Staying Warm For Less

As we head quickly into colder weather, now is a perfect time to make sure your home is ready for winter. The drafts we feel on cold days can add up: a leaky home wastes up to 25% of the energy that is used to heat it! Here are a few great tips to prepare your home for the season:

- Fireplaces can be a huge energy drain on your home. Make sure to close the fireplace damper when not in use, and consider using a Chimney Balloon (a removable, inflatable way to seal your chimney’s flue) to stop drafts and heat loss.

- As the weather gets colder and windows stay closed, there’ll be a lot less fresh air circulating into the house. Replace the air filters for your HVAC system with a permanent filter or with a MERV 13-rated filter. An air cleaner machine can also help in making sure your home’s air is pollutant free.

- Also, remember that with less home air circulation in winter, it is even more important to be mindful of the carbon monoxide emitted by furnaces, gas stoves, and other appliances. A CO detector is important for every home.

- Installing Energy Star programmable thermostats are an easy upgrade that can save your family up to $200 per year on energy bills. These devices have many more options than your manual thermostat, such as allowing you to set different target temperatures by day when you leave the house, at night when you’re sleeping, over the weekend, or when you’re traveling for the holidays.

- Turn on your ceiling fan when you’re in the room. Winter fan use can save you 10% on your heating costs. Reversing the direction of a ceiling fan helps redistribute warm air by pushing it back down from the ceiling, hence conserving energy. Fans only work as temperature regulators when you are in the room; otherwise they are wasting energy, and cool/warm no one.

Taking these initial steps can help to keep you warm all winter while also keeping your utility bill as low as possible. Your local Eco-Consultant offers many energy-saving products, and they can provide you with even more ideas for energy conservation, so you can make sure that your home is well prepared for the winter months.

Do you have other steps that you take to winterize your home? Share them with us in the comments below!