As the seasons change and temperatures drop, thermostats go up, increasing natural gas usage to keep homes comfortable and warm. Now is the time to prepare for cooler weather with energy efficiency offerings that can help you use less energy.
Home improvements add up to savings
Making a few home improvements can add up to significant savings on utility bills. Consider a few ways to begin saving money and energy:
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Turn it down: Fall means breaking out favorite sweaters, but that also means thermostats are likely to go up as nighttime temperatures dip. The U.S. Department of Energy suggests setting daytime thermostats no higher than 68°F for heating. Save an estimated 10% on heating costs by lowering thermostat temperatures to an energy saving level of 60-63°F overnight or when away.
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Get smart: Installing a learning or “smart” thermostat will make energy savings even easier, as the thermostat will adjust throughout the day for you. The Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program offers its customers rebates for replacing outdated thermostats with smart thermostats. To learn more, visit nicorgas.com/smartstat.
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Improve your home’s insulation: Improving a home’s insulation can be the single most effective action to save energy. Improvements to insulation will help you stay warm during colder months while reducing home heating costs by an average of 15%. Nicor Gas offers rebates to its customers that have home air and duct sealing performed, as well as for the installation of attic and wall insulation. Learn more about the available rebates at nicorgas.com/sealandinsulate.
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Seal out the cold: Leaky windows and doors, as well as uninsulated outlet and switch plates, allow unwanted drafts into a home. Cost-effective shrink wrap for windows, as well as weather stripping and caulk for doors and windows are available at home improvement stores and are easy do-it-yourself projects. Door sweeps that block drafts from under doors and foam gaskets that are installed behind outlet and switch plates are also excellent means of preventing unwanted drafts.
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Use less hot water: A long shower may feel great, but it also affects heating costs due to increased hot water use. Free water-saving kits are available for all Nicor Gas residential customers to help prevent your budget from going down the drain. Each kit contains up to two high-efficiency showerheads, bathroom and kitchen faucet aerators and a shower timer to help you get in the habit of shorter showers, which will save water and energy. Kits can be requested at nicorgas.com/freekit.
The Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program helps customers manage their costs by lowering out-of-pocket expenses for energy efficiency improvements through rebates, free home energy assessments and free energy-saving products.
To learn more, visit nicorgas.com/waystosave.
Report submitted by Jennifer Golz, Corporate Communications, for Nicor Gas.
