Improved Heating Hacks In Toronto And The GTA

Heating a home on those especially cold winter nights isn’t easy. It takes a lot of energy, which in turn leads to a spike in your monthly bill. But what’s the alternative, freezing? Of course not.

While the easy answer is to say you need a new furnace, boiler, or heat pump, that’s just not always a reality. For most of us, a $2,000 (minimum) expense isn’t something we can just put on our credit cards or pay off immediately. And what if there is a draft coming in from one of your windows? Not all of us know how to seal it, and paying a handyman isn’t ideal.

Luckily, there are some improved heating hacks we can share that will help you get through the winter and make those repairs in the coming spring and summer.      

DIY Improved Heating Hacks

  • Ceiling fans

This is probably the easiest improved home heating hack there is. If you have a fan in your home, you’re in luck! Throw that sucker in reverse. Of course, it won’t suddenly blow hot air instead, but it will help pull any warm air that might be trapped up along the ceiling down to you.

  • Carpets

Those thick bear skin rugs you see couples always spooning on in the movies might be cheesy, but they actually work. Don’t run out and buy one exactly like it. Just any carpet or rug will do in common areas of your home you’d like a bit warmer.

  • Draft stoppers

Just like weatherstripping, draft stoppers are something you can buy (or make) to help eliminate hot air from escaping under your home’s doors. It usually consists of a tube-shaped cloth that spans the length of the bottom of your door and is filled with different styles of insulated materials. You could also just hack it and roll up a blanket to fit along the bottom of your door too.

  • Cook more

This improved heating hack is not only better for you, but it’s easy too. Running the stove or oven to make meals saves on the cost of dining out as well as produces excess heat for your home. Think about it, that’s why people don’t like cooking in the summer. Time to use this tip to your advantage.

  • Run appliances (dishwasher, washing machine)

Doing the laundry can give off a bit of heat as well. Plus clothes come out toasty warm if you need a boost of heat while you’re bringing Netflix. And did you know that even when your dishwasher is half full, it still uses less water than if you were to do it by hand? Keep your clothes and dishes clean by running these appliances a bit more often in the winter.

  • Curtain control

While it’s always nice to let the sun in during the day, it can actually help warm your home a bit. Be sure to close them at night though. Better yet, if you have a bit of a budget, you could always check out insulated curtains too.

Improved Heating Hacks Not Enough?

Call Novel Care Obviously doing it yourself is a creative way to get through especially cold nights, but it’s important to be safe. If you ever need emergency repair service, call 905-737-5016  anytime. We’re available 24/7 and can be there within hours of a problem to assess the situation. Put our 30 years of experience to work for you.

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Hire A Professional For Your Heating Installation

Toronto and the GTA is a big place to live. It’s vibrant, diverse, and best of all, there are plenty of businesses and professionals who are available to help out on our schedule. Hungry in the middle of the night? There’s always a restaurant open late. Looking for a discount on some new clothes? There’s an outlet mall that’s accessible by TTC.

With all these things within our reach, you might be tempted to bargain shop for the wrong items and services though. We’ve all received bad deals at flea markets, wonky products from local vendors, or questionable food from a new independent restaurant, but none of those compare to hiring the wrong person to handle your home’s heating installation. That could really cost you. 

Potential Problems With Amateur Heating Installation 

Saving money is great, but just like you wouldn’t buy lobster or seafood from the back of a truck, you shouldn’t necessarily settle for the cheapest guy promising to take care of your heating installation. While the price might be right, an untrained professional could not only incorrectly install your furnace, boiler, or heat pump, they could actually compromise the warranty or damage your new system.

Professional installers have been trained by recognized schools or programs to ensure consistency and that all safety measures are met. Simply put, they all receive a through breakdown of what precautions to take and what not to do on the job. Better still, they are familiar with a variety of different makes and models, as well as which are best suited for specific situations. After all, you can’t just say I need a new furnace and pick one up. You need to factor in the size of your home, how many people live with you and few other factors in order to find the one that makes sense for you. That’s actually why furnaces, boilers and other heating and cooling systems are priced differently and made with different efficiency levels.

But a professional heating installation expert would already know all this. 

Book Novel Care To Handle Your Heating Installation

While you may be tempted to handle the installation yourself, it’s always best to consult a professional. At Novel Care, we’ve been helping Toronto and the GTA for more than 30 years now, so give us a call at 905-737-5016 to get started. We’d be more than happy to go over your options and make recommendations that make sense for you, before getting to work on efficiently handling your heating installation.    

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