SolveYourProblem:
Home Tips Article Series
10
Ways To Conserve Energy at Home
Winter time heating costs continue to rise
every year. Natural disasters and the war in Iraq inflate the
prices of home heating expenses, for electric, gas and oil
furnaces. Be aware that there are steps that you can take to
lower your bills and put a little cash back for other things,
or just to brace for the next rise in energy costs for your
home.
Look over these 10 tips and see what you can do to lower your
bills by conserving energy in your home.
Insulate
Windows. Go though your house and check your windows.
Make sure they’re well sealed. A good test is to do a smoke
test. Turn off all fans and your furnace, stand close to a
window and produce smoke. If there’s a minute leak of interior
home air to the outside the smoke will move in the direction
toward the window. Kits can be bought at your local hardware
or home improvement store for insulation.
Buy
a Ceiling Fan. Because warm air rises you’ll want to get
the warmer air down low by buying a ceiling fan. Reversible
switches come on most all models and can be used in summer
time too. The relative cost of the ceiling fan and its usage
costs are quickly made up in savings.
Shut
Doors. If a room is not being used then shut the door
and leave it closed. This is really useful if you’re not using
the room on a long term basis. Rooms that are used some of
the time will have the door fanned and cold air will escape
into the others rooms. Of course this will cause your furnace
to work harder, and drive cost for heating up too.
Shut
Curtains and Mini Blinds. If a wintry day is sunny or
even if there is minimal sun, make sure you open them during
the daylight hours, and shut them when dusk approaches. The
warmth from the sun’s rays will help warm the house, and keep
it tapped for the night time. Re-open them when the sun is
up the next morning.
Weather
Proof Doors and Caulk Windows. Draft doggies aren’t
necessary around doors if they have been weather stripped.
Look around the bottoms of doors, and if air is streaming in
then weather proof it. Check windows too because wear and the
age of windows can let in cold air too. Caulk and seal windows,
and if interior of seal is damaged replace it with the correct
seal type.
Realign
Doors. Doors just like windows can with use over time
begin to sag from their original tight fitting position. Before
winter sets in go around and really look at how your door closes.
Adjust them for a nice fitting.
Check
Furnace. Hire a contractor in HVAC, heating, air venting
and air conditioning, to give your furnace a once over to check
for any inefficient or heating or cooling safety issues. A
poorly running system can cost more dollars from you pocket,
and safety issues are a priority for a home owner’s peace of
mind too.
Replace
the Air Filter. You can eliminate unnecessary high
cost bills by conserving energy by simply changing out a clogged
air filter. Not only does it cause your system to run slowly,
but the danger is it can get into the motor and cause a fire,
or just burn up the motor itself.
Close
House Vents. Right before the season of fall go around
your house and shut up the vents that allow circulation of
air during the summer time. In the winter the goal is to keep
all cold air out. Cold air under the floor boards infiltrate
the house and drive up heating cost.
Check
Roof Top Insulation. If it’s been a few years since
you’ve checked out the insulation in your attic then go up
and look around. Insulation should have enough air pockets
to trap the cold air and push it back from the interior of
the house. Old rotten insulation is usually brittle and flat.
Replace the insulation with new and you’ll see evidence of
your energy conservation in your heating costs.
By implementing just a few of these tips you will see results
happen. There are a lot more that you can do too. Go online
and read other different ways to conserve energy. Talk with
your local energy provider to see if there are tips for your
area that will help lower your bills, and drive down costs
for everyone. In the end you won’t regret that you’ve used
the tips at all. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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