I found a great, easy check list to see if your home is prepared for the winter cold. Remember your outrageous gas bills from last winter? These 4 steps can help reduce your heating bills by a few percentage points per month, which can add up to hundreds of dollars, depending on how unending our winter is this year!
- First, make sure that all of your exposed plumbing is adequately wrapped. Though the wrapping itself will not save money on your heating bill, it will keep your pipes from bursting and costing you a lot of money for repairing the significant damage to your home. Heat tape should be applied to all exposed pipes, and exterior faucets should be drained and their water source turned off.
- The proper insulation is the key to energy savings. Determining the type of insulation to use depends on a number of things. What type of home, how old is your home, how high are your ceilings, do you have a basement, and what type of heating/cooling system you use. The higher the R-value of the insulation you use, the greater the insulating power.
- Caulk those windows and doors! If you're very ambitious, install weatherstripping on all doors and windows after you caulk them to cut drafts down drastically!
- Don't forget to change the filter on your furnace. Many thermostats are now programmed to tell you when the filter has 500 or more hours of use on it. When the thermostat is flashing "filter", don't ignore it. Check the filter - it may or may not need changing. If it looks gray, then change it. Filters are relatively inexpensive and help your heating/cooling system work much more efficiently.
So, 'til next time, it's all good!
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