Green it!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

If your utility bills are rocketing, or you just want to make sure you aren’t wasting energy this winter, grab a box of matches.

Hold a lighted match near all of the places that might allow cold air into your home, especially along baseboards and around windows and doors. If the flame gets blown out, then you have an air leak, says Joe Stober, a supervisor at Home Depot, 1910 W. 31st St.

Photo by Becka Cremer

Want to save some pretty pennies on your next bill? Stop cold air in its tracks.

Stober recommends buying expanding foam called Great Stuff ($6.97 at Home Depot) to fill in gaps around windows. He says weather sealing tape around doors and plastic film window insulation kits can minimize gaps and make sure you aren’t spending too much on utilities and wasting energy. Stober recommends the Frost King window insulation kits; for about $11, you can add an extra layer to your windows, with a buffer that keeps warm air in and cold air out.

You can also heck out the Home Energy Saver calculator at www.hes.lbl.gov. Just enter your address and some details about where you live to see other ways you can save energy and money this winter.

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