Tips for Winterizing Your Home

This post is sponsored by National Fuel. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that I love!

Living in Buffalo, NY, we get some pretty harsh winters so I have rounded up some amazing tips for winterizing your home!

We may have our porch all ready for the Christmas season, but it is also important to have the inside ready for the cold weather ahead!

These tips for winterizing your home are easy ways to save you money on your energy bills this winter!

During the colder months, there are several ways that you can save money on your energy bills. Winterizing your home is so crucial in doing this.

The best way to lower your energy bills and energy consumption is to upgrade your natural gas equipment and appliances to more energy efficient ones. Over time and along with National Fuel’s Conservation Incentive Program, you will save money on your energy bills.

The Conservation Incentive Program (CIP) from National Fuel allows you to receive rebates on energy efficient appliances that you have upgraded. Check out the site here to see if you qualify by filling out the form. This program applies towards businesses and homes!

I totally understand that upgrading appliances may not be in the budget right now, but there are more tips that can help with lowering your energy bill! These are some of the things we have done in our home and have seen a drop in our bills!

Set your thermostat between 65-70 degrees and at 58 degrees when you are not home (this helps to lower your heating bill by about 5-15%!!)
- There are programmable thermostats that you can install so that you don’t have to worry about changing the thermostat each day ;)
Change or clean furnace air filters monthly!
- furnaces consume less energy with a clean filter
Close vents and doors in unused rooms/space
Close the damper on the fireplace
Set the water heater to the medium temperature setting
Drain a quart of water from the bottom of the water heater every 3 months to drain sediment
Insulate the water heater using an insulation blanket in compliance with the manufacturer’s guidelines
Install water flow restrictors in shower heads and faucets
Place a sheet of aluminum foil between the wall and the radiator to reflect heat back into the room
Run the washing machine and dryers with full loads of laundry
Open the curtains/blinds on sunny days to allow the sun to heat the room
- Close them at night to keep in the heat
Caulk around holes/gaps in the windows/doors
- Use vinyl foam around larger holes/areas
Place insulation shrink kits around drafty windows