The winter months can be a truly beautiful time of year, but it comes with its own unique energy-efficiency challenges. At times, it can seem like all that cold air is just searching for ways to get into your home while the warm air is looking for a way out.

There are things you can do now to prevent energy loss in both cases that’ll improve your energy efficiency and even save on your wintertime energy bills. Before cold weather hits West Tennessee, here are five tips to help you get ready.

1. Use the sun’s radiant heat by opening your curtains and blinds during the day to warm the house, but then close them at night to reduce heat loss through the windows.

2. Add more insulation to your attic. Over time, insulation can compress or move around; this leads to spaces where heat can escape.

3. Set your heating thermostat to 68 degrees or below to save on your heating costs as outdoor temperatures fall.

4. Get your heating and air conditioning unit tuned up by a professional. The better your HVAC operates, the less energy you’ll waste to heat your home when cold weather arrives.

5. Make sure your house is properly sealed by looking for bad weather stripping around doors, windows and attic access points. Remove and replace any caulk or bad weather stripping that is found.

These may be enough to keep you busy for now, but when you have a few more minutes, there are other, everyday things you can do such as keeping doors and windows shut, closing your fireplace damper and lowering your water temperature to 120 degrees.

We also have a team of experts available to help you lower your energy consumption. Please reach out to us to schedule an energy audit to learn how you can improve the efficiency of your home. We can answer your questions and are always happy to lend a friendly, helpful hand.