In our region, we take winter energy saving seriously. There are so many ways to cut back on energy use and keep your utility bills under control that almost any homeowner can find a way to save. Here are some of our top tips to get you through the worst weather Mother Nature can deliver, and stop wasting money.
Wintertime Energy Saving Tips
1. Turn down your thermostat. One of the best ways to save on energy is to cut your thermostat back a few degrees, particularly at night when people are sleeping, and in the daytime when everyone is gone. You can program it to return to a more comfortable temperature in the morning when everyone is awake and in the afternoon when everyone gets home.
2. Reset your ceiling fan blade direction. Use the ceiling fan to push down heat from the ceiling by setting the blades to run clockwise. Reverse them in the summer to help lift heat from the room and distribute the cool air better.
3. Air seal your home. You can’t heat your home efficiently if the heat is leaking out under doors, around windows and through leaks around pipes, cables and wires. Go around your home with a lit stick of incense and hold it in front of these locations, as well as in front of electric switch plates, around baseboards and near the attic hatch. If the smoke wavers, you probably have a leak. Fix leaks with insulation, caulk and weather stripping.
4. Turn off electronics when not in use. Plug your electronic devices into a power strip whenever possible and turn the strip off when the devices are not being used so that they do not continue to drain power. Unplug other equipment, such as TVs, DVDs and the like so they are not draining power.
5. Dim the lights. You already knew to install dimmers on all your lights, but do just remember to cut back on brightness whenever feasible.
We’ve got even more tips for energy savings this winter at Ace Hardware Home Services of Dayton.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
