(NAPSA)—Preparing your home for colder weather can help you save money on energy bills. The U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) suggests these tips to keep your home comfortable: Check the insulation in your attic, ceilings, exterior and base- ment walls, floors, and crawl spaces to see if it meets levels recommended for your area. Proper insulation could reduce your heating costs by up to 30 percent. Install winter storm windows anddoors, replacing any screens. Inspect windows, doors and the exterior of your home for cracks or leaks, and caulk, patch or weather-strip any areas that might leak cold air. Replace any windows or doors as needed. Products with the ENERGY STAR label can reduce heating costs by up to 15 percent. Have a heating professional inspect and service your heating equipment before you begin to use it for the season. Heat pumps and oil-fired furnaces need annual tune-ups; gas-fired equipment can be serviced every other year. Professional technicians will be able to detect leaks, soot, rust, rot, cor- roded electrical contacts and frayed wires. Replace furnace filters in your heating unit regularly. Clean filters help to improvethe airflow and efficiency while lowering your utility bills. Most manufacturers recommend changing disposable filters monthly and cleaning reusable filters every other month. Finally, if you need to replace your current home heating unit, Preparing your home for winter can help you save money on your energybills. consider a new heat pumpor furnace. The latest furnaces and heat pumps from Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning are highly efficient and meet Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings or Heating Season Performance Factor (HSPF) ratings. For example, the Coleman Echelon modulating gas furnace offers 95 percent AFUE required for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and exceeds the minimum efficiency standards established by the U.S. DOE, makingthis unit eligible for a $150 tax credit. Additionally, the Coleman Echelon 5T heat pumpis available with an ENERGY STAR rating and a federally approved tax credit. Easyto install and service, the units use environmentally friendly refrigerants and deliver signifi- cantly higher energy efficiencies than many older units, reducing heating costs while increasing comfort. To learn more about Coleman heat pumps and furnaces, visit www.colemanac.com or call (877) 726-5362.
