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Local News

November 2, 2008

Staying warm is possible

Easiest solutions are also the free solutions

DawnDee Bostwick

DUNCAN — Lurking behind the cooling fall weather is the ominous chill known as “winter.” And, with the economy in limbo and the temperature falling, many people are asking one question — What can I do to keep my home warm this winter without spending much, or any, money?

David Yeager, Duncan Power electric utility director, said that some of these easiest solutions are also the free solutions.

“The biggest expense that people have in the winter time is, of course, heating their home,” Yeager said. “Lowering your temperature in your house a couple of degrees will save you about 5 percent.”

And don’t buy into the myth of a wood-burning stove, Yeager cautioned, because the device can actually suck heat out the house and end up costing more.

Because most wood stoves require fresh air intake — that cool air one is probably trying to keep out of the home — to operate effectively, it means opening a window or cracking a door.

“You’re just introducing more cooler air into your house, so you have more to heat up,” Yeager said.

Ideally, a wood stove would be set up near an outside wall where an intake vent could be put in. Much like a dryer vent pushes air out, the intake vent would bring the air in, without sacrificing the temperature of the home, he noted.

There are a few other tricks one can use to help lower costs, and though some aren’t that pretty, they get the job done, and done for cheap.

Mike Stephens, Cotton Electric energy auditor, said, “My first suggestion is plastic works. It may not be what you want to see, but it works.”

Stephens also suggests using a few tubes of caulking to seal up cracks and holes around windows and doors where precious warm air goes to sneak out.

A few dollars at the hardware store spent on the inexpensive sealant could produced significant savings — about 10 percent, on average.

And this is one more situation where planning ahead can really help.

“Right now, early in the heating season, if you haven’t had your heating unit serviced, do that so it’s operating more efficiently,” Yeager said, noting that if a unit is not working properly, all the improvements made to save money won’t be worth much at all.

“If you do it now, you’ll save money,” he said.

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