Things You'll Need:
- Caulking, heating tape, foam rubber sleeves, water heater blanket
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Step 1
According to the Dept. of Energy, the cost to heat an average home is approximately $1,400. Doing the following things you can save close to 50 percent of that, if you do these things the right way.
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Step 2
The first thing you're gonna want to do is check your insulation. Since warm air rises, the most important and effective way to save on heating is to have adequate attic insulation. An easy way to tell this is, look for your ceiling joists. If you can see them then you dont have enough insulation.
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Step 3
The next thing you need to do is plug up any and all gaps. This is going to keep all the cold air out and keep you nice and cozy on those cold days and nights. To do this you are ging to need to seal up any cracks on the outside of your home. Seal areas arund your windows and any outdoor faucets. You can use any standard caulking to do this.
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Step 4
Next its time to seal up the inside of your home. A tremendous amount of cold air can sneak in through cracks around windows, around electrical outlets and even around the perimeter of the walls. Again, just use the caulking to fix these areas. Once you have sealed all those cracks ou are gonna wan to check your windows. I know getting new windows is not in your budget so go out and purchase a window insulation kit thats easy to install and costs only about $3.00 per window.
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Step 5
It's also a good idea to keep your hot water hot. On average it takes about 14% of your overall utility bill to provide hot water. Savings will be made by simply placing a water heater blanket around your water heater. Its also a good idea to insulate your water pipes, and you may want to think about installing a timer on your electric water heater.
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Step 6
You're going to need to check your furnace and make sure it is working. It is natural to smell a strong, odd, short-lasting smell when you first turn it on. If th smell persists and lasts a long time, shut the furnace off and call a professional. It's also a good idea to have your funace cleaned and tuned atleast once a year.
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Step 7
A small tip that most people don't think about is reversing the ceiling fans. By reversing the direction from the summer time, the fan will push warm air downward and force it to recirculate, keeping you warmer. The blades should be going clockwise in the winter.
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Step 8
Last but not least, don't forget those pipes. Burst pipes in the winter are a nightmare. Before the freezing nights come, wrap your pipes with pre-molded foam rubber sleeves or fiberglass insulation. If you want to take an extra precautionary measure is to wrap the pipes with heating tape which is an electrical cord that emits heat. You will want to wrap any pipes that are not exposed to heat. For example, pipes that run through basements, crawl spaces or garages.
Comments
hlthychoclitnut said
on 1/6/2009 Thanks for How to get your home ready for winter.
You covered alot of bases.