General guidelines for keeping your home warm and efficient:
- Have a qualified HVAC professional inspect your home’s ducts and cooling equipment.
- Set your thermostat to 68°F when you’re at home and awake, and as low as 60°F when you’re asleep or awake.
- Clean or replace furnace filters every month.
- Clean chimney and check to see if your fireplace is working properly.
- Seal air leaks in the attic, basement and crawlspace, and also around windows and doors.
- Insulate inside of windows with heavy-duty, clear plastic sheets.
- Check your attic for proper insulation. (The U.S. Department of Energy suggests a value between R-22 and R-49.)
- Close curtains or shades at night and keep them open during the day
- Clean windows on the south side of your house to maximize sunlight exposure. Weather-strip doors that lead to cold or outside areas.
- Wrap and insulate waterlines to prevent them from freezing.
- Repair leaky faucets.
