Regular Maintenance v Home Warranties

You may have been advised that you should purchase a home warranty to help you avoid extra expense if a major appliance or home appliance system should fail.

You may also have been told that you should not buy a home warranty because they are a waste of money and many are so expensive that they border on being a scam. Confusing to say the least. Which advice is correct?

Although there are some instances when a home warranty can be a good idea, if your home is brand new for instance, usually home warranties are just expenditures that homeowners do not need to make, especially in this economy.

Yes, it is true that if an HVAC system breaks down altogether it may cost as much as $10,000 to replace. However that is less likely to occur if you have it checked by an HVAC professional on a semi annual basis. For safety’s sake you should do that anyway, warranty or no warranty, so the extra $400-$500 spent on a home warranty may not be worth it.

The other thing that some people do not realize until it is too late and they have already taken out a home warranty is that very few of them cover some of the very appliances that are likely to break first – your washer and dryer.

In addition, many warranty companies will try to repair an appliance before even considering replacing it, so you may be holding on to a fridge that is energy inefficient when buying a new one would make more sense.

Instead of purchasing a home warranty consider investing the money you would have spent in the form of annual check ups for your appliances. The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure holds true for your home every bit as much as it does anything else.

Cranking up the thermostat will get your house nice and warm in a hurry but it will also drain your bank account just as quickly. There are better ways to keep the temperature in your home at a comfortable level all winter long without racking up a sky high energy bill. Here are a few tips.

Banish Drafts

A roll of weatherstripping tape costs just a few dollars, can be obtained at any hardware or home store and takes just a few hours to apply to all the doors and windows in your home. The payoff in terms of energy saved is surprisingly high though and this is one task that every homeowner should undertake before the winter weather strikes in earnest.

Hang New Window Treatments

Replace (or cover) your flimsy summer friendly blinds with thick Roman blinds or nice heavy drapes. In addition to saving money on your energy bills by reducing the heat lost from the room by up to 25% you will be giving the space a little bit of a winter make over.

Have Cracks and Gaps Sealed

Hiring a professional to seal any cracks and gaps in the exterior walls of you home, however small, with foam insulation can also help keep more of the heat you are paying for inside to keep you warm.

Close off Unused Rooms

If you have a guest room that only gets used once or twice a year there is no need to keep the heat on in there all winter long. Set the thermostat low and keep the door closed and consider using a draft excluder to stop colder air escaping into the rest of the house.

The nights are drawing in, the temperatures are dropping and you are bracing yourself for the jump in the amount you pay in energy bills.

Many homeowners are completely unaware that even the smallest of tweaks around the house can make a big difference to the amount of energy used in their household over the winter months. Implementing even just one or two of the money saving tips detailed below could save you far more than you think.

Order an Energy Audit

A professional energy audit involves inviting a qualified individual into your home to thoroughly examine it for signs of unintentional energy loss or waste. They will then advise you on the steps that need to be taken to make your home more energy efficient.

This year, many local community authorities are teaming up with energy auditing professionals to provide discounted services to homeowners. Call your local town hall to find out if such a scheme is on offer in your area.

Order a Checkup

If you have not done so yet call your HVAC company today to schedule an annual checkup of your heating system. Too many people leave this task until the snow starts falling – and then are surprised to find that by the time they do remember to call in mid December the company is simply too busy with winter heat emergencies to fit them in for weeks.

Make the Most of Winter Sunshine

In many areas of the country even when it is cold outside the sun shines as brightly as it does in the summer. On days like this open all your drapes and blinds because the winter sunshine will provide some warmth through the windows.

Change Your Family’s Habits

Wear a sweater or buy one of those Snuggies you see on TV instead of cranking up the thermostat an extra notch. Switch the ceiling fans in your home to reverse to circulate warm air throughout the house.

Turn the heat right down in rooms you rarely use and do not leave it blasting out while everyone is at work or school. If you are worried about coming home to a chilly house then have a programmable thermostat installed and set it to begin heating your home about 30 minutes before everyone is due home.