Homeowners across Manitoba have been feeling the pinch for decades. Home heating costs have gone nowhere but up, with the cost of heating fuel (natural gas, heating oil, and electricity) rising at a rate faster than almost any other commodity. Conservation has become the watchword of the day, both to reduce emission of harmful by-products of heating into the atmosphere, and to relieve the pressure on household budgets caused by rising fuel costs.

Other than practicing mindful conservation efforts, there are two ways to reduce your home’s heating costs: increasing your home’s insulation, and improving its heating system.

Good insulation is important no matter how you heat. Once you’ve got insulation under control, it’s time to consider a furnace upgrade. The type of furnace you choose will be dictated, in large part, by the fuel source that’s available to you. The most common fuel sources are:

Natural Gas – Common in Manitoba, because of our proximity to the source of the fuel, natural gas is an efficient way to heat our home. It costs about $550 less each year to heat a home with gas than it does to do so with electricity. Today’s natural gas furnaces are all high-efficiency, which means that they have efficiency ratings of 92 percent or more, which means that 92 percent of the fuel they burn will be converted directly to heat for the home.

Electricity – While they’re very efficient (100% of electricity used is converted to heat) the higher cost of electricity means that you’ll pay more to heat your house this way. Most systems, however, use non-distributed sources of heat like baseboard heaters, which mean that you can control the amount of heat you use in each room in your home, which can lead to some cost savings.

Geothermal – Geothermal systems use the earth’s renewable energy to heat or cool your home. A heat transfer medium is pumped into the ground, where the temperature is constant. Geothermal solutions can be implemented to save up to 70% of HVAC costs in your home.

Propane/Oil – These fuel sources are more expensive and somewhat inconvenient, as they need to be delivered to your home. If you’re tied to them because other fuel sources are unavailable, you might find some savings (and an incentive from Manitoba Hydro) in replacing your furnace.

To find out how you can make your homes heating system more efficient, contact Reliable Heating and Air Conditioning for a free consultation today.