Spring and Summer
General guidelines for keeping your home cool and efficient:
• Have a service professional inspect your home's ducts and cooling equipment.
• Clean or replace your AC filters every month.
• Seal air leaks in the around windows and doors.
• Check your ceiling for proper insulation.
• Keep shades or curtains drawn on the sunny side of the house, especially during early- and mid-afternoon hours.
Extra steps you can take to save energy:
• Replace single-pane windows with newer double-pane models, which help reflect the sun's rays and reduce energy loss.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents to create a cooler feeling and save lighting costs.
• Install awnings or plant trees outside your home to create shade.
Things you can do to improve air quality and reduce potential health risks:
• When adjusting clocks, change batteries in smoke alarms.
• Consider a ventilation system to increase air circulation inside and add a healthy dose of fresh air.
Autumn and Winter
General guidelines for keeping your home warm and efficient:
• Have a service professional inspect your home's ducts and heating equipment.
• Set your thermostat to 22°C when you're at home and awake, and as low as 18°C when you're asleep or awake.
• Clean or replace heat pump filters every month.
• Seal air leaks around windows and doors.
• Check your ceiling for proper insulation.
• Close curtains or shades at night and keep them open during the day
• Clean windows on the north side of your house to maximize sunlight exposure.
• Weather-strip doors that lead to cold or outside areas.
• Wrap and insulate waterlines to prevent them from freezing.
• Repair leaky faucets.
Extra steps you can take to save energy:
• Insulate the water tank and first six feet of hot and cold water pipes connected to the unit.
• Lower the temperature of your water heater to 55°C (for every 10-degree decrease in temperature, you may save 3% - 5% on your energy costs).
• Install low-flow showerheads.
Things you can do to improve air quality and reduce potential health risks:
• When adjusting your clocks, change batteries in smoke alarms.
• Consider a ventilation system to increase air circulation inside and add a healthy dose of fresh air.
• Reduce the potential for build-up of allergy-causing pollutants by keeping your house clean.