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Winter Weather Tips
- Insulate your home to adequate standards. It's the most important
single step toward saving energy in the home.
- Add insulation to your existing home where possible. Your home
should have a minimum R-30 insulation in the ceiling or attic.
- Install wood- or metal-frame storm windows to provide a second
thickness of glass and a layer of still air that retards heat transmission.
- Replace broken window glass, worn weather stripping, and improperly
fitting doors.
- Install a tight-fitting damper and glass doors on your fireplace,
and close them when you're not using the fireplace. When dampers are open,
they allow the natural draft of chimneys to pull heated air from inside your
home in winter.
- Locate your heating thermostat on an inside wall away from windows
and doors. Cold drafts will cause the thermostat to keep your heating system
running, even when the rest of your house is warm.
- Keep the overhead door of an attached garage closed to block
cold air from infiltrating your house. Also, keep the connecting door to
the house and heated basement closed.
- Close hot-air registers and radiator valves in unused rooms
with all types of heating systems, except a heat pump. For zoned systems,
such as ceiling cable or baseboard, set the thermostat back in unused areas.
- Make sure draperies and furniture aren't blocking the registers
in your house.
- Open draperies on south-facing windows on sunny winter days
to take advantage of available solar heat.
- Use bath and kitchen exhaust fans only when needed during the
heating season. Fans draw heated air out of your home.
- Set your heating thermostat as low as comfort permits. Each
degree over 68 degrees F. can add three percent to the amount of energy needed
for heating; each degree below 68 degrees F. can save about the same amount
of energy.
- Check your furnace filter at least once a month during the heating
season and clean or replace it as needed.
- Add flow restrictors to showerheads and hot water faucets. These
inexpensive and easily installed devices reduce the amount of energy and
hot water you use.
- Repair leaky faucets promptly. A steady drip can waste gallons
of hot water per month.
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