During the heart of the winter season, it seems your heat is going off every few minutes, cold air sneaks in when you open your doors, holiday lights may be up (still). I wanted to bring energy saving tips to the forefront of your mind - to start thinking about adjustments, or changes, you could make that will help avoid breaking the bank. Read below for helpful tips:

1. Be mindful regarding the age of your home. Older homes may not have received energy efficient equipment or improvements, owever, that also doesn't mean a 'newer' home is up-to-date with the latest improvements.
2. Walk around your house and caulk and seal any air leaks. Be sure to seal around plumbing lines, electric wires, recessed lighting, windows, crawlspaces and attics.  In older homes, be sure to seal the attic access on the ceiling.
3. Hire a professihonal to seal ductwork and give your HVAC a tune-up. Leaky ducts are a common energy-waster.
4. Be sure to program your thermostat. If you aren't going to be home from 8AM-5PM every week day, turn down your thermostat to avoid paying unnecessary heating costs. Also, set your thermostat accordingly for the different seasons.  If you have a boiler, recommend keeping heat steady.
5. Reduce the temperature on your water heater. Consider setting your tank heater to 120 degrees, in lieu of the 140 degrees most are typicaly auto-set. 
6. Consider using microwaves and slow cookers, over using the oven. Microwaves cook your food faster and, while slow cookers are the complete opposite, they use a lot less energy than turning on the oven.
7. Use the dishwasher over hand washing. Similar to the tip above, using a dishwasher saves energy and water; so only hand wash things that aren't dishwasher-safe. 

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