Having a professional energy audit, and taking the auditor's advice, is the best way to lower your utility bills this winter. If you can't find an auditor, or live in an apartment or condo, here are ways you can perform your own audit.

It's as easy as walking through your home with a lit candle or incense stick. Hold it near the edges of windows, doors, and electric outlets. The flame or smoke will flicker where a draft comes through your wall.

Pay close attention to mail slots, where wiring and plumbing penetrates walls, edges of vents, air conditioners and fans. Big gaps often occur around masonry, where outer walls meet the ceiling, and fireplaces. If you were to put all these little holes and cracks, and areas around the electric outlets together, you could have a 3-foot gaping hole leaking your heating dollars.

Use a caulk gun and a can of expandable foam to patch any holes you find in the walls, windows, baseboards and duct work. If you've never caulked before, here's a few simple tips:

— Wipe away any dirt, moisture or loose paint on areas to be caulked so that you don't seal in moisture and debris.

— Keep the caulk gun at a consistent angle, and apply consistent pressure on the trigger so that caulk is forced out in a long even bead without bubbles and blobs.

— Make sure the caulk adheres to both sides of a gap.

Release the trigger before pulling the gun away to avoid applying too much caulk.

— Use a high quality caulk instead of skimping on cheaper caulks that shrink when they dry.

— Expandable spray foam is used in areas that are 1/4 inch or more which is too wide for caulk to stick properly.

Insulation should be installed by professionals to achieve maximum benefits, but it can be done by a knowledgeable homeowner. The cost of insulating will be returned to you in savings on ome energy bills. It is especially important to insulate attic floors and basement ceilings. If you have crawlspaces, basement doors and attic stairs, you can insulate these yourself using rigid foam panels.

"The insulation doesn't typically stop all of the air infiltration," George Del Valle, an insulation contractor, recently said on DIY Network. "So you want to do everything you can to stop that air from coming in."

If you were to take an infrared photo of your home, you would see heat leaking out from around windows and doors. Tight weatherstripping around doors will eliminate much of that heat loss. Try this test, put a piece of paper on the threshold of your door, and close it. If you can pull this paper out from under your door without tearing it, you are losing money and energy. Weatherstrip that door.

Here are some weatherstripping tips:

— Weatherstripping should be applied to clean, dry surfaces only when temperatures are above freezing.

— Measure twice before you cut the weatherstripping.

— Apply weatherstripping snugly against both surfaces of the door and the jamb.

— Weatherstripping should compress when the window or door is shut.

Also, replacing single-paned windows with efficient double-paned windows is ideal. If that isn't in your budget right now, consider sealing the windows with sheet plastic. You can tape the plastic to the molding around the window creating a dead air space that insulates against heat transfer. Doing this one thing will make your home feel much warmer, and save you considerably more money than the cost of the plastic.

If you have forced-air heating and cooling systems, then you have ducts throughout your house. "In a typical house, about 20 percent of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks and poorly sealed connections," according to Energy Star, a U.S. Department of Energy program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.

Leaky ductwork means the house feels uncomfortable regardless of the thermostat setting, and your utility bills are always high. Exposed ducts in attics, basements, crawlspaces, and garages can be easily repaired by sealing the leaks with duct sealant, or duct mastic, and sometimes with just duct tape. Also, insulating ducts that run through uninsulated spaces, like attics, garages, or crawlspaces, can save you big bucks.

Energy Star estimates that a knowledgeable homeowner or skilled contractor can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs, or up to 10 percent on their total annual energy bill, just by sealing and insulating. If your energy bills are $250 per month, that would equal $50 per month in savings, or $600 per year. While this advice can't replace a home energy audit, it can help you save money and energy in the coming winter.

Shawn Dell Joyce is an award-winning sustainable artist and activist living in a green home in the Mid-Hudson region of New York. Contact her by e-mail Shawn@ShawnDellJoyce.com. To find out more about Shawn Dell Joyce and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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