Keeping Warm

Turn down the heat when you are not home. This is what makes programmable thermostats so valuable and cost-saving – they can be programmed to turn down the heat when you leave and turn up the heat when you get home or wake up. In good practice, you want a constant temperature in your home, so turning off the heating unit isn’t the most efficient method. Turn the temperature down instead.

Other Ways to Get Warm:
  If you are like most people, you want the home to feel warm, but running the heat too high means more using more electricity (or gas) and more wasting money. Invest in other ways to keep warm and watch those energy bills drop.

Get a really good portable heater. Be wary because these tend to overload the circuits and some have been known to start fires. Follow the safety instructions exactly and be extra cautious with pets or babies. Do not leave a heating unit unattended – ever. If one does overload your circuit, you might need only to “flip the switch” at the breaker box. Call your landlord before you use a portable heater to learn where the circuit breaker and fuse boxes are just in case. Keep a flashlight handy. Of course, there is a good chance you might never have any trouble with your heater.

Buy an electric blanket for sleeping. If you don’t need the heat running throughout the entire house at night, turn it down and use an electric blanket instead. Please follow the safety instructions with electric blankets. Invest in a good, long-lasting and safe blanket. If it looks cheaply made, it is probably dangerous.

Throw down some floor mats and rugs over ceramic and linoleum tiles. Use rugs and mats in the bathrooms. Use draft-dodgers, which are special air-blockers you can put up against the bottom of doors to prevent drafts from leaking into a nice warm room. Avoid using bathroom and kitchen vents since they draw away the heat.

Be sure all the windows are covered properly and sealed. Check that the doors are sealed and no cold air is leaking inside. If necessary, call the landlord or handyman to do the job.

Websites for good information:
misterfix-it.com
consumerenergycenter.org
bpa.gov/Corporate/KC/energytips/heat.shtml
warmair.net

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