Green Tips

Back Print Page Email Page   Green Tips to help you along your way. Upgrade your furnace! If your heating system is more than 15 years old, it’s costing you too much in energy and you run the risk of an inconvenient breakdown. Contact us to replace it. Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer. Clean your air registers and make sure they’re not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes. Install timers on kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans. Reduce your use of garbage bags by using reusable blue boxes and a composter. During the winter, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sun to warm your home. Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water very quickly. Insulate the first six feet of the hot and cold water pipes connected to the water heater. Set up a hanging clothes drying system in the basement or outdoors, even for just some items such as sheets and towels. If you haven’t installed a programmable thermostat yet, what are you waiting for? It will save you energy and money. Install timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on. As much as you can, plan your tasks to minimize your need for lighting after dark. Use outdoor lights with a photo cell unit or a motion sensor so they will turn on only at night or when someone is present. Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets that can leak air into or out of your home. Check for open fireplace dampers. Install exterior or interior storm windows; storm windows can reduce heat loss through the windows by 25% to 50%.

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