Tips

Click here to see our Spring 2011 Newsletter!

Get Sky High Heating Bills More Down to Earth

The cost of home heating continues to hit the homeowner harder each year. But sometimes you can end up spending even more than necessary by overlooking energy wasters in your home that, in many cases, are easy to remedy.

A home energy audit can help by pinpointing these areas and identifying ways to cut energy costs. In fact, you can conduct a simple audit on your own by following a few recommendations from the Department of Energy. To take stock of your home energy use:

• Check insulation levels in your attic, exterior and basement walls, ceilings, floors, and crawl spaces.
• Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets.
• Check for open fireplace dampers.
• Check caulking and weather-stripping, and repair if necessary.
• Schedule an annual tune-up for your heat pump, furnace or boiler.
• Seal and insulate leaky ducts to ensure that the airflow distribution system serving your heating equipment is operating at peak efficiency.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Seal holes around plumbing and heating pipes.

As Winter sets in, make an effort to set your thermostat as low as is comfortable. Or consider having us install a programmable thermostat that will automatically lower temperatures at night or during the day when the home is unoccupied.

When you call us for a tune-up, ask for an estimate of how much you can save with a new energy-efficient system.