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Easy dos and don’ts
(NC)—There’s no need to uproot your life in order to make your home more green and energy-efficient this fall and winter. It can be easy. Experts at leading window coverings manufacturer Hunter Douglas, which pioneered energy efficiency at the window with the introduction of the world’s first honeycomb shade, offer the following tips:
Power strips aren’t just for your computer gear. Use them for TVs, VCRs and appliances – electronic “vampires” that suck electricity to tune of $1 billion a year when not in use. Turn them off with one quick click.
Uncovered windows can literally be energy holes. Up to half the money you spend heating your home can be lost through them. The most energy-efficient Hunter Douglas product, Duette Architella honeycomb shades were specifically designed to address this problem. Their highly insulating cell-within-a-cell design traps air and more than doubles the energy efficiency of a window.
Service and clean your gas or oil furnace at least once a year. Keep your heating filters clean and replace your fiberglass filters with reusable, washable ones. Invest in a programmable thermostat that lets you set temperatures for different times of the day.
Turning the heat down from 22 degrees to 18 degrees C for at least eight hours a day can reduce heating bills by up to 10 percent.
CFLs cost a little more, but last up to 10 times longer, use two-thirds less energy and give off 70 percent less heat. Also, turn off lights and electronics when you leave the room.
Be sure floor registers, baseboards or radiators aren’t blocked by rugs, furniture or other items. If you have ceiling fans with a reverse setting, turn them on low and reverse when using a lot of heat. Warm air rises and often gets trapped near the ceiling; the reverse air flow from the fan will help circulate the warm air around the entire room.
Don’t Try to Speed Up Heating By Raising the Thermostat Beyond the Desired Temperature
The popular notion that the higher you set your heater’s thermostat, the faster your home will warm up is not true. In reality, it takes the same amount of time for the temperature to reach 21 C degrees F whether the thermostat is set at 21 or 32 degrees. Setting the thermostat all the way up only increases your heating costs.
Incorporate these simple dos and don’ts and make a contribution into saving energy and the earth’s resources.
More information is available online at www.hunterdouglas.ca or toll-free at 1-800-265-8000.
