 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saving While Heating Your Home By: Amy Vedder  |
| |
 You may not want to think about it yet, but it’s almost time to turn on the heat again and to start using the furnace to keep the house warm. It shouldn’t shock to hear that the cost of heating fuel is expected to go up again this year, so before you turn the thermostat to 70, consider the following checklist to ensure that your hard earned heating dollars aren’t being wasted.
Consider the following:
• Weather-strip and Caulking. One of the easiest and cheapest things you can do to bring down the cost of heating your home is to make sure that you’re not loosing heat around windows and doors. Before you turn the heat on this year, take some time and inspect all the doors and windows and locate any areas that are cracked or separated that are allowing drafts and leeks to enter and exit the home. By filling the cracks with caulking you can save up to 15 percent on the cost of heating your home. Filling cracks with caulk is simple, just prime up the caulking tube in a caulking gun, aim the nose into the cracks and pull the trigger. Once the crack is filled, release the trigger and use your index finger to smooth out the caulking.
• Doors are another area that can be heat sinks. Check the space at the bottom of the door. Unless there is already a whether strip attached, you need to get one attached. Don’t worry it super simple to do. Just get a piece of whether strip from any local hardware store, cut the strip to size and screw it into place. It is that simple, and it is very effective. If you have noticed a draft near your exterior doors before, it’s a good bet that a piece of whether striping is all you need to kill the draft and to reduce your energy use.
• Heating ducks. If you use forced air to heat your home than you have heating ducks and it’s a good bet that those heating duck have holes and seams that you need to reseal with duct tape. Inspect all the heating ducts in your home. Anywhere where you find that you’re leaking hot air, re-tape those spots so that all the hot air stays in your heating duct and is delivered to where it should go.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll return to this issue with other information so that you not only get the most from your heating system this winter, but also so you can save some money wherever possible when it comes to heating your home.
|
|
 SafeQuote is the latest breakthrough in online shopping: for home improvement projects. It is a free tool that makes finding contractors an easy (even fun) experience. Site users can search for contractors from the member list or by job category, such as Kitchen, Bath, Finished Basements, and more. You can also post jobs and receive no-obligation quotes to choose from. Click Here to Get Started
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|