How to Make Your House More Energy Efficient

Habitat For Humanity
by Habitat For Humanity
New home building strategies for weatherizing homes might not be applicable to existing homeowners without significant capital costs. But there are steps that you can take to make your home operate more efficiently.
Perform an energy audit.


Someone once said, “Before you begin a journey, it is imperative to know where you are.” Have an energy audit done on your home. Most utilities will help you secure an appropriate energy auditor, and most have programs to subsidize or underwrite the costs. If your local utility doesn’t have such a program, check with your municipality.
Replace your thermostat.


In the old days, when heating oil was 28 cents a gallon, our parents would “set and forget” the thermostat. The temperature setting would not change until the seasons changed. Programmable thermostats — which are made to work with all types of heating and cooling equipment and range in cost from $45 to $120 — can be set to keep us comfortable when we need it (weekend days, evenings when the kids get home from school) and to use less fuel at other times (when we’re in bed, while we are at work or school).
Interrupt air movement.


When it’s cold outside, we want to keep the warmth inside. When it’s hot outside, we want to keep our cool inside. Weather stripping and caulking are relatively low expenditures, relatively easy to install and can result in a significant increase in your comfort — and a decrease in your heating and cooling costs.
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