Your Cold Snap Prescription for Energy Savings - Dynowatt, Texas

Sure, meteorology has made great strides in the past hundred years, and the nice weather person on the nightly news is pretty accurate when he or she gives you the ten-day forecast. Sometimes, however, you wake up in the middle of a big chill and twist the thermostat. When that long-distance forecast shows snowflakes or frigid winds on the horizon, you just sigh and brace for the big freeze.

Cold snaps are particularly hard to prepare for, for a few reasons. First, they are sometimes unpredictable, arriving before you can prepare. Further, some of the ways you should deal with the cold doesn't make sense if the mercury will only plunge for a short time. (Are you going to put shrink-wrapped plastic on all of your windows for one day in April? That would be a pain.) Here are some easy ways to save energy while keeping your home comfortable during a cold snap:

• Use your windows to control your climate. In the morning, open up the curtains on the side of your home that faces the sun and close the curtains on the opposite side. Just as what happens in a greenhouse, the sun will heat up your rooms and the windows will keep the temperature stable. It is convenient enough to open and close your storm windows when the temperature drops, then open them when the weather returns to normal.
• Restrain yourself from cranking up that thermostat during the night. Opt to sleep with an extra blanket, instead. Take a page from history and use a bed warmer. If you warm up some water and put it in a watertight container, such as a reusable water jug or hot water bottle. Sleeping with that warmth will keep you comfortable and decrease your natural gas usage. If you can't help yourself and you simply must turn up the heat, close as many of the doors in your home as you can to keep the heat in the rooms you are actually using.
• A great deal of heat can escape from the crack between a door and its jamb. Even if you have a little bit of weather-stripping on the door, consider insulating the bottom of your front and back doors by rolling a towel and pressing it against the bottom once you are inside. If it's particularly cold, it can be helpful to cover the door completely. If you have an old blanket lying around, try holding it over the door by driving a screw into either side of the top molding.
• A cold, windy day is often a terrible time for outdoor activities. It is, however, a great time to prepare for the future. Look for those drafts that are allowing the heat to escape from your home. Burn some incense to see where the smoke goes, leading you to the leaks.
• Prepare the evening's meal in the conventional oven instead of the microwave. While it may take slightly longer, you're multitasking; once you've finished cooking, leave the oven door ajar to fill your home with toasty heat (and the aroma of your delicious food.)
• Trick yourself into believing that you are warmer than you really are. Wear that extra shirt or sweater outside. Slip on that robe and slippers as you walk around the house. Toss a throw rug onto hardwood or tiled floors. Not only will this help insulate your floor a little, it will prevent you from stepping on a cold floor and running for the thermostat.
• Double-check that you're using all of the heat you're paying for. Walk through your home and make sure that your heating vents are not covered up. It's easy to allow this to escape you and accidentally drape a curtain over a vent, for example. You should also replace the filter on your furnace; a dirty filter will decrease your furnace's efficiency.
• Get your blood pumping. While regular exercise is a part of healthy living, it's also a smart way to decrease your energy bills. If it's too chilly to go outside, do some simple calisthenics inside.