Bergen County N.J. - Energy Saving Tips!

Bergen County N.J. - Energy Saving Tips!

In Bergen County New Jersey the Winter months begin to kick in right after Halloween when the evening temperatures start to really take a dip.  Home heating costs always seem to go up at this time of the year as the temperatures go down.  Whether you heat your home with Gas, Oil or Electric, we never seem to be ready to begin paying the increase in our energy bills.  There are some common sense things that you can do to cut your energy bills this Winter.  Here are our Energy Saving Tips!

• Bring out your old flannel shirts to wear around the house.   This little exercise can help you to maintain your body heat so you don't feel the chill of the air when you are indoors and they're cozy.

• Keep your thermostat set low when you are not home.  This can make for a dramatic change in your energy cost.  If your home has multiple zones, keep those rooms as low as possible when they are not in use.  Lower your thermostat when you leave the house and grab that flannel shirt to keep you cozy while you wait for the house to heat up when you get home.

• If you really want to reduce your heating costs, get programmable thermostats that can be programmed to go up or down as needed.

• Unplug all appliances that are not in use wherever you can.  This tends to be a bit of an extra commitment but it can reduce your costs so it may be worth the extra effort.  Things like toaster ovens don't need to be plugged in when not in use for instance.

• Stop leaving the lights on!  This is one of those things that falls under the heading of "lazy" in my house.  If you go into a room and have to turn a light on, try to remember that the switch should be turned off as you leave the room. 

• Nightlights can help to make a house very cozy but they can be more costly than you think.  It may only be 2 watts but it all adds up when you're trying to save on those energy costs.

• Cover the air-conditioners with plastic covers.  The amount of cold air that can seep into a room through wall air-conditioners is amazing.  Plastic covers should be used for inside as well as outside on all types of air conditioning units.

• Go around your home and feel where there may be drafts coming into the home around door trim for instance and use a caulking gun to seal up any of those drafts that you didn't know about.
  
  

 Bergen County N.J. - Energy Saving Tips!

• Get yourself some good old fashioned Draft Stoppers.  These are basically bean bags that you can put under your doors or window sills to stop those pesky drafts from coming in under doors and windows.  These draft stoppers are inexpensive and can add a bit of whimsy to your home during the Winter months.

•  Along the same lines as the last tip are weather strips for under doors.  Make sure the rubber is still flexible and doing it's job.  Change them out as needed.

•  Call your electric and gas company to have them come out and test your furnace before it's needed and have it tuned up if necessary.

•  If you have hot air heat change out your furnace filters and vacuum around the furnace to make sure there is no dust.  A clean furnace is more efficient.

• Invest in some heavy drapes for the rooms with Northerly windows that face into the wind.  It may make a huge difference in the amount of heat needed to heat those rooms up.

•  Make sure Fireplace chimneys are cleaned and flues are closed when not in use.

•  Invest in some outlet plugs to stop the drafts that come in through unused and open outlets.  When the Winter wind starts to howl, you'd be surprised to feel the drafts that come through the most unexpected places.

• Consider swapping out your regular light bulbs with new energy efficient fluorescent bulbs.
  

• Add extra blankets and throws on the beds and in the Family, T.V. or Living Rooms.  When sitting still your body temps go down so stay warm naturally with a blanket!

• And last but not least, all you animal lovers may want to consider making it a Three Dog Night and throw the pets on the bed to warm things up! Woof!
  

So be prepared when those temps go down. 


Here Comes Winter and our 

Bergen County N.J. - Energy Saving Tips!