is your attic well-ventilated?

If you keep your house chilly to help save on energy costs, it may be time to have your furnace serviced to increase its energy efficiency. Your heating bills may be higher than they need to be due to a dirty furnace or some other problem with the heating system. Here are four things to try when your energy bills are suddenly higher than usual.

1. Make Sure Nothing Has Changed In Your Home

If you're comparing this year's bills to last year's, then make sure everything in your home is the same when it comes to insulation and window coverings. Also, consider if you're having a much colder winter than usual and that's why your furnace is running more.

2. Change the Filter and Clean The Furnace

A clogged filter can cause your furnace problems, and one problem is reduced efficiency. It might make your furnace struggle to work and overheat, which causes it to shut down and then cycle back on more often. Appliances use a lot of energy when they kick on, so you want your furnace to run as long as it's supposed to once it turns on. Call a heating repair service to clean the inside of your furnace since dust inside the unit can cause your furnace to short cycle too.

3. Open All the Registers

If you've closed off some of the registers in your house to save on energy, you might be making your furnace work harder and that drives up your energy costs instead. Since your entire home is connected to the same ducts and heating system, closing off the upstairs or empty bedrooms might cause your furnace to run longer or short cycle. Talk to your furnace repair technician about this problem and how you should manage the registers for optimal energy efficiency.

4. Replace Your Old Thermostat With a Smart One

If you still have an old thermostat, it could be time to put in a new one. You can program a new model in different ways so your furnace doesn't run when it's not needed. Also, a smart thermostat tracks your usage so you see trends and can spot when your furnace is running more than usual and driving up your bill.

If your current thermostat is old, it may be malfunctioning too, and that can cause your furnace to get mixed signals or overheat. Talk to the furnace repair service about the condition of your thermostat and if they can recommend one that would help with energy efficiency.

Call a heating system service near you for more information.