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5 Tips to stay warm WHILE reducing energy costs!

Tuesday October 8, 2019

Burlington

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Winter is coming! (ok, I know all you non-Game of Thrones fans must be getting sick of hearing that).  After the epic winter, Burlington realized how cold and expensive winter can be.  However, there are lots of improvements you can make to save a bit of coin by reducing energy costs and maybe put forward towards a nice warm vacation (rather than dealing with the snow and such in Burlington).

Give your Home an Energy Audit

Before trying to reduce your home’s energy costs, give your home a home energy assessment to see the big picture.  If you really want to make a splash in savings, hire a professional energy auditor.  An energy auditor has special thermal technology that can spot where air might be leaking out.  A professional auditor can also review your recent utility bills to recommend ways on how you can save money.

Reduce your Lighting

During the winter, people use more artificial lighting, because it’s pretty much dark out by 6pm.  While energy saving light bulbs are initially expensive, they can save you up to $50 a month in energy costs.  Another way to save money is to use timers, especially for festive light bulbs.  Sometimes it’s too cold out, to go out and unplug those lights, however, turning them off with a timer, can save you more than a few bucks over the holiday season.

Save on Water Heating

Lowering the thermostat on your tankless water heater by a couple degrees can help save between 3 and 5 percent in energy costs. Keeping your water heater at a more mild temperature will slow down corrosion in your water heater and pipes as well. Which will make them operate more efficiently.  Another trick is to insulate your water heater tank and any hot water pipes.  You can buy special foam at the hardware store to do this.  This insulation can also prevent your pipes from freezing in the winter.  Finally, by showering with not as hot water, you save yourself from having dry itchy skin.  The winter in Burlington is rather arid, and hot water strips away natural oils in your skin.  While you’ll miss the extra hot water at first, after a couple of weeks you won’t even notice.

Indoor Heating Savings

It’s really tempting to turn the heat up when the weather cools, however if you keep your house a little cool, and toss on a sweater, you can save big bucks on energy costs.  Or, invest in a smart thermostat, which you can adjust so it turns the heat down when you sleep, or are at work.  A word of note, we never recommend turning off heat completely in a room.  This is because a warm wall next to that cold room might cause the wall to get moist, which creates mold.

Insulation

Adding more insulation to your home can help you save energy.  Attics and crawl spaces are a good place to start.  Meanwhile insulating pipes can go a long way as well.  A home auditor will crawl into a variety of spots and tell you where it is best to insulate.

So there are several tips on reducing energy costs. Spray foam insulating, keeping down the heat, and changing your lighting can all go a long way to ensuring you get through the next winter without breaking the bank.

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