Published: October 03, 2009 11:23 pm         

Keeping the chill out

Winter is on the way, which means it’s time for families to think about how to stay warm and save money doing it.

A good way to start, Heather Martinez said, is to make sure your home is sealed in tight from the cold air.

“Making sure their home is insulated is important,” said Martinez, weatherization educator at the Community Development Support Association. “(Also important is) making sure windows and doors are caulked and weather-stripped, (as well as) making sure they don’t have any air leaking in.”

DeWayne Boese, of Enid Insulation & Siding, also said good insulation is key in keeping the cold air out.

But there’s something just as important as good insulation, even more important, he said: Good windows.

“Depending on the age of the home, they are made with wood windows or a lot of the newer homes, aluminum windows,” Boese said.

Those windows can be upgraded to a vinyl, thermal window that will have about 7⁄8 inches of space between two panes of glass.

“That window’s a good quality,” Boese said, “and should be able to qualify for the 2009-2010 tax credit.”

Homeowners can apply for a tax credit if a certain type of window is purchased and installed in the home before Dec. 31. The specific window must have a rating of 0.30 or lower for both its U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient.

A U-factor is the measure of the thermal efficiency of the window. The lower the number, the better job it does of saving energy. A U-factor of 0.30, for example, would be more energy-efficient than a window with a 0.35 U-factor.

The solar heat gain coefficient, or SHGC, is a measure of how well a window blocks heat caused by sunlight. In this case, the lower the window’s SHGC, the less solar heat comes into the home.

Other things can be done to make sure money is saved on winter energy costs. Martinez said homeowners should clean out furnace filters so the furnace runs more efficiently.

Also, the thermostat should be kept right around 68 degrees.

“Add an extra sweater if you’re cold, instead of cranking the heat up,” Martinez said.

Space heaters also can save money if used efficiently to warm a small area of the home.

“But don’t leave them unattended because they can be a fire hazard,” Martinez said.

Overall, she said, homeowners should just make sure their heating systems are tuned and ready to go for the cold months ahead.