It’s a cold day in the lowcountry!
Here are some cold weather energy saving tips for your home this winter season.
Cold Weather Energy Saving Tips
No Cost
- When using the fireplace turn down your heater. When you’re not using it, close the damper to prevent cold air from coming in.
- Close curtains, shades, and blinds at night and during unoccupied periods of the day to help prevent warm air from escaping.
- When you’re at home, set the furnace thermostat at 68°F or lower, health permitting. Three to five percent more energy is used for each degree the furnace is set above 68°F.
- When you leave the house, set the thermostat to 56°F. By turning your thermostat back 10-15 degrees for 8 hours, you can save 5-15 percent a year on your heating bill.
Low Cost
- Caulk gaps and cracks around drafty door frames and windows to prevent cold air from entering your home. Caulk is inexpensive and can be bought at most hardware stores where you can also learn you how to apply it.
- Wrap older water heaters with in insulating jacket or blanket to minimize excess heat loss. And, don’t forget to leave the air intake vent uncovered.
- By air sealing and properly insulating the attics, walls, floors over crawl spaces, and accessible basement rim joists, a savings of up to 10 percent of total energy costs can be achieved.
Investment
- Have a contractor check your central heating and cooling duct system for leaks. Sealing and insulating air ducts can improve the efficiency of your system substantially.
- Replacing your old windows with high-efficiency windows can reduce your heating and cooling costs by up to 15 percent.
- Install a door sweep on your garage door to seal the gap between the bottom of your door and the threshold. This prevents cold air from coming in and warm air from escaping your home.
- Homes often leak warm air in the winter because of spaces between walls. Fill these gaps by spraying foam insulation into holes drilled in the wall.
