Winter Energy Savings

You want to keep warm during the winter, but you also want to save money on your energy bills. So how can you accomplish these two goals? Here are some practical tips that would be able to help you to take care of things easily and conveniently.

Make sure your house is well-insulated before the winter starts. Use an insulation material to cover your floors, walls, and heating ducts. The ceilings, attic, and basement should be insulated as well. Get insulating drapes and shutters to cover your windows. For extra insulation, cover these windows with clear plastic. In addition, your doors and windows should be weather-stripped, where all the openings are tightly sealed. Caulk all cracks and holes you can find in your door frames, window frames, ducts, and pipes.

Check for any gaps around your ducts, pipes, vents, and fans that go through the walls, floors, and ceilings, especially from heated to unheated areas of the house. Close or plug up these gaps carefully. If you have a pool which you leave filled with water during winter, conserve energy by running the filter for a maximum of only two hours during the day. Furthermore, when you are using the fireplace, turn off the heater. When it is not in use, make sure that you close the damper.

Keep the furnace clean and well-lubricated at all times. You should also clean and replace its filter regularly. During days when it is warm and the sun is shining, turn of your heater and open the windows so you can let in the sunlight. Finally, whenever you have to leave your home for more than four hours, lower the thermostat to 55 degrees.