In the cold months of winter, there are a number of things you can do to conserve fuel and same money. The main way to conserve energy is to prevent heat from leaving the home. The first step is to make sure that the walls, ceilings and floors are insulated with material rated at the proper R value. The savings that are afforded will easily pay for the cost to update your insulation. Proper storm doors and windows will also reduce the amount of air leakage and heat escapement. Another technique is to caulk around doors, windows, the foundation of your home, along with good weather stripping. All of these will reduce the amount of heat escaping.
There are also things you should do to in common practice to conserve fuel. Keep doors to the outside closed and secured. Doors to an attached garage should also be closed as well. If the garage is heated, maintain it at around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The basement should be insulated with cracks in the foundation sealed and doors and windows treated as above. Crawl spaces and ventilating grills should be closed off and sealed when heating is concerned.
When it comes to your thermostat, you need to make sure that the heat is reaching your thermostat; otherwise, your home could overheat. In the areas that you do not use, you should lower the temperature by roughly 10%, and have the doors closed. These will help to save fuel to greater extents. The thermostat should be placed on a inside wall, away from sunlight. Do not allow outside means to affect the thermostat and give a false temperature reading.
Unless you are ventilating your home, you should keep doors and windows closed, and have the fireplace damper closed when not in use. Glass doors can also be used to seal off the fireplace as well. You should make sure that before the heating season starts, you perform maintenance on all of the devices that make up your heating system. Pipes and air ducts should be insulated when exposed to areas that are unheated. Hot water faucets should not drip, and any heat opening should be unblocked. Make sure the heating pipes are clear of debris and lint.
A major source of leakage are the outlets and switches around the home. Preventing air leakage can be done by installing gaskets under the panels. The best gaskets are home made. Buy a roll of 1/8" sill plate gasket, place the covers on the gasket, and trace them out and cut them with a razor. Install the gaskets behind the panel when you install the panels. Safety plug covers also help to block air flow through the outlets.
When it comes to reducing your heating bill and conserving fuel, you should identify sources of heat leakage and seal them off. Devices meant to heat should be in working order, and the thermostat should not be in a place where it can be influenced by anything other than the room's ambient temperature.
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Originally posted 2009-03-12 05:09:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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