It’s officially Fall and it is starting to feel like it! While the days are still relatively warm the nights are downright cold and many of us have given in and turned our heat on already to take the chill out of the house. I really dislike being cold but I hate my winter heating bills even more.
Last winter I was able to participate in a Home Energy Audit through PPL Electric and as a result of that was able to come up with some easy household energy saving tips to keep my house warmer. One of the things that I learned was that you want to do as much as you can to keep warm air in and cold air out, and that can be done by implementing some easy measures to cut down on air loss around your windows, doors and spaces in your walls. It is an easy and inexpensive way to save money on heating costs.
Here are 4 Easy Household Energy Saving tips:
1. Have you ever put your hand up to your windows and you can feel the cold seeping in? If so, you can use caulk to fill in any holes and leaks around your windows and doors. All you have to do is put a thin strip of caulk in those areas and your windows will be weathertight. New leaks can appear at any time because they are caused by wood windows getting damp and warping slightly, so make sure to check all windows periodically.
2. When you walk barefoot in front of your doors do the floors are they cold? Then you really should replace your weatherstripping around your doors. Weatherstripping is inexpensive and it will really help cut down on air leakage around your doors.
3. Outlet Plate Insulation Kits can help keep your heat from escaping out of your room and into the crevices in your walls. Use them on your exterior outlets and you will really notice the difference, your room will feel warmer and you won’t have heat leakage from the room.
4. Finally, even if you don’t have babies or toddlers in your house, using inexpensive baby safety plugs in your outlets will also cut down on heat leakage in your home. Hope these tips help you stay warm and cozy in your house this winter.
Do these now before it gets too cold and I’m sure you will see the savings too.
Let’s hope Spring gets here soon!
Looking for even more Ways to Save? Check out these other great tips:
Image courtesy of Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I recently lost my job and I have been looking for ways to save money on ‘everything’ thanks for the tips on saving energy.
I’m glad I could help!! I’m sorry about your job loss. Are there any other topics you would like me to write about?
Well I had no ideas that I could lose heat through my plug sockets! I’m glad we have toddler safety plates in them all now 🙂
Great energy saving tips for things you really don’t think about– thanks!
Great tips. I think we can use all of them. Thanks for sharing these.
Thank you so much for stopping by! Yes the beauty of these tips is that they are simple tips that everyone can use.
Sending this to my husband – we are always looking for ways to save!
I need to walk around and caulk stuff again. I did it a few years ago, but I probably missed a few spots.
I know I need to replace the weather stripping around the door, The cat ate it.
Thanks for sharing these great tips on saving on energy. It’s fall and time to make sure I am doing everything I can to be ready for cold weather.
Great tips Megan! I want to get a head start on this before it gets any colder. I don’t want to have to turn on the heat until I absolutely have to!
Yes do it now so that you can really maximize the savings this winter! Then once it gets cold you can go back and you will be able to feel if you missed any spots and you can fix those as well. Thanks for stopping by Jen!
Great tips Megan! We need to get curtains for our windows! But they are so large it would cost an arm and a leg! 😀
I understand what you mean! I have big windows as well and I ended up putting shades on them. Most of the I have the shades up and they just look pretty but when it gets really cold it is nice to pull them down and insulate the windows a bit. In the meantime make sure to caulk around your windows so you aren’t losing heat that way. Thanks for stopping by!