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Save on energy this winter .$$$


 

 Cutting back unnecessary energy use is an easy way to
 keep your hard earned money in your pocket. Here are

 some suggestions you can do at home, at absolutely no  cost  to you.
 Let the sunshine in. Open drapes and let the
 sun heat your home for free (get them closed
 again at sundown so they help insulate).
 Rearrange your rooms. Move your furniture around so you
 are sitting near interior walls - exterior walls and older
 windows are likely to be drafty. Don't sit in the draft.
 Keep it shut. Traditional fireplaces are an energy loser -
 it's best not to use them because they pull heated air out
 of the house and up the chimney. When not in use, make
 absolutely sure the damper is closed. Before closing the
 damper, make sure that you don't have any smoldering    embers.
 If you decide not to use a fireplace, then block off the
 chimney with a piece of rigid insulation from the hardware
 store that fits snugly into the space (dampers don't shut
 fully without some leaking).
 

 
 Eliminate wasted energy. Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms.
 Unplug that spare refrigerator in the garage if you don't
 truly need it - this seemingly convenient way to keep extra
 drinks cold adds 10-25 percent to your electric bill.
 Turn off kitchen and bath-ventilating fans after they've
 done their job - these fans can blow out a house-full of
 heated air if inadvertently left on. Keep your fireplace
 damper closed unless a fire is burning to prevent up to
 8 percent of your furnace-heated air from going up the   chimney.
 Shorten showers. Simply reducing that lingering time by a few minutes can save hundreds of gallons of hot water per month  for a family of four. Showers account for 2/3 of your water heating costs. Cutting your showers in half will reduce your water heating costs by 33 percent.

 

Use appliances efficiently. Do only full loads when using your dishwasher and clothes washer. Use the cold water setting on your clothes washer when you can. Using cold water reduces your washer's energy use by 75 percent. Be sure to clean your clothes dryer's lint trap after each use.

check out other links for more ways to save on energy