Walton EMC Natural Gas

We use three-month filters, write the installation date on the filter and change it every three months. We also make sure to have the heating and cooling units serviced annually.
- Sue-Ellen Brogdon

We turn the heat down a little bit in the winter and use an electric blanket while we watch TV.
- Kimberley Lane

In the wintertime, I open my window blinds so that the sunshine will help in heating my home. In the summer, during the hotter daytime hours, I do the opposite. I leave my blinds closed for a cooler home during summer.
- Robin Newton

Replace glass doors and windows with double-paned, low-e windows.
- Sue-Ellen Brodgon

We can lose a lot of our indoor heat through doors that are not sealed completely. Here is an easy trick to see if your doors are keeping out the cold. You need a flashlight and a helper. Go outside the door while your helper is inside with the flashlight. Have your helper turn on the flashlight and shine the light around the doorframe. If you can see the rays of light coming through the door on the outside, the cold air is coming in. The light shows you where you need to improve the seal on the door.
- Cathy Eilert

When the weather is nice, use a clothesline for drying your clothes.
- Kimberley Lane

My home saves energy by putting out very little garbage. As well as reducing, reusing, recycling and composting, I organize my kitchen so that I don't have to take garbage out often. This saves heating and cooling energy by reducing the number of times the door is opened to take garbage out, and it also saves on all the various costs associated with garbage pickup.
- Suzanne Sen

We replaced our 18-year-old furnace with a 96 percent efficiency variable speed furnace.
- Sue-Ellen Brogdon

If you have high vaulted ceilings, reverse ceiling fans in winter to blow the warm air down toward the floor.
- Kimberley Lane

Heat in the house escapes from walls, any openings in windows, and doors. However, I found the attic opening was the one where my house was losing most heat. Heated air rises up and the attic opening, if not insulated, provides the easy escape path. I added an adhesive foam strip around the inside border of the attic opening and an insulation blanket to reduce the heat escape.
- Sanjay Tiwari

When baking in the summer, I use my larger toaster oven instead of my regular oven, because less heat is emitted into my home.
- Robin Newton

Re-caulk around windows, doors and all openings into the house annually, or whenever cracks appear in the caulk.
- Sue-Ellen Brogdon

Take "Army showers." Turn the water off while shampooing and lathering up. This saves water as well as gas because the water heater does not have to work so hard.
- Kimberley Lane

Read other articles from The Walton EMC Gasette:
Attic Insulation 101
Are your R-values up to code?
Gas Up the Stove
This month's recipe features Banana Pumpkin Pie.