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Winter
Energy Savings Guide Each year, the average American family spends 43 percent of its utility bill on heating and cooling. In general, more than half of that percentage is for heating. You can slash your heating bill by changing how you keep the cold out. Here are 10 tips that will make a difference in your monthly heating bill. 1: Dress for winter inside. Many of us set our winter thermostats higher than needed. If you're wearing sleeveless tops and shorts and going barefoot inside your house in winter, you've got the thermostat set way too high. Lower it to 68 degrees, and you'll be comfortable if you dress for winter. That means layering on long-sleeved shirts, sweats, sweaters and socks when inside, as well as outside. For every degree adjusted, you can save up to to 3 percent on heating costs, depending on your heating source. The Department of Energy points out that you can save 10 percent of your utility bill by turning back the thermostat 10 to 15 degrees for at least 8 hours. 2: Stop the drafts and leaks. Save up to 15 percent of your heating dollars by caulking, sealing and weather stripping wherever outside meets inside. Drafty, leaky homes waste 10 to 15 percent of your heating dollars. Simple weatherstripping and caulking can stop most of the leaks. Seal attic leaks For tips on stopping the leaks, download the Do-It-Yourself Guide to Sealing and Insulating with ENERGY STAR at www.energystar.gov. 3: Take care of your furnace. Replace or clean the furnace filter each month you heat; dirty filters can greatly affect the heating ability of the furnace and waste valuable fuel. Vacuum heating registers and as far into the ducts as you can reach. If you have baseboard or electric wall heaters, brush and remove dust and dirt from the cooling fins and fan. Check and clean electronic air cleaners every three weeks or so. 4: Insulate. Insulation isn't exciting, but it's the low-hanging fruit of energy-efficiency improvements. Your home will be more comfortable winter and summer and your utility bill lower if you insulate to recommended or above levels. The Department of Energy recommends R-49 for ceilings, R-18 for walls, R-25 for floors over crawl spaces, R-19 for crawl space walls, R-8for slab edges and R-11 for basement walls. 5: Adjust your water heater temperature. It's easy to forget your water heater is running 24/7 to keep water hot for the relatively small amount of time you need it. Lowering the set temperature of your water heater to120 degrees can add up to significant savings when you multiply 24/7 by 52 weeks a year. According to DOE, every 10-degree reduction in water temperature can save three to five percent in energy costs. 6: Reverse the switch on your ceiling fans. Push down the warm air that naturally rises. This is especially important in rooms with high ceilings. 7: Open heating vents. Make sure heating vents are open and unblocked by furniture or other items to insure air is evenly distributed through the home. 8: Check your ducts. Look for sections that have become separated. Seal leaks with mastic, butyl tape, foil tape or other heat-approved tapes - not duct tape. 9: Turn off ventilating fans within 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, these fans in bathrooms and kitchens suck out warm air and can empty a warm house in about an hour! Check out all of the energy savings ideas in this month’s Watts Up! |
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