Home comfort
Your home comfort doesn’t always demand electric energy. Thoughtful landscaping, for example, can keep your home cooler in summer and buffer cold winds in winter.
A row of regal poplar trees or a hedge of dense shrubs just north of your lot helps break the onslaught of winter winds. Skirting and foundation shrubs also help reduce chill. On winter days, close curtains or drapes on the north side of your home and open them on the south, to let sun help heat your living areas. Use storm windows. Spread throwrugs generously on linoleum floors. If you detect drafts, freezing and thawing may have let your home foundations settle or shift. Page 20 shows how to find out and suggests remedies. Call in a technician if necessary Come summer, awnings and shade trees help cool your home. Shut out the hottest sun rays by closing drapes at south and west windows. Light-colored exteriors and roofs reflect sunlight and the accompanying heat. Plan your work to schedule hot chores, such as laundry or baking, late in the evening, when outside air is cooler. Your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard.
You possibly know other home-comfort tricks. Try the ideas you know. You’ll like what they do to your comfort and to your utility bills.