By Dina Kupfer, KRNV-TV

Whether you rent or own, regularly servicing the heating equipment in your home is the best way to keep up with the sudden change in temperature.

“Just like a car, [a home] has to have preventative maintenance done to it to run efficiently,” says Chad Piekarz, Energy Consultant with NV Energy.

Piekarz says due to the windy, dusty conditions in Northern Nevada, it’s a good idea to change your air filters once a month during the heating season to keep the air flow moving.

Next, look for leaks or spaces where warm air can escape. Check the weather stripping around doors and windows, and look for gaps in floor vents.

“Make sure the duct boot is sealed between the floor — silicone, even caulking will work very well. If you have a large gap, you can use the expanding foam,” explains Piekarz.

Piekarz says the real hot spot for problems in the home are manual thermostats.

“These older ones can be knocked out of calibration and they can run when they’re not supposed to, they heat above the temperature settings.”

Chad says programmable thermostats are the way to go. They allow you to preset when you want the heat to run and for how long.

“If you’re heating, try not to go above 68 degrees. Every degree could add about 2 percent to your bill. When you let it taper off, don’t really let it go below 58 degrees.”

Piekarz says to run the system two items a day. Those peaks and valleys, will allow the system to take a break.

Finally, if you can avoid them, Piekarz says to say goodbye to those costly space heaters. They could cost you up to $30 a month if ran five days a week, eight hours a day.

If you have an NV Energy Smart meter, you can check your energy consumption online at NV Energy’s website, just click the “My Account” tab.