- Change or clean your furnace
filter once a month. Dust and dirt
can quickly clog vital parts,
making your furnace run harder
and eventually break down.
- Have your heating system
inspected regularly – especially if
it’s natural gas. A $50-100 annual
tune-up can help reduce your
heating costs by up to five percent.
- If you have a forced-air furnace,
do NOT close off heat registers in
unused rooms. Your furnace is
designed to heat a specific square footage of space and can’t
sense a register is closed – it will continue working at the
same pace. Plus, the cold air from unheated rooms can
escape into the rest of the house, and condensation can
develop on windows and walls.
- Install a programmable thermostat. If you use it to set back
the temperature by 10 degrees for eight hours every night,
you’ll lower your heating bills by 10 percent. A $50 digital
thermostat can pay for itself in energy savings in less than
a year.
- Don’t set the thermostat higher than you actually want it. It
won’t heat your home any faster, and it will keep your
furnace running longer than necessary.
-
Vacuum registers and vents regularly, and don’t let furniture
and draperies block the air flow. Inexpensive plastic
deflectors can direct air under
tables and chairs.
-
If your home has a boiler system,
avoid covering radiators with
screens or blocking them with
furniture. It’s also a good idea to
add a reflecting panel behind
radiators – you can purchase one
at a home center or make one
yourself with a plywood panel
and aluminum foil.
- If your home has electric baseboard heating, be sure to keep
furniture and draperies away from the heaters, and leave at
least a three-inch clearance under the heating unit.
-
Keep curtains and blinds closed at night to keep cold air out, but open them during the day to let the sun warm the room.
-
Keep curtains and blinds closed at night to keep cold air
out, but open them during the day to let the sun warm the
room.
-
Avoid using supplemental space heaters, including electric,
kerosene or propane models. Not only are they expensive to
operate, they’re also very dangerous.
-
If you have hardwood or tile floors, add area rugs to keep
your feet warm.
-
If you’ll be going on vacation, lower the thermostat to 55
degrees. This will save energy while preventing water pipes
from freezing.
| Cooling |
|
- Plant a tree. One well-placed shade
tree can reduce your cooling costs by
25 percent. For maximum benefit,
place leafy shade trees to the south
and west, and evergreens to the north.
-
During late afternoon and early
evening, turn off unnecessary lights
and wait to use heat-producing
appliances. It’s also a good idea to
shade south- and west-facing windows
during the hottest part of the day.
-
Maintain your central air conditioner by cleaning the
outside compressor with a garden hose (be sure to shut off
power at the fuse or breaker first). Keep plantings at least
one foot away for adequate air flow.
-
Use ceiling and box fans to help circulate air throughout
the house, and make sure your attic is properly ventilated. A
ceiling fan should run clockwise during the summer, and
counter-clockwise during the winter.
-
Set the fan on your central air conditioner to “on” rather
than “auto.” This will circulate air continuously, keeping
the temperature more even throughout the house and
aiding in dehumidification.
-
If you use a window air conditioner, make sure it’s the
proper size. It’s better to get one that’s too small than too
large – a larger unit will start up and turn off more
frequently and won’t do as good a job
dehumidifying the air.
- Don’t judge the efficiency of your air
conditioner by the sound of the fan
shutting on and off. The blower will
continue to circulate cooled air
throughout your home up to 15
minutes after the compressor has
stopped. (The same holds true for the furnace.)
-
Raise the thermostat to about 78 to 80 degrees whenever
you go to bed or leave the house. A programmable
thermostat will do this for you automatically.
-
If your home can’t accommodate central air conditioning,
try a whole-house attic fan. This device pushes hot air out
through attic vents, lowering the temperature throughout
your home about five degrees in less than ten minutes. Attic
fans cost less than 25 cents per day to operate.
-
During the winter, remove window air conditioners and seal
the windows with caulk and weatherstripping. You
might also want to cover the central air compressor
with a tarp to keep it clean.
|
|
