Happy New Year – Safety Tips!

Happy New Year’s 2010

In Cold Weather

·Use the sun’s natural heat. Keep drapes and shades open in the daytime to allow the sun in and provide your home additional natural heat.

·Seal heating ducts. Over time, leaks develop in your heating ducts allowing heat to escape before it is ventilated through your home. Sealing leaks in your ducts can reduce your heating costs; 10% reduction in heating costs is very common.

·Maintain your heating and ventilation system. Have your heating system tuned and inspected annually by a service professional. A properly maintained system can save you up to 1-2% on your heating costs annually.

·Add insulation to your home. Insulate your walls and attics are properly by adding fiberglass insulation. This is one of the most cost effective do-it-yourself energy savings measures.

·Keep your thermostat at a constant level. You home cannot heat any faster by raising your thermostat. When your heating system is on it runs at the same rate regardless of the temperature setting.

·Lower your thermostat 1° F. You can reduce your heating bill by 1-3% with a 1° change in temperature. Many energy experts recommend setting your thermostat at 68° F or less, and several degrees cooler overnight. If you are leaving the home for any length of time, be sure to lower your thermostat – you will use less energy to heat the home when you return than to keep it warm while nobody is home.

·Buy an electric programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats allow you to set your home temperature by time of day, easily allowing you to lower the thermostat when no one is home, and overnight, without having to be cold in the morning after you’ve turned the heat up.

·Keep your doors closed and try to minimize the number of times that doors to the outside are opened and closed. Each time you open the door, is allows cold air to enter your home.

·Close your chimney vent / flue. Heat can escape through an open chimney flue; make sure the flue is closed when your chimney furnace is not in use.

·Use ceiling fans to help distribute heat evenly. Since heat rises, set your ceiling fans at a slow speed to push warm air away from the ceiling and disperse it around the room without creating a breeze. This will spread the heat more evenly.  Ceiling fans are inexpensive and found at your local hardware stores.

·Insulate your hot water pipes. Wrap pipes that are readily accessible with insulation is easy to do and fairly inexpensive. One-half inch foam or ¾” fiberglass insulation can be found at your local building supply store.

·Insulate electrical outlets. Electric outlets can be insulated with a special insulation by removing the outlet covers and inserting the insulation. Additionally, special insulation plugs can be installed on outlets that our not being used.

·Buy an Energy Star® heating system. If you are thinking about purchasing a new heating system, Energy Star® models are the most energy efficient available and will save your money, energy, and help the environment.

In Hot Weather

·Keep your thermostat at a constant, comfortable level (75 – 78 degrees) when you are home. Lowering the thermostat setting too far will not cool your home faster.

·To reduce heat and moisture, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or evening hours when it’s generally cooler outside. Also, use a microwave to cook, or barbecue outside, if possible.

·Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40% of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply drawing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat gain. Window coatings, treated plastic sheets, reflect as much as 80% of direct rays from the sun.

·Don’t place lamps or Televisions near your air conditioning thermostat. The heat from these appliances will cause the air conditioner to run longer.

·Turn off all unnecessary lighting and appliances.

·Use fans to circulate cooled air. This will more evenly distribute cool air, and can reduce the “on” time of your air conditioner.

·Place window air conditioners on the north or shady side of the apartment or house to avoid overworking the unit in the hot daytime sun.

·Replace the air conditioner filter for the start of the cooling season and check its condition monthly.

·Install or replace caulking or weather stripping around doors and windows to keep cool air inside.

·If shopping for appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners look for the Energy Star label and purchase the most energy efficient unit you can afford. These newer more energy-efficient models will lower monthly operating costs.