Wabash Valley Power news
Insulation Invitation:
Encourage the heat to stay in your house this holiday season
With all the planning this holiday season,
An inefficient system costs more to heat
and may even personally do the audit.
home improvement projects may be the
and maintain water temperature. A test
The audit will include a thorough review
last thing on your mind. Yet with the
to see if you need more insulation is
of your home’s energy use, identifying
arriving winter weather, one thing is
simple: Touch your water heater to see if
potential areas of concern and even
certain: Your wallet won’t just feel lighter
it is noticeably warm. If it is, you should
recommendations to resolve them.
because of presents! Heating bills for the
consider adding an insulating blanket
winter months can add even more stress
by carefully following the directions. If
Taking a few steps will help improve the
to the season. Fortunately, you can take
the water heater is not warm, there is no
comfort — and energy cost — of your
steps now to help reduce your energy
need to add more insulation.
home all year long. Your local electric cooperative may even offer POWER
bill and maintain your home’s comfort. Properly insulating your home will
Insulate your water lines.
MOVES® rebates for qualifying upgrades
encourage the heat to stay in your home
Adding insulation to your hot water pipes
to equipment in your home. Contact
— and prevent your heating system from
can help keep your water hot longer,
your local electric cooperative or visit
working harder, which costs you money.
reducing the time it can take to get hot
www.PowerMoves.com to learn more.
Here are some steps to take:
water to your fixtures. If your water pipes are exposed to colder air, such as an
Seal up your ceiling, attic and air ducts.
unconditioned basement or crawlspace,
If you read our article in September’s
even more sense.
properly insulating the water lines makes
Electric Consumer or this month’s
Parke County REMC, then you know the
A home energy audit will help identify problems — and solutions.
importance of properly sealing your
If you want to learn more, you
home. Gaps around lighting, pipes and
should contact the energy
other cut-outs can cause heat to escape.
advisor at your local electric
Expandable foam can be used to fill the
cooperative. He/she can
cracks and prevent escaping air. You
provide details on a
also can review the air ducts to ensure
home energy audit
energy column (on page 10) by Jeremy Montgomery, the energy advisor at
they are air sealed and well-insulated. Since the ductwork carries the air you’ve paid to heat, any gaps or poor insulation can prevent that toasty warm air from reaching the rooms in your home.
Insulate your (older) water heater. If you have an older water heater, you may have an inefficient water heater.
DECEMBER 2018
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