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Keeping Safe from Carbon Monoxide | Tips to Help Cut Energy Bills


Keeping Safe from Carbon Monoxide

Furnaces, space heaters, fireplaces and wood-burning stoves all help keep us warm in the cold of winter. But any fuel-burning system needs to be properly maintained and operated for safety’s sake. Burning any fuel – oil, natural gas, kerosene or wood – releases carbon monoxide and particles into the air. Without proper ventilation, these particles can build up in your home, posing a threat to you and your loved ones.

A few simple suggestions
The U.S. General Services Administration offers these tips for limiting carbon monoxide in your home:

• Follow the manufacturer’s directions on gas or kerosene space heaters, making sure to use the correct fuel. A persistent yellow-tipped flame can be a warning sign that the heater is not adjusted properly and is emitting excess pollutants.
• While a space heater is in use, open a door from the room where the heater is located to the rest of the house and open a window slightly.
• Install and use exhaust fans over gas cooking stoves and ranges and keep the burners properly adjusted. Again, a persistent yellow tipped flame indicates that the burner is giving off excess emissions. Ask your gas company to adjust the burner so that the flame tip is blue.
• If you purchase a new gas stove or range, consider buying one with pilotless ignition, meaning it does not have a pilot light that burns continuously.
• Never use a gas stove to heat your home.
• Always make certain the flue in your gas fireplace is open when the fireplace is in use.
• Have central air handling systems, including furnaces, flues and chimneys, inspected annually and promptly repair cracks or damaged parts.

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Tips to Help Cut Energy Bills

Here are a few steps you can take to make your home more energy-efficient, thereby reducing your heating and cooling bills.

Doors and windows

• Check for leaks and drafts and add weather stripping as needed.
• Install curtains on windows.

Furnaces and water heaters

• Replace inefficient furnaces and water heaters with new high-efficiency models.
• If buying a new furnace, do not get one larger than you need.
• Wrap the hot water heater in an insulating jacket.
• Clean filters on forced-air furnaces.

Insulation

• Insulate older uninsulated homes.
• If your home already has some insulation, consider increasing the amount of insulation in the attic and/or floors over a basement or crawlspace.

Miscellaneous

• Install low-flow showerheads.
• Install a thermostat that will automatically lower nighttime temperatures.
• Use ceiling fans to circulate air in the house, keeping the air mixed.
• Seal flues in unused fireplaces.
• Conduct an "energy audit" of your home to evaluate your heating system's efficiency and determine where heat loss may be occurring. Many fuel dealers and utility providers offer these audits as a free service. You can also perform your own home energy audit on the Internet by going to the Department of Energy's web site and following the instructions found there.

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