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Save Energy on Your House's Heating and Cooling

How can you reduce your electricity bills? the first place you should look at is heating and cooling systems of your house. They eat up most of the energy you use in your house, and yet we all too often ignore it when all we need is to take a few simple steps to reduce the energy consumption by a third or even by half.

The first rule is that the less outside air gets into your house, the less energy you need to heat or cool it. Check if the doors and windows seal when you close them and repair any storm windows. Also pay attention to the house's attic and cellar - most of hot air escapes house through your attic and most of cold air gets in through the cellar. Another thing is setting your thermostat around four degrees more than usually in the summer and four less in the winter. You will notice little difference - but the bill will be around 5-10% lower.

Keeping both heating and cooling system in a good shape is essential to minimizing your energy bills. Many furnaces have about 85% efficiency when they're brand new, but it quickly goes down unless you maintain them regularly. The same goes for cooling systems - coolant leaks and clogged filters can make your bills skyrocket unless you spot them soon enough. If heating or cooling system is obsolete (15 years or more), it is usually a good idea to replace it with something new. The installation costs will be returned in the lower energy bills in two years maximum.

Buy a quality, Energy Star-rated thermostat. Get rid of the old analog stuff you use as a thermostat - their effectiveness is greatly reduced with age. Once installed, make sure that thermostat's sensors are far away from any sources of extreme heat (like the stove) and cold (like front doors) unless you want your heating system to lose energy and heat your house basing on such mixed readings.

There are also hundreds minor things you may want to do to reduce the energy consumption. Here are two examples. 1/Do not use a fireplace unless it is necessary. You may end up losing more energy through the chimney than a fireplace can give. Also, if you do not use a fireplace, keep the chimney close! 2/A heat pump is an excellent solution which makes your house feel comfortable during spring and autumn when heating and cooling systems aren't cost-effective.

Article Source: http://www.articlebankonline.com

You can learn how to generate an income by teaching others how to inform people about reducing their utility bills at: Ignite and Stream Energy and explore the possibilities that energy de-regulation has created today.

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