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Hot Tips on Home Heating
1. Attic insulation could be your best investment. It lowers the cost of both heating and cooling.
2. Be sure to keep your fireplace damper closed when the fireplace is not in use.
3. Service the central heating system before the heating season begins to ensure that the flues are not blocked and the burners are working. Regular checkups will keep your furnace operating safely and efficiently.
4. Start the heating season with a clean furnace filter and each month inspect, clean and replace it as necessary to improve efficiency during both the heating and the cooling seasons.
5. Install storm doors and windows to help prevent heat loss. Weather stripping and caulking block cold outside air.
6. Seal off unused rooms by closing the registers and keeping the doors shut tightly. Do not, however, seal off more than one-fifth, or 20%, of your total living space because your furnace may not operate properly.
7. Keep your thermostat low. Each extra degree adds about 4% to 5% to your heating bill. When you leave for the day or over the weekend, lower the setting about 5 degrees. For longer absences, lower the thermostat to 55 degrees (but don't set it lower because your pipes may freeze).
8. A programmable thermostat is a wise investment because it helps keep the temperature lower automatically while you are sleeping or gone for the day.
9. Don't place furniture in front of heating registers.
10. If radiators are near cold walls, place aluminum or aluminum foil between walls and radiators to reflect heat back into the room.
11. Open draperies on sunny days to allow sunlight to help heat your home. Close them at night to help keep out the cold.
12. Encourage children not to run into and out of the house unnecessarily.
Hot Tips on Cooking
1. Preheat the oven only when necessary (when you bake cakes and quick breads). The broiler needs preheating only for rare steaks.
2. Plan to bake several dishes at the same temperature when possible.
3. Do not block oven air passages with aluminum foil or oven liners. Poor air flow can cause uneven baking.
4. Thawed foods cook faster.
5. On top burners use the smallest flame possible. The flame should never exceed the pan's width.
6. Water boils faster in covered pans.
7. Cook vegetables in small amounts of water. Avoid overcooking, which reduces nutritional value.
8. Clean ovens and cooktops operate more efficiently.
9. If the burner flame is yellowish instead of blue, clean the burner with soap and water. A blue flame is more efficient than a yellow one. (Note: Some aerosols, such as nonstick cooking sprays, may cause the flame to appear yellow. In such cases the yellow flame does not affect the burner's efficiency.)
Hot Tips on Hot Water
1. A water heater setting of "Normal" or "Low" is usually sufficient.
2. Take showers; they use less hot water than baths. Also, avoid running hot water unnecessarily during hand washing or shaving.
3. Wash full loads in dishwashers and washing machines.
4. Repair leaky faucets; constant dripping adds up to gallons of wasted hot water.
5. Use the right-size water heater; heating an oversized tank of water wastes gas. By the way, heating water is the second-largest use of energy next to heating a house. Savings on hot water can be significant.
Safety Tips
Combustible Materials
Flammable liquid vapors and combustible materials can cause serious accidents in the home. Vapors from flammable liquids such as gasoline, cleaning solvent, contact cement, and paint thinner can ignite from an open flame, such as those found in natural gas water heaters, or furnace pilot lights. Because many flammable vapors are heavier than air, codes require that heating equipment generating a glow, a spark or a flame, be installed least 18 inches above the floor level.
Pilot Lights
Most new natural gas appliances (with the exception of water heaters) have electronic ignition, and automatic shutoff valves to prevent the main burner from activating if the pilot is not lit. If the pilot light goes out, the automatic shutoff valve is activated and the appliance will safely shut off.
Many older natural gas appliances and most gas water heaters use pilot lights that burn continuously and may not feature automatic shutoff valves. If there is a gas odor from an unlit pilot light, report it to your utility company.
Arrangements for access to the home must be made in advance in order to conduct a thorough examination and re-light the appliance.
Smell Rotten Eggs
In its natural state, natural gas is odorless and colorless. For easy detection, your natural gas utility injects an odorant called mercaptan into the gas before it is inserted into the distribution system. The odorant is so highly concentrated that even the smallest amount of natural gas can be detected.
Seven Myths of Natural Gas
1. Natural gas is explosive.
FALSE. Natural gas doesn't explode. It will ignite, but only when there is a source of ignition. This can occur only under two simultaneous circumstances: the gas must be present in a concentration of 5 to 15 percent relative to the air, and the gas must come in contact with an ignition source that is 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
2. Natural gas is toxic.
FALSE. Natural gas is non-toxic and cannot cause you to become sick, unless the gas is in such high concentrations that you cannot get enough oxygen to breathe.
3. Natural gas is heavier than air.
FALSE. When natural gas escapes, it rises and dissipates harmlessly into the atmosphere. Other gases, such as propane, are heavier than air, causing them to "pool" on the ground (similar to spilled gasoline).
4. Natural gas is bad for the environment.
FALSE. Natural gas is the cleanest-burning of all the fossil fuels, especially when it is used directly for space and water heating, rather than as fuel to generate electricity.
5. Natural gas pipelines are dangerous.
FALSE. The National Transportation Safety Board reports that on average, 50,000 people die in car accidents in the United States each year, while 22 die from natural gas distribution and transmission pipeline-related accidents. State and federal pipeline safety regulations are tougher now than ever, and today's pipelines are constructed of better materials and better technology than ever. Among all pipelines, natural gas pipelines have the best safety record.
6. Natural gas reserves are shrinking.
FALSE. Geologists and industry experts today say there are 50-60 years of proven natural gas reserves, and additional reserves are being discovered each year.
7. Natural gas stinks!
FALSE. Natural gas has no odor. As a safety precaution, your natural gas utility adds a distinctive odorant called mercaptan so that if natural gas escapes, it can be detected.
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