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| Home \ Living in Style \ Living in Style Articles \ House-Warming Know-How |
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House-Warming Know-How
Weatherize To check your home for air leaks, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends lighting an incense stick on a windy day and holding it next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, and any other spot where there's a possible air path between the interior of your home and the exterior. If the smoke travels horizontally, you have located an air leak and you'll want to seal up any holes, weather-strip doors and insulate attic floors. Also, when your fireplace isn't in use, remember to keep the damper tightly closed. Maintain Your Heating Systems Make sure your gas or oil furnace is serviced and cleaned at least once a year. You'll also want to change or clean your filters often during the heating season. If you have warm-air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators, clean them frequently as well. Consider a Programmable Thermostat If you don't already have one, consider installing a programmable thermostat, which automatically adjusts the heat in your home. Turning the heat down from 72 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit for at least eight hours a day can reduce your heating bills by 10 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And if anyone suggests that your home will heat faster if you turn your thermostat higher, don't believe them. At least one large utility company—Portland General Electric—reports that it takes the same amount of time for the temperature in a home to reach 70 degrees whether the thermostat is set at 70 or 90 degrees. Seek Solar Heat Particularly for those of us living in the Midwest, a sunny winter day is rare. Still, when the sun does appear, be sure to open your shades, shadings, sheers, louvers, shutters or blinds. While we doubt you need us to remind you to do this, winter does have a way of lulling us into complacency, even when it comes to the smallest of housekeeping tasks, like opening and closing our window coverings. The natural light, of course, will not only lift your spirits but warm your rooms. Another helpful tip: keep the windows on the south side of your house clean to promote maximum solar gain. And to avoid losing heat when the sun goes down, close your window coverings at night. Landscape Let Mother Nature work for you. Trees that lose their leaves in the fall permit winter sunlight to reach and warm your house. Plant deciduous trees on the south and east sides of your home. Stop cool winds by planting evergreen trees and shrubs on the north and west sides. Insulate Don't just insulate your attic. The Department of Energy calculates that 10 to 25 percent of a heating bill goes out the window, literally. Learn more about the energy saving properties of Hunter Douglas window fashions by reading another one of our featured articles, A Season for Energy Efficiency.  Return to Articles |
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