by Joe Szabo, Szabo Group
Check for Leaks
Weatherstripping and caulking is probably the least expensive, simplest, most effective way to cut down on energy waste in the winter. Improperly sealed homes can waste 10 to 15 percent of the homeowner’s heating dollars.
Check Your Insulation
Insulate your attic. In an older home, that can be the most cost-efficient way to cut home heating costs. Before energy efficiency standards, homes were often built with little or no insulation. As a result, large amounts of heat can be lost through walls, floors and – since heat rises – especially ceilings.
How much insulation should you install? Typical framed homes now being built in California’s Central Valley must meet insulation requirements of R-38 insulation in ceilings and R-19 for walls and floors.
Check Your Heating System
- Get a routine maintenance and inspection of your heating system each autumn to make sure it is in good working order.
- Replace your heater’s air filter monthly. Your heating system will work less hard, use less energy and last longer as a result. Most homeowners can replace filters and do such simple tasks as cleaning and removing dust from vents or along baseboard heaters.
- Make sure all hearing vents are opened and unblocked by furniture or other items. This will ensure that the air is evenly distributed through the home.
- Lighting our homes can represent 20 percent of home electricity bills and is one of the easiest places to start saving energy. If every household changed a light to an ENERGY STAR® one, together we’d save enough energy to light 7 million homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 1 million cars.
