Winterizing Your Home*
As the Colorado fall season moves in and we prepare for the cold months ahead, it is important to get your home ready for winter. There a few simple changes around your house that can save you money.
- Reverse the direction of your fans. In the summer, fan blades should rotate downward (counterclockwise if looking up at it) to help create a breeze throughout the room. In the winter, reversing the fan’s direction will help force the warm air from the top of a room down into the living space.
- Insulate your pipes and water heater. Wrapping your pipes and heater with an insulating blanket will help keep your water hot and avoid reheating. You can purchase heater blankets at your local home improvement store and in most cases, are easily installed yourself.
- Turn your hot water heater down to 120 degrees. Most water heaters are set to 140 degrees by default. By turning the temperature down by 20 degrees, you can save a significant amount of money and energy on your monthly heating bills.
- Turn your thermostat down by 4 degrees or so and put on a sweater. Keeping your home’s temperature at or around 68 degrees will help avoid excess heating costs. Turn the temperature down a few more degrees while sleeping or out of the house can help minimize costs as well. Instead of turning the heat up, consider putting on a sweater and socks to warm your body without using energy. Consider installing a programmable thermostat to automatically regulate your home’s temperature based on your schedule.
- Shut the doors to rooms you don’t use. If you have extra guest rooms or storage rooms that you do not actively use, close their doors to avoid heating empty spaces. Open them a little while before you plan on using them to warm them up again.
- Close your curtains and blinds. This can help keep the warm air in and the cold air out, especially on the frostier days. Open them if it warms up and the sun is shining to help heat your home using the passive solar, but keep them closed when temperature drops for maximum energy efficiency.
*Cited information from http://www.ecobroker.com/misc/articleview.aspx?ArticleID=69
Daniel J. Beckerle
303-261-2732
