Heating & Cooling

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What's more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxides into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

Heating & Cooling Tips

• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as comfortable in the summer.
• Clean and replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators as needed; make sure they are not blocked by furniture, carpeting or drapes.
• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
• Turn off kitchen, bath and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing window open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
• During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.