Just a few tips for cutting your home energy costs:

• Blow in extra insulation in your attic and walls to at least an R-30 rating.
• Install new seals to the bottoms of your exterior doors.
• Caulk around the outside of your windows if needed, make sure the temperature is above 45 degrees so the caulk will can set up.
• Buy a new more energy efficient furnace or water heater and get a $500 tax credit at tax time.
• Replace worn-out air-conditioning equipment.
• Schedule a furnace or boiler tune-up every year to boost its efficiency.
• Install foam gaskets under switch plates and outlet covers.
• Get rid of your extra refrigerator.
• Unplug anything that you aren’t using. Even though it isn’t turned on it will still draw electricity.
• Insulate hot water lines.
• Replace your central-air conditioning filters every month.
• Turn down the thermostat on your water heater to 110 degrees.
• Turn down your furnace thermostat in the winter, and up in the summer when the central air is on.  One degree can save you money.
• Shorten your dryer-vent hose so it’s just long enough to pull the dryer out.  It will save you money.
• Install dimmer switches and use energy-efficient halogen bulbs.
• Close closet doors so you aren’t heating or cooling that space.