- During the cooler and winter months, keep the draperies open on south-facing windows to allow natural heat in to the home. At night, close all draperies to prevent any drafts from entering the space.

- Set your thermostat at a comfortable temperature. Keep the temperature fairly constant. Frequent changes will utilize more energy by causing unnecessary cycling on and off. Setting back the temperature at night, however, is recommended.
 

- Clean or replace your furnace filters according to your manual. Generally, once a month is the recommended time.
 

- Close the door to an unoccupied room or area that is isolated from the rest of the house and turn down the thermostat or turn off the heat for that room or area.

- Use exhaust fans (kitchen, bathroom, etc) and other ventilating fans sparingly. Overuse of these fans can waste energy and put unnecessary stress on your furnace or air conditioner

- If you suspect an air leak (ducts have separated or your see a hole) call a technician as soon as possible to avoid wasting energy. Do not seal leaks with duct tape as it has proved unreliable

- Over most of the hot or summer months keep the house closed tight during the day. Don’t let in unwanted heat and humidity. Close basement vents to promote air circulation to the upper levels.

- Set your thermostat at a comfortable level. Setting your temperature too low will increase your energy consumption (approximately 8% for every degree below 24C)