5 Ways To Winterize Your Home

    Start the winter out right with these energy-saving tips:

• Caulking is required wherever two different materials or parts of the house meet.
• Caulk around windows and door frames; where water lines and other utilities enter the building; and around plumbing fixtures.
• Weather-strip where there is a draft around doors and windows, or where light is shining through.
• Close the fireplace or wood stove damper when you don’t have fire burning.
• Take advantage of the “free” heat. Open the drapes and blinds on your south facing windows and let the sun shine in.

Air Ducts Play A Vital Energy Role

One of the most important systems in your home – though it’s hidden beneath your feet and over your head – may be wasting a lot of your energy dollars. Your home’s duct system – a branching network of tubes in the walls, floors, and ceilings – carries the air from your home’s furnace and central air conditioner to each room. Ducts are made of sheet metal, fiberglass, or other materials. Unfortunately, many duct systems are poorly insulated or not insulated properly. Ducts that leak heated air into unheated spaces can add hundreds of dollars a year to your heating and cooling bills. Insulating ducts that are in unconditioned spaces is usually very cost-effective. If you are buying a new duct system, consider one that comes with insulation already installed. Sealing your ducts to prevent leaks is even more important if the ducts are located in an unconditioned area, such as an attic or vented crawl space. If the supply ducts are leaking, heated or cooled air can be forced out of unsealed joints and lost. In addition, unconditioned air can be drawn into return ducts through unsealed joints. In the summer, hot attic air can be drawn in, increasing the load on the air conditioner. In the winter, your furnace will have to work longer to keep your house comfortable. Either way, your energy losses cost you money. Although minor duct repairs are easy to accomplish, ducts in unconditioned spaces should be sealed and insulated by qualified professionals using appropriate sealing materials.

Tighten Up Your Fireplace

Fall is approaching quickly with cold winter nights right around the corner. That fireplace you like to watch burn could end up costing you a fortune this winter season. Did you know that most fireplaces are less than 10 percent efficient? Even with the flue closed, warm air can get sucked out of the house through the chimney in the winter, and cold air can leak out in the summer. To save money on your electric bill, isolate the room your fireplace is in by closing doors, if possible. Otherwise, if nobody is using the home’s other rooms while you’re cozying up to the fire, turn the thermostat down to about 55 degrees in the rest of your home, besides, that’s what quilts are for.

Some other tips for a more efficient fireplace:

• Install tight-fitting glass on your fireplace. This will decrease the amount of air that leaks through the chimney, but it won’t stop it altogether. Open glass doors while the fire is burning at its hottest; close them as the fire dies down. Glass doors also greatly reduce the risk of accidental fires caused by burning embers popping out of the fireplace.
• Equip the fireplace with an outdoor air intake. This allows your fire to draw air from the outside instead of using the heated air inside the home as fuel. An alternative: station air inlets as close to the fireplace as possible.
• Buy fireplace insert to increase energy efficiency. Inserts are available in a range of sizes and styles and have strict air controls to prevent leaking.
• Close the fireplace off if you don’t use it at all. Plug the flue and use caulk to make a tight seal. Let everyone know not to start a fire if you take this step.

Turning Off Lights Does Save Power

Some people believe the electricity required to start up a light bulb, television, or air conditioner is greater than the power you save if you turn the appliance off while it’s not in use, but that isn’t really true. Only a few things – like fluorescent bulbs – need extra “juice” to start working, and the amount required is so miniscule it won’t affect your costs. The compressor on an air-conditioning unit will require extra power when it starts up, but that same amount of start-up power is used every time the air conditioner cycles. If you are going to be away, turn the air conditioner, the television, and the lights off. The extra power they need to start up when you return will have been saved many times over.