The Post Halloween rush to save energy

The sound of leaves crunching underfoot signaled their arrival. The little revelers full of excitement and wonder knocked lightly on the door. Sporting their little superhero costumes mixed with the usual princess or two. Along with the arrival of Halloween, the deep reds and bright yellows of the trees remind me this Autumn is as splendid as any in recent years.

Earlier that day our front yard was a flurry of activity. Squirrels were running around collecting nuts in preparation for the coming Winter. ( Or so I imagined! ) Halloween in Kansas was warmer than usual. An ideal day for children and squirrels to run around and collect little bits of nourishment!

Early November is still a good time to make preparations for the coming Winter months. We’ve already had our first freeze or two. Folks everywhere are nailing sheets of plastic around some of their windows. Adding caulking in gaps that might let the colder winter air in. Now is the time to take whatever measures you can to protect your home for Winter.

You can have lower utility bills this Winter if you act now! Add some insulation in your attic or walls. Adding insulation in your home pays for itself in lower utility bills. Read on for more ways to lower utility bills.

Tips to Lower Utility Bills this Winter

Just a few quick ideas about how to have lower utility bills this Winter. Heating costs are set to rise - substantially! Just how much is anybody's guess.

The good news is - there a some simple and inexpensive changes anyone can make around the house to help ward off those higher heating bills. Try these easy ideas:

Turn down your thermostat. Experts say you can save 10% off your heating bill if you lower your thermostat by 5 degrees! Not bad.... I'll take that $20 I'm saivng and buy some compact flourescent light bulbs. They give about the same light and cost way less to use.

If you swap out the light bulb on your fron porch and put in a compact flourescent bulb instead - you could save about a dollar a month. That pays off the bulb in the first few months you have it! And they last for up to 8 years!

Phantom loads on your electrical system can really add up. You turn off your TV at night and the coffeemaker and the DVD player. But they keep using precious and increasingly expensive electricty even while you think they are "turned off".

The TV has a remote sensor - as do most DVD players. And that little clock in your coffeemaker might be nice to have but it eats up juice too! Unplug it. And the TV and DVD player when you don't use them.

The same goes for your PC and the printer and the wireless router and - well you get the picture. We use those little power strips to plug in the stereo and TV and the computer and monitor and printer. Cut the power at the power strips. One family on the East Coast where electricity prices are just outrageous - figure they saved around $15 each month - just by turning off all those little power strips while they are not in use!

Read on for more ways to lower utility bills.

Find those air leaks for lower utility bills

One easy way to keep your heating costs down this Winter is to eliminate air leaks. Ideally, you'd want to seal up those drafty leaks before adding any insulation in your walls or attic.

Tips for detecting air leaks:

You may already know where some air leakage occurs in your home, such as an under-the-door draft that makes you want to put on socks. But you'll probably need to search to find the less obvious gaps.

Look between foundation and walls, and between the chimney and siding. Also inspect around the fol­lowing for any cracks and gaps that could cause air leaks


* Door and window frames

* Mail shutes

* Electrical and gas service entrances

* Cable TV and phone lines

* Outdoor water faucets

* Where dryer vents pass through walls

* Bricks, siding, stucco, and foundation

* Air conditioners

* Vents and fans.

You can use a caulking compound to seal leaks in a variety of places throughout your home, including around windows and door frames. In addition to plugging air leaks, caulking can also prevent water damage inside and outside of the home when applied around faucets, ceiling fixtures, water pipes, drains, bathtubs and other plumbing fixtures.

These simple ideas just might save yu some money heating your home this Winter! Make some simple home improvements around your house and you can have lower utility bills!

Cut Your Heating Costs this Winter

Magnificent Autumn leaves paint our countrysides and remind us of how incredibly wonderful all of God's creation is. The beauty and splendor of Fall is rapidly upon us. Hillsides all across Vermont are filled with a delightful palette of colors. Midwest farmers are working their fields - bringing in their milo and corn crops.

The crisp and cool mornings bring pleasantly warm days and cooler evenings. Most of North America is enjoying a mild and hopefully colorful October! As the Autumn leaves start to fall - filling our yards with food for next year's lawns and gardens we all know that Winter is just around the corner.

All too soon we'll be turning on the heater if you haven't already. Economists and government agencies are warning us almost daily that this winter will bring higher prices for heating our homes.

We can take some simple and inexpensive steps to help minimize the pain of higher heating costs. Add insulation in your attic if you have one. Seal all those drafty doors and windows where colder air comes in. You remember those drafts from last Winter don't you? If you have storm windows - make sure they have a good tight seal. If you don't have storm windows - cover your windows with plastic. Add some nice thick drapes or window coverings.

Many families are sealing off unused parts of their homes. Some folks save money by turning down their thermostat a few more degrees and use a small, radiant or space heater to warm a single room. You can take steps now and have lower utility bills this Winter!

Lower your Utility Bills in a more Energy efficient Home!

Home heating costs are set to skyrocket this winter. Economists are projecting double digit increases in home heating bills this winter. We can soften the blow!

Laying fiberglass rolls is usually the easiest for a DIY job. If you have any type of insulation between the rafters, install the second layer over and perpendicular to the first (the second layer of roll insulation should be unfaced with no vapor retarder). This will help cover the tops of the joists and reduce heat loss or gain through the frame. Also, when laying down additional insulation, work from the perimeter toward the attic opening.

