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SAWNEE EMC WANTS YOU TO SAVE ENERGY AND MONEY (Cumming, GA)—As Georgia begins to move toward the heart of winter, Sawnee EMC wants you to be prepared to keep your house warm and your electric bill low. According to experts with Sawnee EMC, by weatherizing your house this winter, you can go a long way towards conserving energy with little or no-cost. Your heating system running at peak efficiency is key to conserving energy because nearly half of a typical utility bill goes to heating and cooling. Meanwhile, proper insulation can help as well since 31 percent of the air that escapes your home escapes through openings in your ceilings, floors and walls. For a list of rebates offered by Sawnee EMC, go to our website, www.sawnee.com, and visit the Energy Center or call customer service at 770-887-2363. You’ll help conserve energy and money if you add the following weatherization and conservation tips to your to-do list: § Have your furnace checked by a professional. You should have your furnace checked once a year to make sure it is working at optimum capacity. If you determine its time has passed, choose a new one with a high-energy efficiency rating. §
Check
to make sure you have good insulation. Begin by checking to see
if your insulation has the proper R-value for your area. The higher the R-value, the better your
insulation. §
Make
sure you have enough insulation. The easiest and most cost-effective way to
insulate your home is to add insulation in the attic. To find out if you have
enough attic insulation, measure its thickness. If there is less than R-22 (7
inches of fiber glass or rock wool or 6 inches of cellulose) you could probably
benefit by adding more. Most U.S. homes should have between R-22 and R-49 attic
insulation. § Add weather-stripping and caulking to windows and doors. As much as 30 to 40 percent of a home’s energy load is attributed to air penetrating the home through openings. Find the biggest leaks on a windy day by holding a lit incense next to windows, doors and other places where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing or weather stripping. § Keep your fireplace airtight. When your fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. It is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes – 24 hours a day. § Use the sun to your advantage. Open shades during the day to let in sunlight and close them at night to retain heat. Sawnee EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing
electricity and related services to approximately 110,000 members in Forsyth,
Fulton, Dawson, Cherokee, Hall, Gwinnett and Lumpkin counties. Collectively, Georgia’s
42 consumer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to 3.7 million
people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73% of the state’s land
area. Georgia’s 42 electric membership cooperatives now serve more customers
than any other state network of EMCs in the nation |