General guidelines for keeping your home’s warmth and efficiency:

1. Have AirZone professionally inspect your home’s duct, furnace and cooling equipment.
2. Set your thermostat to 68°F when you’re at home and awake, and as low as 60°F when you’re asleep or awake.
3. Clean or replace your furnace filters every month for maximum air quality and furnace life.
4. Clean chimney and check to see if your fireplace is working correctly.
5. Seal any air leaks in the attic, basement and crawlspace, and especially around windows and doors.
6. Insulate windows with heavy-duty clear plastic.  Kits are available at most hardware stores.
7. Check your attic for proper insulation.  Remember than insulation should never be compressed for optimal value.
8. Close shades and curtains at night and keep them open during the daytime
9. Clean windows on the south side of your house to maximize sunlight exposure.
10. Add weather-stripping to doors that lead to the exterior or to cold
11. Wrap and insulate waterlines to prevent them from freezing.
12. Repair leaky faucets.

Extra steps you can take to save energy:

1. Install a programmable thermostat which will allow you to set different temperatures throughout the day and night.
2. Insulate the water tank and first six feet of hot and cold water pipes connected to the unit.
3. Lower the temperature of your water heater to 120°F (for every 10-degree decrease in temperature you may save 3% – 5% on your energy costs).
4. Install rubber gaskets behind outlets and use switch plates on exterior walls.
5. Install low-flow showerheads.

Things you can do to improve air quality and reduce potential health risks:

1. When adjusting clocks, change batteries in smoke alarms as well as radon and carbon monoxide detectors.
2. Consider a ventilation system such as an exchanger to increase air circulation inside your home, and add a healthy dose of fresh air.
3. Clean water-damaged carpets and materials or consider replacement.
4. Reduce the potential for buildup of allergy-causing pollutants by keeping your house clean.
5. Take special precaution when operating fuel-burning appliances to avoid leakage.
6. Store and dispose of household chemicals in a safe manner.