Never lay insulation over recessed light fixtures or soffit vents. Keep all insulation at least 3 inches away from can lights, unless they are rated IC (Insulated Ceiling). If you are using loose fill insulation, use sheet metal to create barriers around the openings. If using fiberglass, wire mesh can be used to create a barrier.

When adding additional insulation, you do not have to use the same type of insulation that currently exists in your attic. You can add loose fill on top of fiberglass batts or blankets, and vice-versa. If you use fiberglass over loose fill, make sure the fiberglass batt has no paper or foil backing; it needs to be unfaced. If you choose to add loose fill, it may be wise to hire a professional, as the application requires the use of a blowing machine, although some home improvement stores offer rentals of this machine.

It may seem odd to add insulation for warmth and then purposely allow cold air to enter the attic through vents. However, this combination is the key to a durable and energy-efficient home. Here’s why: in the winter, allowing a natural flow of outdoor air to ventilate the attic helps keep it cold, which reduces the potential for ice damming (snow that melts off a roof from an attic that is too warm and then re-freezes at the gutters, causing an ice dam that can damage the roof).

Proper insulation and air sealing also keeps attics cold in winter by blocking the entry of heat and moist air from below. In the summer, natural air flow in a well-vented attic moves super-heated air out of the attic, protecting roof shingles and removing moisture. The insulation will resist heat transfer into the house. The most common mistake homeowners make when installing insulation is to block the flow of air at the eaves. NEVER COVER ATTIC SOFFIT VENTS WITH INSULATION use rafter vents and soffit vents to maintain airflow.

More ways to lower utility bills this winter

Lower utility bills are possible. Cut your heating bills

This morning I had to wear a sweater. The cool morning air felt great. And it reminded me of the inevitable - cooler temperatures are just around the corner for many of us in North America. Already here in some of the northern provinces and states!

Get ready now. Seal those drafty window leaks. Add some insulation in your walls and attic. Many are saying that attic insulation will pay off the quickest - in terms of reducing your heating bills.

Do you have rooms you don't use that often? If you're like our family you might have a room or two which rarely gets used. Seal it off. Close the heating vent. Put plastic over the windows. And thick curtains or drapes.

Can you install a programmable thermostat? Many families have save the cost of the thermostat in the first year they had it.

You can realize lower utility bills this winter if you act soon. Save your money and help save our planet at the same time.

More ways to have lower utility bills

A few ideas to help lower your utility bills this winter:

o Wrap your hot water heater in an insulating jacket.

o Schedule an annual tune-up for your heat pump, furnace or boiler. Your utility company may provide this service.

o Hire a professional to seal and insulate leaky ducts, and to ensure that the airflow distribution system serving your heating equipment is operating at peak efficiency.

o Clean or replace filters on forced-air furnaces, seal flues in fireplaces you don't use, install drapes or some other covering on windows, and seal holes around plumbing and heating pipes.

o Install a programmable thermostat that will automatically lower night time temperatures.

o Check caulking and weatherstripping, and repair where necessary.

o Close your foundation vents in the winter if there's a crawl space under your home.

o Close the doors to rooms that you don't use.

More ways to realize lower utility bills.

Options for lower utility bills

The news is not good for heating bills this winter. Many economists are predicting double digit increases in the costs we pay to heat our homes.

Homeowners faced with rising heating and cooling costs have several options for improving the energy efficiency of their home. In addition to adding insulation to the attic, many homeowners have replaced their windows with more energy efficient windows.

Storm windows cost much less than replacement windows, and they have the potential to save nearly as much energy. This is especially true for some of the new storm window products that are available with a low-e coating. As with replacement windows, it is important to pay careful attention to sealing all air leakage pathways when mounting the storm windows.

If your wall cavities are poorly insulated, or uninsulated, this is a great opportunity to blow insulation into this empty space. People are often reluctant to tackle this job because it involves cutting small holes into their home’s exterior walls, and the patched holes are sometimes noticeable.

This will save you more energy, and more heating and cooling dollars, than anything else you can do to your walls. Most homeowners find it necessary to hire a contractor for this job. Most contractors will let you choose either loose-fill cellulose or fiberglass.

The goods news is - homeowners have many options to cut heating costs this winter and realize lower utility bills year round!

Lower your utility bills - add insulation now!

Heating bills are projected to jump by well over 10% this year. One of the simplest ways to save on your heating ( and cooling ) bills is adding insulation in your attic! Experts seem to agree - insulation will pay for itself in lower utility bills.



Heating and cooling account for over half of the energy used in the average American home. Inadequate insulation and air leakage are leading causes of energy waste in most homes.

Adding insulation to your home:

* saves money and our planet's limited energy resources

* makes your house more comfortable by helping to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the house

* makes walls, ceilings, and floors warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

The amount of energy you save will depend on several factors: where you live; the age of your house; the living habits of your family; the type and efficiency of your heating and cooling systems; and the fuel you use. Once the energy savings have paid for the installation cost, energy conserved is money saved - and saving energy will be even more important as utility rates continue to rise.

Many Home improvement centers will loan you the equipment you need to blow in cellulose insulation. Or you can hire a pro to come out and do it for you. However you choose to get it done - you can start saving on your utility bill as soon as this winter!