Home Heating Made Simple

As the weather begins to turn cooler, consumers have two compelling reasons to be more efficient in heating their homes – the expense and the energy savings.

Here are some very simple, very practical steps you can take to winterize your residence.

1. Insulate Effectively – If you want to experience the sensation of dollars literally leaping out of your wallet, place your hand in an opening of a poorly insulated front door on a cold winter day. A purchase of insulation strips or caulking can go a long way toward dramatically reducing the amount of warm air that is constantly escaping your home.
2. Heat Proactively – Take a hands-on philosophy to the ways you heat your home. This can include turning down the thermostat at bedtime and for the hours during the day when no one is home. Similarly, try to close your curtains at night to hold in the day’s heat and open them during the day to let in the winter sun. Close heating vents in rooms that are seldom used. And use your doors – to seal off unused rooms and keep heat in the rooms you occupy.
3. “Window” Wisely – In addition to sealing those drafts, you should insulate your windows through the use of storm windows or plastic sheets. On days when the temperature allows, also consider opening your windows for a brief amount of time. This will help keep your well-sealed house properly ventilated.
4. Fire Carefully – Nothing beats the ambiance of a warm crackling fireplace, but it’s generally not a good heating strategy. For starters, 90% of the heat generated in a typical fireplace escapes through the chimney. In most cases, the air that fuels your fire comes from the room it’s located in. So remember to crack open a few nearby windows and turn town your thermostat, so that it doesn’t keep trying to replace the warm air being pulled into the fireplace.

With a little advance work and some common sense habits, you can take positive steps to reduce your energy bills and the amount of energy you consume.