It's Cold Outside

We had our first snow of the season and I am officially going into hibernation. For me, the countdown till Spring has begun. Yesterday, I did my usual winterizing around my house. I know this is not fun or visually inspiring, but the money you save from this can turn into something visually inspiring.

These are the steps that I do every year to prevent the energy companies from getting richer. I clean and shut all the vents in the house. Yes, I need to get on a ladder.......AND, I work alone... 
Translation, my family has no interest in this and they think I am crazy for bothering to do it.

It really does make a difference. Just hold your hand up to one of the vents on a really cold day and see if you can feel a draft. 
Another area of heat loss is the A/C return. 

I have a special trick for this one. I wrote about it last year, so be sure to check it out.

Have you noticed that the price of LED bulbs have gone down? I need to pick up a few more for some areas of my home. They also help prevent ice dams and that is something I always think about this time of year.

Got any energy saving tips? Actually, I could use some snow removal tips...under 6" and my son insists on doing it.

Energy Savings Tips..

As many of you know, we lost our power for 6 days! The North-East was hit hard. The crew that restored our neighborhood was from Fresno, California. This had me wondering... who was paying for all that travel time, hotels, and meals for the crew? Our electric company....well....yes....BUT...now we have been informed that our rates will be going up to cover this massive expense!

Let the Energy Saving Tips Mission begin! First up.....lighting

I have been very curious about LED lights. I know they are expensive, however, they supposedly pay for themselves? When we did our home renovations, CFL's were the way to go. Since then, as information and technology changes...time to do a bit of research.

After watching this YouTube video

I was hooked. The only problem was the price $50 per canister bulb....UNTIL NOW

That's right....1/2 price! Thanks Home Depot! I realize that $25 is still a lot, however, it will pay for itself in less than 1 year and will last about 22 years!

I decided to start with my pantry area. There are only 3 cans, and my family refuses to turn these lights of...ever!

Here is one of my fixtures before

That's a CFL bulb made to look like a regular canister bulb. Notice all the space around the bulb.


Following the video instructions, here is the after

I happen to think it looks much cleaner and more modern. I also realized that there is no longer all that space around the bulb. This should also reduce additional heat loss! As for the light, it is bright, clean, white light... almost too bright!

****UPDATE*** Go Here for More Energy Saving Tips!****

Working room by room, I plan on updating my home over time. What are the ways you save energy?