THE HOME IS THE FASTEST AND BEST PLACE TO CONSERVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, HOME IS WHERE THE HEAT IS…

SAVINGS -   
Check you furnace filters - $3 a month
Insulate walls - keep heat where it belongs - $10 - $20 a month
Insulation in the attic to keep heat inside - $10 - $15 a month
Storm doors and thick insulated exterior doors - $5 a month
Double pane & gas filled windows cut costs - $10 - $20 a month
Caulking, weather-stripping, and foaming saves - $5 a month
Fireplaces can heat or cool your house - $2 - $5 a month

Check you furnace filters: The first thing that will fowl up your furnace and destroy its efficiency is its filter.  Check the furnace filter every month and either clean it or replace it with a new filter as often as possible.  When dust collects on the filter the furnace has to work harder to pull air through the filter and into the heat exchanger. At the end of every summer, have a professional clean out and service your furnace.  When they are done they should leave a green sticker with their certification that the furnace is balanced and it is operating correctly. 

Insulate your walls to keep heat where it belongs: Make sure that your walls are properly filled with insulation.  Over the years insulation can sag in walls making the top of the walls uncovered by insulation making a free flow area for the heat of your house to escape.  To check this you may need to drill holes but if your house is old it may be very worth it to check the insulation and update the compaction and R-Value.  Hire a drywall professional to plug the holes when they are done. This will also give you an added bonus when you sell your home.  Another place that is often missed and allows a lot of heat loss is the space around the exterior of the house between the floor joists.  If possible ask the insulators to spray polyurethane in these cavities because this insulation will not sag or fall out of place it is sprayed on as foam and is harder for heat to penetrate.

Insulation in the attic is the most important place for it: Insulation in the attic is most important because heat rises and will rise right through faster than it will through the walls. In addition it is easier to insulate the attic than walls since you always will have an attic access so there is no cutting to blow the attic.  Ask a professional to update your insulation the recommended thickness. Insulation will pay for itself in a few years depending on how large your house is. It always pays itself back in way of fuel costs and comfort within the home.

Storm doors and thick insulated exterior doors add up: Another way for air to leave the house is through the front door.  Every door is another exit for heat and needs to be taken care of in order to be efficient.  These two options can save heating costs up to 15% by preventing air leakage. Make sure the weather-stripping around the doors are connecting flush with the jam around the door. Also at the bottom of each door, make sure you have what are called door pads. These pull the weather-stripping away from the jam just enough to snug the strip against the door. These are needed on both side of door, always at the bottom.

Double pane and gas filled windows cut down on waste: If you have windows that are older than 10 years old, or if they are aluminum, wood, or one single sheet of glass, they need to be replaced as soon as possible.  These windows leak air worse than the walls without insulation.  These days always buy double pane windows filled with argon.  Argon is a gas that insulates the glass and stops heat from leaking.  Also the lower U-Value you can find the better.  Also look for Low-E, meaning low emission to make sure they are the best. These new windows will also pay you back within a few years or as soon as you sell.

Caulking, weather-stripping, and foaming saves money: Caulk all cracks around any window in your house and on the walls; air can flow freely through these cracks.  Make sure that if you have windows installed in your house, the installers both foam around the windows and caulk them to the drywall afterwards; two layers of containment.  Caulk around door trim and make sure there are no gaps allowing airflow.  Doors and windows are shimmed in to the walls so there is airflow around these components unless they are foamed into place.

Fireplaces can heat or cool your house: Fireplaces are not too efficient in a home unless they have a blower behind it to circulate the hot air throughout the house.  Wood burning fireplaces are not very efficient and should be replaced if you have the opportunity.  They don’t have to be replaced by gas fireplaces but instead can be replaced with stoves.  If you install a stove where the fireplace was, allowing it to sit a foot or more outside of the fireplace cavity, you allow the heat that use to flow freely up the stack to freely flow into the room since the stack doesn’t go straight up and out of the room. You can also place a fan behind the stove to allow heat to be circulated throughout the house. Remember that when you are not using the fireplace to close the dampener. The dampener’s sole purpose is to keep air from coming into house when there is no fire.