Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Properly preparing your home for Winter’s cold weather can save energy. It can also help you save money on your monthly utility bills and keep you and your family warm when the temperature drops. Below are some tips to help make your home more energy efficient.Install a programmable thermostat and set it to lower the temperature at night and whenever your home is unoccupied. If you lower the temperature by 10 degrees at night, you can reduce your heating bill by as much as 10-20%. It is important to make sure that your programmable thermostat is installed correctly and in the proper place. Call MTB to have your programmable thermostat installed.
Lower your thermostat and wear socks and a sweater indoors. Lowering your thermostat by just 1 degree can save energy use by 3%.
Check the air filters on your furnace. Dirty filters will keep a system from running at peak efficiency.
Consider adding a whole home humidifier to add moisture to the air. Moister air feels warmer so a humidifier will allow you to keep your thermostat at a lower temperature. Call MTB to get info on our whole home humidifier.
Make sure to keep doors and windows closed as much as possible. This includes garage doors also.
Open south facing window curtains, drapes and blinds during the day to absorb sun light. Close window coverings at night to keep the heat in.
Check window frames for cracks and fill them with caulk. Sealing large cracks can save up to 5% on your energy bill.
Check weatherstripping on exterior doors. A 1/8th inch crack around your exterior door in comparable to a 6 inch hole in the side of your home as far as energy loss in concerned.
Set your hot water heater no higher than 125 degrees.
Don’t use a traditional fireplace for supplemental heating. A fireplace sucks heated air of your home to fuel the fire and exhausts it through the chimney, and then exhausts it through the chimney. Your furnace has to turn on to replace that warm air.
Close your firepace damper and seal the opening shut when not in use.
Get your furnace inspected and tuned up. A furnace running at peak efficiency will save you money on your monthly heating bill. Call MTB to schedule service
Make sure your home is properly insulated, including attics, crawl spaces floors etc.
As the temperature continues to drop through out the winter, we hope these tips will help you stay comfortable and save you some money as well.