Give Your Home an Energy Efficiency Makeover

Have you given your home an energy efficiency makeover recently?

Given rising electricity, oil and natural gas prices, a home energy efficiency makeover is highly recommended to help manage your pocketbook while keeping your home at the right temperature in all seasons.

An energy-efficient home is a strong defense against winter winds, rain, sleet, snow, and chill. But it also protects the environment by cutting wasteful energy use. So what can you do at home to help turn down your thermostat and keep it down?

• Plug air leaks. Save up to 10% on your heating bill by weather-stripping your doors and windows. Weather stripping and caulking your home will not only keep the elements out, but it will help reduce your energy costs. DIY network provides easy to follow instructions on how to weather-strip your doors and windows. Check diynetwork for details.

• “Insulate” yourself from price shocks by sealing up open air pockets between walls or in crawl spaces. Heat passes through ceilings, walls, and floors from the warm areas to cooler areas. By insulating your home, you help slow down this transfer of heat out of a heated house in winter and into a cooled one in summer. A well-insulated house requires less heating and cooling to maintain a comfortable indoor climate, and that translates directly into smaller energy bills. Lowes provides useful information with regard to insulating your home.

• Clean air filters. Air filters clogged with dust trap heat in the air ducts. So give your air filters a through cleaning. Once they are free from dust, they will begin to release heat once again, allowing it to flow freely into the rooms where you need warmth.

Article Contributors: Reenita Malhotra