What have I done? It's not complicated really, a few years ago I replaced my 20 year old furnace with a high efficiency one. It gets its combustion air from the outside so its better for the indoor air quality and it's probably paid for itself already. I wanted a finished attic, that meant sealing things up and adding insulation. It's more usable space and its more comfortable everywhere in the house. The cold rooms we supplement with electric heat when we are using them and whenever I paint or repair windows we try to seal up any cracks. Oh, sealing up the doors help too, as long as the dog doesn't push them open and did I mention, my house isn't very big and it's got some nice south facing windows that let in the winter sun.
As people are paying their gas bills this time of year, its a good time to be thinking about ways to make our homes more comfortable, safer and more energy efficient. Little investments add up and pay for themselves. Keep your heating equipment serviced, change filters, if your furnace is old and inefficient, a new high efficiency furnace will pay for itself in only a few years. Plug up the leaks, use storm windows and stop drafts around doors to the outside. Heat goes up so add insulation to the attic, but pay attention to ventilation issues, its as easy to create problems as it is to solve them. There are a lot of ways to make your home more comfortable and affordable through the long winter. You can download or order a book with energy saving tips from the US Dept of Energy
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