system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1089,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions\/1089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}