Willow Park

WINTER IS UPON US

Dec 17, 2003

With the approach of winter and cold weather many of you have become concerned with the recent price increase for natural gas. Even with the price increase, natural gas is still one of the cheapest methods of heating your home. Heating with natural gas costs much less than using electricity to heat your home. There are many heaters available that are electrically operated and using these may cost as much as 3 times more than natural gas to operate.

I?’m not saying you should not use electric heaters, but you should use them sparingly. Electric heaters are very helpful to warm a room that may not receive enough heat from your natural gas furnace.

Making changes in your lifestyle can help reduce the hit on your pocketbook this winter. Adding more clothing when at home can help you if you chose to lower your thermostat. Lowering your thermostat 5 degrees at night and 10 degrees during the day can cut cost by 20 percent. A setback thermostat can accomplish these changes automatically for you. Lowering your thermostat to between 62 degrees and 68 degrees will make dramatic changes in your monthly gas bill.Making little changes in your living environment can help reduce energy cost as well. Finding and caulking any openings in your structure that may be letting in cold will help. Especially finding any gaps around your doors and windows and filling these openings will help keep your spending down. Running your hands along your exterior walls to check for cold spots will help you find places were the cold is getting in and the heat out. One of these cold spots may be your electrical outlets and switches on exterior walls. These draughts can be fixed by purchasing foam pads that are shaped to match your switch or outlet. These foam pads can be purchased from local hardware stores. Opening your blinds and curtains on bright sunny days will allow for solar heating of the interior of your home, but be sure to close them again as the sun sets.

Have your duct system tested for air leaks. Even though windows and doors are a major source of a home's air leaks, leaks in ducting can be a huge drain on your energy budget. According to recent research by the Department of Energy (DOE), gaps, cracks and disconnections in the typical home's duct system are a much more significant energy drain. The DOE states that the typical duct system loses 25 percent to 40 percent of the energy put out by the central furnace. Leaks are usually the biggest problem. Repair leaks in seams and repair holes in ducting with foil tape rather than by using duct tape or cloth tape. Foil tape may cost more, but it lasts longer and will not dry out or rot as quickly as duct tape, thus require less frequent retaping.

Have your heating system cleaned and tuned by a qualified contractor. A pre-season tune-up and filter change is a good investment. It reduces the chances of breakdowns in the middle of winter, improves safety and pays for itself through more energy-efficient operation. Changing your furnace filter on a regular basis will help lower your energy cost.
There are many more little ways of conserving energy in your home this winter. To find some of these winter conservation methods visit local hardware stores to see their winterizing displays. Contact IREA and Xcel Energy for their winterization tips.

Become a closer family and cuddle more, this will help too!

Don?’t forget to winterize your vehicles this winter season, including lawn mowers, cars, trucks, SUVs and RVs.