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101 Easy Ways To Save Money
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| NOTE: The Alliant Energy Co has graciously granted us permission to reproduce the following web pages for the benefit of our customers. We are indebted to them for their generosity and are pleased to present: |
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| Heating |
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 2. Change or clean your furnace
filter once a month. Dust and dirt
can quickly clog vital parts,
making your furnace run harder
and eventually break down.
3. Have your heating system
inspected regularly – especially if
it’s natural gas. A $50-100 annual
tune-up can help reduce your
heating costs by up to five percent.
4. If you have a forced-air furnace,
do NOT close off heat registers in
unused rooms. Your furnace is
designed to heat a specific square footage of space and can’t
sense a register is closed – it will continue working at the
same pace. Plus, the cold air from unheated rooms can
escape into the rest of the house, and condensation can
develop on windows and walls.
5. Install a programmable thermostat. If you use it to set back
the temperature by 10 degrees for eight hours every night,
you’ll lower your heating bills by 10 percent. A $50 digital
thermostat can pay for itself in energy savings in less than
a year.
6. Don’t set the thermostat higher than you actually want it. It
won’t heat your home any faster, and it will keep your
furnace running longer than necessary.
7. Vacuum registers and vents regularly, and don’t let furniture
and draperies block the air flow. Inexpensive plastic
deflectors can direct air under
tables and chairs.
 8. If your home has a boiler system,
avoid covering radiators with
screens or blocking them with
furniture. It’s also a good idea to
add a reflecting panel behind
radiators – you can purchase one
at a home center or make one
yourself with a plywood panel
and aluminum foil.
9. If your home has electric baseboard heating, be sure to keep
furniture and draperies away from the heaters, and leave at
least a three-inch clearance under the heating unit.
Keep curtains and blinds closed at night to keep cold air out, but open them during the day to let the sun warm the room.
10. Keep curtains and blinds closed at night to keep cold air
out, but open them during the day to let the sun warm the
room.
11. Avoid using supplemental space heaters, including electric,
kerosene or propane models. Not only are they expensive to
operate, they’re also very dangerous.
 12. If you have hardwood or tile floors, add area rugs to keep
your feet warm.
13. If you’ll be going on vacation, lower the thermostat to 55
degrees. This will save energy while preventing water pipes
from freezing. |
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| <For additional tips click choice> |
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