It’s Dang Cold!: Ideas For Winterizing Your Home
Winter has shown its true colors recently here in WNY and we can honestly say we are chilled to the bone! Between layering up and grabbing extra blankets, we got to thinking how one could winterize their home so they can save on energy and money for the season (cause we know our energy bills go up a bit in these colder months!).
A great way to lower your costs is through National Fuel's Conservation Incentive Program (CIP). If you qualify, you can receive rebates for your bill just by having energy-efficient appliances. Check here to see if your equipment for your home or business qualifies for rebates: https://www.nationalfuelforthought.com/ 
But what are some other winterizing tips you can do NOW? Especially if you can't replace all of your old appliances to energy rated ones at once? We have a list for you to use to help warm up your home and save on your bills:
- Keep your home between 65-70 while at home and 58 degrees when you're away. It can help decrease your bill by 5-15%.
- Set your water heater to 'medium'.
- Drain a quart of water from the tank every 3 months to drain sediment.
- Insulate the water heater with an insulation blanket (check your manufacturer's guide).
- Caulk or weather-strip around doors and windows to reduce any cold air coming through cracks.
- Change or clean air filters once a month during the winter season.
- If you have a radiator against a cold wall, insert a sheet of aluminum foil behind it to reflect heat back in to the room.
Check out the full list from National Fuel on their site!We were quite surprised how easy some of these suggestions were and know that they can help you, too! There is even a list of businesses that give you some great deals on services through the Conservation Incentive Program savings card: check them out here.
So far, we have filled some holes around our garage door and closed vents and doors in our home within rooms we aren't really using too much. We keep our thermostat at 70 and redirected some vents for heat to spread more evenly and effectively. It's working! I pulled my Dad in on some of it since he loves winterizing, too. See the full Instagram Stories at @Buffalovebirds now! (1/23/19)[wpvideo J6tR2CJN ]How will YOU winterize your home? Have you tried some of these ideas so far? See more great things at NationalFuelForThought.com
Can you spot our super cute winter assistant?*post in partnership with National Fuel