Useful Winter Tips

When your winter bills start to rise look to your heating source for respite from more than just the cold, consider the following. By changing your filter once a month you will significantly cut down the energy it takes to push warm air through a dirty filter. That in turn will cost less in your monthly energy bills.

If you don’t have central heat and have a window heating unit, clean your filter at least once a week to help prevent the same expense. Filters cost $1.00 to $5.00 on average and will save you much more in energy cost over the winter months.

You can also buy plastic to cover your windows and doors that will prevent cool air from intruding your living spaces. The directions are easy to follow and the kits can be purchased at any hardware store. You can also roll up an old towel and place it at the base of your entry doors to further prevent cool air from entering. Replace weather stripping (or install) as needed to finish off the efforts to stay warm and reduce your potentially hefty utility bills.

With central air/heat units, don’t set your thermostat to “on”, keep it on “auto” so that it doesn’t run all the time, just when you need it. It is a good idea to keep your temperature in the 60-70 degree range. If you want 80 degree weather move to the desert, otherwise you will pay a premium to bring the temperature to you living spaces

~ by T. Marcus on November 21, 2008.