Heat Conservation
Here are a few things I do to conserve heat, or make it work for me a little bit when it otherwise might not do so...
- I always close closet doors, cabinets, and vanities, to cut down on the cubic footage to be heated. The only exception is on seriously cold nights- then I leave vanity doors open, so the heat can keep the pipes warm.
- Whenever I use an oven (even if it's the toaster oven), I open the door after it's turned off, to contribute that heat to the rest of the room. Same with the dishwasher.
- Those oil-filled electric radiators are great in bedrooms, so that you can turn the big furnace way down at night.
- Sun coming in the windows is FREE HEAT. I open curtains in the daytime, close 'em at night. Clean windows let in more sun.
- Real draperies (on a traverse rod) do a lot to keep heat in at night, and cold out. Forget all this fashionable stuff with little rags draped around the windows, or mini-blinds, and get some serious damn curtains that will do you some good.
- Make sure your storm doors close properly. A lot of them will stick just before closing all the way, which means the storm door does you absolutely no good whatever. Silicone spray helps some doors, others need adjustment. The door should close and latch with only the assistance of the closer- nobody should have to remember to pull the door shut.
- Air conditioners should go in the basement or garage for the winter- leaving them in the window is like leaving it open. Those covers don't help much.
- Don't just close your windows- lock them. This compresses the sash against the weatherstrip better. My housemate kept complaining his room was sooooooo cold. I went in there and locked the window; he's been fine ever since.
- It can also help to clean the window sill where the lower sash contacts it, and the weatherstrip on the bottom of the lower sash; dirt will keep the two from making a good seal when the window's closed.
- Make sure storm windows are all the way down, and latched. Dirt often builds up on the bottom track of the frame and prevents the lower sash from closing tightly.
