| Professional Projects These are projects that are best done by a professional. Heating: Have your boiler or furnace tuned up and cleaned by a competent serviceman. This should be done at least every 2 years, preferably every year. This can save more than you spend for it to be done. Consider a service contract to cover this. Because your heating plant will be regularly tuned and cleaned, it will save you money in the long run.
If replacing your boiler, you might install a cold start, direct vent boiler, with separate indirect tanks for heat and hot water.
If you wish to avoid the use of fossil fuels such as oil or gas, there are even better options. A cold climate heat pump or a geothermal system will significantly reduce your heating energy costs when compared with even a high efficiency fossil fueled system. A cold climate heat pump will quickly pay back its cost. A geothermal system, while even more efficient, has a much higher upfront cost. Therefore, it will take much longer to pay back its cost. Also, because geothermal systems depend on a sizable source of water and/or space, they are not suitable for every situation. But with either of these options, you will never again have to worry about the rising costs of oil or gas!
If you have an electric water heater, have an electrician install a timer for it. This can be set to only come on once or twice a day for a short time. Depending on how you set the timer, this can save you a significant amount on your electric bill. If there are just 2 people in the home, and you have a 60 or 80 gallon heater, you might set it to turn on for an hour in the morning before you get up, and an hour in the evening before supper time.
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