During the winter months, your home heater works hard to keep you warm and comfortable. For the most part, today's heaters are efficient, clean, and powerful. That makes them well-suited for their primary role, and with regular HVAC service in Conroe, TX, your heater will perform reliably for years. However, even the best heating system can be undermined by mistakes that can ruin efficiency, diminish performance, and make your heater work harder than it needs to work.

You may not know it, but some habits and practices in your home could be impacting your heater and thus, driving your energy bills higher. Not only will these common mistakes drive up the cost of heating your home and increase your carbon footprint, but they can also lead to increased wear on your heater and a shorter overall life span. Keep reading to learn about five common heating mistakes that could be costing you a lot of money in energy and repair bills.

Mistake 1: Heating When You're Not There

A programmable thermostat is a handy tool for managing your power consumption, and it can help prevent one of the most common home heating mistakes. Many people set their thermostats for their comfort level when at home, then leave it that way throughout the day. That means that even when you're not home, your heater is working hard to hold the set point on your thermostat as if you were there. That results in a ridiculous waste of energy. A programmable thermostat allows you to tailor your heater operation to your schedule so that it's only working when you're at home to enjoy it.

Mistake 2: Not Changing the Filter

Changing the filter in your HVAC system is one of the few tasks that almost any homeowner can perform, yet it's also one of the most commonly neglected. Despite the simplicity of changing your filter, it's absolutely critical to the performance and efficiency of your heater. A dirty filter causes the blower in your system to work harder, makes it more difficult to distribute heat evenly, and can result in your heater running for longer than it needs to run. Failure to change a dirty air filter can drive up energy costs, increase the frequency of repairs, and shorten the life span of your heating unit.

Mistake 3: Failing to Lock Windows

Few people would open their windows in the wintertime. However, it's not just closing the windows that keeps the cold out; you must also lock them to generate a good seal and prevent air leakage. Locking the windows sets the seal, and without it, the warm air that your heater works hard to generate will leak out. That will force your heater to run longer and work harder to maintain the desired temperature, which will cost you money.

Mistake 4: Closing Vents in Unused Rooms

There's a common myth that one way to cut your energy costs is to close the vents in rooms that aren't being used. However, that practice produces the opposite result, ironically. The layout and design of your home ductwork and vent placement is determined based on the entire home, and it's not designed to be compartmentalized in most cases. Therefore, when you close vents, your heater will work harder to balance the temperature and distribute heat, which in turn, will produce longer run times and increased energy usage.

Mistake 5: Skipping the Preventative Maintenance

Ask any HVAC technician, and you'll find out that nothing can impact the efficiency, performance, and long-term health of your heater more than preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance conducted annually helps keep your system clean, lubricated, and functioning properly. It also provides an opportunity for routine inspections, which allow potentially bigger problems to be headed off when they're still minor problems. You may think skipping preventive maintenance saves you money, but that's not the case as the long-term costs of an unmaintained heater can be exorbitant.

If you're making any of these common home heating mistakes, you may be severely undercutting the performance and efficiency of your HVAC system in Conroe, TX. However, with a few simple adjustments to your lifestyle and habits, you can save money and future HVAC repairs and enjoy warm comfort throughout the winter. To learn more about heating mistakes that could be costing your money, contact Best Air Conditioning & Heating Co. at (936) 756-1324.