Every time you sit down to watch the news, you hear about how natural gas prices are on the rise. This is not good news, especially during the cold winter months when you want to be warm. Listed below are some money saving tips that you can use to lower your gas usage. The best part is that these tips will not cost you any money to implement!
Many homes get a lot of direct sunlight during the day. You may be able to heat up the rooms that receive direct sunlight by several degrees just by opening your blinds or drapes. This will allow your furnace to take a break without your home getting cold. Just remember to close your blinds or drapes at sunset though to prevent your heat from being lost.
An open fireplace damper can cause a lot of heated air to be needlessly lost. Make sure that it is closed when not in use. Even when the damper is closed, there still tends to be some air leakage. If you do not use your fireplace, consider completely closing it off with insulation. Properly fitted insulation will almost totally eliminate air leakage. **Remember, if you use gas logs, the damper is supposed to be locked into the open position with a metal clip for safety reasons. This clip is not supposed to be removed unless the gas logs are removed.
When you or a family member are not in a room, turn off the lights, radios, etc . Also, try not to leave your bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans running endlessly. Not only do these fans use up energy, they can suck out a lot of precious heated air if accidentally left on for long periods of time.
You can save hundreds of gallons of hot water just by taking shorter showers. Long showers can add up to almost two thirds of your total monthly water heating bill. It is also prudent to install low flow shower heads and newer toilets that use less water. Wrapping the water heater in an insulating cover can also help cut costs by preventing heat loss.
Most homes these days have computers. If your computer has a "sleep" function, set it to come on after five or ten minutes of inactivity. This mode is an energy saving function that can also add up to savings over time. Always turn your computer and printer off at night as they still use some power even in "sleep" mode.
At AmeriSpec, we are dedicated to providing all of our clients with a professional home inspection that includes a detailed report of the condition of the home they are selling or buying. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call our office at 336-841-1080 or please feel free to email us at church-office@amerispec.net.
*****************************************************************************
WHY AMERISPEC?
time constraints of purchase agreement deadlines is difficult. 
