Few regions in the
nation were spared winter's
frigid fury last month.
Parts of the Northwest
and Rocky Mountain regions
were still digging out of
four weeks of snow as
temperatures iced
California's citrus crop.
San Francisco Bay Area
residents kept an eye out
for the first snow flurries
in years.
Frigid air flowed into
New England as wind chill
factors pushed some
temperatures in the upper
states' hinterlands to 35
below zero. Ocean-effect
snow showers were forecast
for Cape Cod.
New Orleans shivered
through 30 degree
temperatures and Mother
Nature put central and
southern Texas into the deep
freeze. The Deep South and
Southern California held
onto "heat waves" with
temperatures in the 40s and
50s.
And in the Midwest,
well, it's winter. Highs
were in the 20s and 30s.
Only south Florida's
balmy peninsula appeared to
escape the arctic blast.
When you go home after
a day on the bone-chilling
tundra, your igloo ought to
be toasty.
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) and the Comfort
Institute, an indoor comfort
research, training and
consumer protection
organization based in chilly
Bellingham, WA, offer these
tips to get your house in
order for what's likely to
be a long, bleak winter even
Punxsutawney Phil can't
stop.
Seal duct leaks. The DOE
says the typical duct system
loses 25 to 40 percent of
the energy put out by the
central furnace, heat pump
or air conditioner. That
puts a strain on your wallet
as well as comfort levels in
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your home. Heating
ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC)
contractors can diagnose and
pinpoint duct leak locations
and check the static
pressure in your ducts and
ventilation system. The exam
is often part of an energy
audit used to also examine
insulation, air leaks and
other energy inefficiencies
in your home.
Consider a new furnace
or HVAC system. Newer more
efficient systems coupled
with sealed ducts, better
home insulation, weatherized
windows and doors,
programmable thermostats and
other steps to tighten your
home, can remove uneven
heating and cooling patterns
and cost less to operate.
Don't assume you need a
larger unit. A new unit and
overhauled duct and
ventilation system may shock
your budget over the short
term but provide a payback
in energy cost savings over
the long run.
Don't neglect
maintenance on your furnace
or HVAC. Get a checkup of
your heating system to make
sure it's performing
efficiently and safely.
Clean or replace your
system's air filter
regularly as instructed by
your manual.
Insulate to the max.
Missing insulation can also
cause discomforting cold
spots in your home.
Especially add insulation in
attics, rooms adjacent to
attics, and next to or over
garages. Your contractor can
perform an infra-red camera
scan to find cold spots and
inspect insulation levels.
Hollow wall cavities behind
sheet rock also need
internal attention. Forget
external insulation.
Manually close off
rooms, closets and shut
doors to unused spaces or
consider installing a
controlled damper system
that is tied to thermostats
and automatically open and
close as needed.
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