If your winter heating bill is over $200 per month, chances are that you would benefit from some home weatherization improvements. Here are a few tips that could be useful in keeping your home warm for less money:

  1. The two biggest sources of energy use is your HVAC system and your hot water heater. Keeping your house well insulated, as well as preventing air leaks and maintaining a proper temperature for hot water can lead to great cost savings, and a more comfortable home.
  2. Air leaks around your doors and windows allow cold air into the home during the winter months. This prevents your HVAC system from maintaining a target temperature, keeping it constantly running and unable to actually warm your home. Fight this problem by air sealing your windows and doors!
  3. LED light bulbs can save you money on energy use because they only use 20% of the energy & last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent light bulbs. Replacing five of your most used light bulbs to LEDS can save up to $75 annually.
  4. For the best savings on your hot water heater, install a hot water heater blanket for insulation and adjust its temperature to 120 º.
  5. Arrange furniture so that no vents in the home are blocked. Keeping all vents open and clean will allow the air flow to be better circulated and make it easier for your HVAC system to heat your entire home.
  6. Change your air filters every 3 months in order to keep your HVAC system running properly and maintain healthy air quality in your home.
  7. Check out an energy audit kit at Bluegrass Greensource or your local Lexington public library in order to find out where weatherization is needed the most in your home. Each home is different so don’t assume where weatherization is needed and find out yourself by doing a home audit with one of our rental energy audit kits.

This list of weatherization tips for your home is a good start, but it is important to keep in mind that every home is unique and will need different weatherization to keep it running effectively. For more information on how to weatherize your home in order to save money this winter on utility costs, join us at one of our free weatherization workshops. In this workshop you will learn different air sealing techniques, energy saving tips, a comprehensive look at our energy audit kits, and information on energy-related assistance programs in Lexington, KY. For a list of dates and locations please visit our website at: https://bggreensource.org/what-you-can-do/energy-efficiency/weatherization/