Warm Homes Montana Tips 

  The best way to save energy and money on your utility bills is by using energy sensibly. WARM HOMES MONTANA has created some great tips to make your home more efficient and lower your heating costs this winter.

A few Energy Saving Tips from Warm Homes Montana


1. Maintain your home heating system.  Scheduling a yearly maintenance to make sure your heating system is operating efficiently and safely. A regular maintenance can also help in identifying problems early and save money in the long run

2. Change the furnace air filter on a regular basis.   Filters that are dirty will raise your heating costs.

3. Turn down the heat.   Turning the thermostat down just five degrees at night and while the house is empty during the workday can reduce your heating bills by as much as five percent.

5. Check your storm windows.  Make sure your storm windows don’t allow icy air to trickle into the home. Correctly installed storm windows may reduce home window energy loss by up to 25 percent.

6. Close the fireplace damper when not in use.  This prevents large amounts of heated air from escaping and increasing your heating costs.

7. Use the dishwasher when fully loaded.  To reduce the amount of hot water used, homewowner’s should use the dishwasher only when it is completely loaded.

8. Change your home’s lights.  Think about replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy conserving compact fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs save no less than two-thirds of the energy of incandescent light bulbs and last nearly 10 times longer.

9. Visit your home’s crawlspace.   If your home’s crawlspace has no insulation, consider adding at least R-19 insulation to reduce your heating expenses.

10. Lower your home’s water heater setting and save money.  Water heating is often the second largest energy-consuming appliance in your home.  Decrease the temperature setting on your water heater to 120 degrees.

For more great tips on Energy Saving Tips visit http://deq.mt.gov/energy/warmhomes/tips.mcpx