Whole-house fans help cool your home by pulling cool air through the house and exhausting warm air through the attic. They are effective when operated at night and when the outside air is cooler than the inside.
During winter, a ceiling fan can move heat trapped near the ceiling back into the living area. This is especially valuable in rooms with high or vaulted ceilings. Remember to run your ceiling fan counter-clockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter.
Insulation and air-sealing improvements to the shell of your home will always improve your comfort, regardless of the size and type of heating system installed. Weatherization may also allow the installation of a smaller, more economical heating system.
If you have a newer EPA-rated woodstove, you might have a catalytic combuster in there somewhere. Make sure to check the owner’s manual about cleaning it – and stick to the schedule. Combusters should last 5 or 6 years, but a clogged or dirty one will fail rather quickly.
If your home can’t accommodate central air conditioning, try a whole-house attic fan. This device pushes hot air out through attic vents, lowering the temperature throughout your home about five degrees in less than ten minutes. Attic fans cost less than 25 cents per day to operate.
Drain a quart of water from your water tank every 3 months to remove sediment that impedes heat transfer and lowers the efficiency of your heater. The type of water tank you have determines the steps to take, so follow the manufacturer’s advice.
Keep your furnace tuned and in top condition. Proper maintenance of your furnace can save 6 to 10 percent of your heating bill. Have a certified technician look at your furnace and make the necessary adjustments before the heating season starts.
Turn the air conditioner thermostat up to at least 78° or higher or use a programmable thermostat. Close doors to unused rooms. Turn air conditioners off when no one is home.
In either a wood stove or fireplace, the easiest and best fire is built by using a mixture of both softwoods–from trees such as pines and firs–and hardwoods, such as oak, eucalyptus, cedar and so on. Softwoods start burning easily, and the hardwoods provide for long burning and good “coaling” qualities. A bed of ashes underneath the grate produces steady heat and aids in igniting new fuel as it is added. The fire will continue burning if small amounts of wood are added at regular intervals. In fact, more efficient combustion results from burning small loads of wood with sufficient air than from burning large loads with minimal air.
To help reduce creosote during wood burning, burn only well-seasoned hardwoods. If you don’t know how to build a hot, safe fire, ask your chimney sweep for tips on proper wood burning.
