Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Tips On How To Conserve Heating and cooling our homes account rest for most of our residential energy costs. II Don't waste any of that precious con- fire ditioned air. or i During both heating and cooling the seasons... V Close off unoccupied rooms and shut L their heat or air-conditioning vents. (This dur does not apply if you have a heat pump Yoi system. Leave it alone; shutting vents deg could harm a heat pump.) per Use kitchen, hath and other ventilating K fans sparingly. In just one hour, these tigl fans can blow away a houseful of warmed fur or cooled air. roo Keep your fireplace damper closed )>er unless you have a fire going. An open 1 damper in a 48-inch square fireplace can one let up to eight percent of your heat out tak the chimney. sin Heating energy savers (l" Don't turn the heat on until you have for to. On cool evenings use your fireplace in stead and add a nianKet at nigni. ? With heating equipment... If you use electric furnace heating, consider a heat pump system. The heat pump uses thermal energy from outside air for hoth heating and cooling. Costs for these pumps run about $2,000 for a whole house unit to about $-125 for room size. But they can cut your use of electricity for heating hy 30 to 40 percent and also might provide some savings in cooling costs. If you pian to buy a new gas heating system, ask your gas utility about the savings potential of electronic ignition. Ask also about possibilities for retrofitting the system you may already own. Consider the advantages of a clock thermostat for your heating system. The clock thermostat will turn the heat down for you automatically at a regular hour before you retire and turn it up again before you wake. While you can easily turn your thermostat back at night and up again in the morning yourself, the convenience of a clock thermostat may be worth the $40 to $90 cost to you. Consider buying a properly sized furnace that incorporates an automatic flue gas damper. This device reduces the loss of heat when the furnace is off. (Contact your gas utility or oil supplier for guidance.) Insulate heating ducts in unheated ai t*an. Don't use your fireplace for supplemental heating when your furnace is on unless you take one of the measures suggested helow to lessen the loss of heated air from the house. The warmth from a fire on the hearth generally doesn't radiate through the house; the heat gain is confined to the room with the fireplace. And when your furnace is on. too. a considerable amount of heated air from the rest of the house flows into the fireplace and goes wastefully up the chimney. Then the temperature in other rooms of the house goes down, and the furnace u:mt% limit* iut-i iw i mm- n nu i* \ wutrolled by tin* thermostat. So you use more fuel, rather than less, when the furnace and fireplace are l>oth going. Lessen heat loss if you use your fireplace when the furnace is on: Lower the thermostat setting to between 50-55 degress F. Some warmed air will still he lost, but the furnace won't have to use as much fuel to heat the rest of the house to these temperatures as it would to raise the heat to 05 degrees F. Close all doors and warm air ducts entering the room with the fireplace, and open a window near the fireplace about an inch. Air needed by the fire will be provided through the open window, and the amount of heated air drawn from the i Energy V\ of the house will he reduced. : you have a simple open masonry place, consider installing a glass front i glass screen. This will cut down on loss of warmed air through the flue. I'hen the heat is on... ,ower your thermostat to 65 degrees F. ing the day and 55 degrees F. at night. i can save on your iuel costs lor every ree you reduce the average temature in your home, leep windows near your thermostat ltly closed, otherwise it will keep your nace working after the rest of the m has reached a comfortable temature. lave your oil furnace serviced at least :e a year, preferably each summer to e advantage of off-season rates. This iple precaution could save you 10 perit in fuel consumption. ""lean or replace the filter in your ced-air heating system each month. f I " "v Ai jyj For the happiness the friendships we' have helped us gnr we have received ir pilgrims and give Miile Staying Check the duct work for air leaks about once a year if you have a forced-air heating system. To do this, feel around the duct joints for escaping air when the fan is on. Relatively small leaks can be repaired simply by covering holes or cracks with duct tape. More stubborn problems may require caulking as well as taping. If you have oil heat, check to see if the firing rate is correct. Chances are it isn't. A recent survey found that 97 percent of the furnaces checked were overfired. Don't let cold air seep into your home through the attic access door. Check the door to make sure it is well insulated and weather-stripped, otherwise you'll be wasting iuei to neat mat cooi air. Dust or vacuum radiator surfaces frequently. Dust and grime impede the flow of heat. And if the radiators need painting, use flat paint, preferably black. It radiates heat better than glossy. inksgiv ?atime \ ^ '^^i'i f" "'^ w'f~ *',' { Wj&KgM in our families today. For the ve made. For the laughter, and w. For the food on our tables. / 1 the past year. Let us join in tl thanks in prayer. I Warm Keep draperies and shades open in sunny windows; close them at night. For comfort in cooler indoor temperatures, use the best insulation of all? warm clothing. The human body gives off heat, about 390 BTU's per hour for a man, 330 for a woman. Dressing wisely can help you retain natural heat. Wear eloselv woven fabrics. Thev add a half degree in warmth. For women: Slacks are at least a degree warmer than skirts. For men and women: A light long-sleeved sweater adds about 3.7 degrees; and two light-weight sweaters add about five degrees in warmth because the air between them serves as insulation to keep in more body heat. If every household in tho United States lowered its average heating temperatures six degrees over a 74-hour period, we would save more than 570,000 barrels of oil per day. ing - for prayer \\ \\ I ^ beauty around us. For the difficult times that ^nd for all the blessings le tradition of the early