Stay Warm This Cold Winter Season
Winter has only just begun and already we’re feeling temperatures in the 30s. But with a La Nina winter and a polar vortex to think about it, it may get even colder. That’s why now’s the time to make sure your home is prepped and ready for a bitter winter freeze. While it’s important to get cheap Massachusetts electric rates, weatherizing your home can help you stay warmer and save extra cash. This handy guide will help you get ready for this bitter cold winter.
Winter Seal Your Home
Giving your home a proper air seal treatment is one of the best ways to save energy. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that about 25% of home energy use is due to drafty, poorly sealed windows. This is because your HVAC system must run longer to heat that cold air coming through all those air leaks.
Thankfully, there are many cheap and easy projects that can help. But to make the biggest impact on your energy bills, you need to know where to work. You can figure that out with a DIY home energy assessment.
Primarily, you’re looking cracks, gaps, and any spaces that could let air in or out. Alternately, you could call for a professional home assessment. But if you do that, make sure you call your Massachusetts utility company. Many of them offer free home energy assessments that can include huge rebates for energy upgrades.
DIY Energy Saving Projects
There are many weatherizing projects that can help you save more energy. But these are the easiest to start with these.
Caulk Your Windows
Make sure you caulk your windows as soon as possible. The project is simple to do, takes about 1-2 hours, and costs anywhere from $3-$30 to do. Sealing your windows could cut your energy use by 10-20%. To put it in perspective, the average MA home uses about 550 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per month. So air sealed windows could mean you’re using only 500 kWh of energy each month. Eversource charges 17.216 cents per kilowatt hour. This means your monthly supply charge could go down from $94 to $86 per month!
Insulate Your Home
While you’re at it, be sure to check your home insulation, especially in your attic and around the pipes in your basement. A properly insulated attic will help keep the warmth inside your home and not let it escape into your attic. Pipe insulation, for example, can keep your pipes from bursting during cold snaps, cut your water heating use, and save you up to 3-4% on your energy bills annually. That means saving almost $34 a year for the average MA home.
Get Winter Prepped In MA
Forecasts predict that there is a chance for a warmer than usual winter overall. But between La Nina and the polar vortex, we could be looking at a snowy and frosty winter in MA. So make sure you prep your home before your next electricity bill reaches its cold fingers into your bank account.
Make sure you come back and shop for the best electricity deals in town right here at https://www.maenergyratings.com.