5 Tips to Keep Your Home Warm and Your Bills Low

With the Kansas weather always changing, we never truly know what to brace ourselves — as well as our homes — for. Here are some inexpensive and easy tips to keep toasty in your home while we brave the winter weather.
Let the sunshine in:
The sun lets in light – good, warm, natural light. Open up your blinds during the day to harness the warmth and close your blinds during the night to keep the drafts out. You won’t even need to turn on a lamp with the natural light pouring in, so this will help save electricity too.
Weather-strip:
Seal cracks and gaps of cold air in your windows and doors by weather stripping.  This is an inexpensive, quick fix. Click here for different types of weather stripping materials and how to choose what you’ll need.
While you’re away:
Do you leave your thermostat turned up, even when you aren’t home?  Turning down your thermostat 5 or 10 degrees for at least 8 hours a day will help you save 10% a year on energy bills. Read more here. You should also look into programmable thermostats.
No fire in the fireplace:
If you’re not burning a beautiful, cozy fire then you need to close your damper! Your house will feel less drafty and your energy bills will be less too.
Hot water tank:
Turn down your hot water heater to a low level. It’s recommended to use a warm level at 120 degrees.
To view more energy saving tips, visit Westar Energy’s website. You can also participate in their free Energy Savings Workshop, where you can be automatically entered to win two $100 gift certificates.