Energy-Efficient Tips for Winter

Four tips to save money and energy this winter.

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Today I want to provide you with four tips to help you make your home more energy-efficient. We’re quickly approaching the winter season, so use these tips to save energy and money: 1. Use natural light. Open blinds and curtains to let the sunshine warm up each room. 2. Get a thermostat you can schedule. Schedule the heat to turn down while you’re at work or at night when you don’t need as much heat. 3. Insulate leaky windows. Make sure all leaks are sealed—this is a massive money saver. 4. Don’t heat unused rooms. There’s no sense in heating a room if you aren’t going to be in it. Shut the door and turn off the vents. For more energy-efficient tips or if you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. I look forward to speaking with you.

How to Keep Your Home Cool Without Cranking Up the A/C

Want to keep your home cool this summer without having to pay an arm and a leg in utility costs? Here are three alternative ways to cool your home.

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Temperatures are rising and so are your utility bills, courtesy of that big power hog: your air conditioner. If you want to cut down your cooling costs without having to crank up the A/C, here are three tricks you can try instead:

1. Fans and ice. You can easily make a DIY air conditioner, with nothing more than a box fan and some ice. Simply put the ice into a bowl and place it in front of the running fan. As the ice melts, it cools the air around it. The fan will then disperse that wonderfully cool air all around your home.

Fans can do more than that, though. Another cooling trick is to run your ceiling fans counterclockwise—this will pull up the hot air, leaving you sitting in a cooler space. And installing a whole-house fan can literally pull out all the hot air from your home and siphon it up and out at minimal cost.

2. Green cooling. Plants do a wonderful job absorbing sunshine and reducing the summer heat. If you're planning to stay in your home for a while, it might make sense to plant several deciduous trees on the south side of your home.

Another option is several potted sunflowers, which grow quickly but have large leaves. Climbing vines or foliage on a trellis can keep the front of your home cool, while a green roof will both increase your comfort and reduce your energy bills year-round.

Some of these will actually boost your home’s value.

3. A summertime schedule. For this natural trick, simply open up the windows in the early morning and shut them before you go to work. This will allow you to suck in some cool air and to keep out the hot air later in the day. For even better results, draw the shades during the day and consider getting heat-blocking blackout curtains.

These kinds of simple heat-busting tricks can be effective at reducing the heat during the summer months and lowering your energy bills by 30% to 50%.

Plus, small investments like planting a tree or installing a whole-house fan can also boost the value of your home. I bring this up because the summer is also when the real estate market gets hot.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home any time in the near future, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.