| by Kathy Moran |
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For the past several years, there has been a huge, on-going campaign to get people to “go green.” This, of course, is a great idea, because the environment needs all the help that it can get. Although some people have been slow to react, the sad state of the economy seems to have spurred them to action, as they’re suddenly realizing that almost every step that they take to conserve the earth’s resources can save them money as well. Because winter home heating costs are among their biggest concerns, many people are installing solar heating systems. Sunrooms, which have always been popular, are hotter than ever (so to speak), as people are building them into their new homes, and even remodeling existing rooms to create sunrooms.
Of course, there are countless ways to save money, conserve resources, and make our homes and appliances much more energy efficient, all at the same time. While many of them are common-sense measures that we’ve all heard a million times, many people ignore them. It’s difficult to figure out why that is, but it may be that they simply don’t believe that these simple steps can have any real impact on their bills; but they can.
Making sure that your home is properly insulated, for example, is crucial; and it’s estimated that 80% of older homes are not. That makes no sense at all, because having adequate insulation can cut your heating and cooling bills by at least ten percent, and weatherstripping old, drafty doors and windows can take them down another 15-30%! Insulating and sealing cracks in your ductwork could reduce costs by up to 30%.
Another way to save money is to move your thermostat away from doors and windows, to an inside wall, so that drafts won’t cause the furnace to kick on unnecessarily. If you’re trying to heat by zone, remember that using a portable heater to keep one room warm will save you money only if you’re willing to keep the rest of the house chilly; and wood-burning fireplaces can suck more heat from the house than they give off. Make the most of the sunlight that your house gets by opening blinds and shades on cold days, which can raise the indoor temperature significantly (just remember to close them at night to prevent heat loss).
Making a couple of relatively inexpensive changes can also conserve a lot of water, and reduce your bills as well. The simplest move, installing a high-efficiency showerhead, can cut your usage practically in half, while switching to a low-flow toilet can save 4,000 gallons per year. If you can resist rinsing your dishes before you put them into the dishwasher, which many tests have found is unnecessary, you may save an astounding 6,500 gallons of water in a year.
These are but a few of the many ways in which you save on your utility bills; and, when it comes to heating, you can easily make the most of our biggest natural source of warmth – the sun – without remodeling your home. All you need is a sunroom from GazeboCreations.com.
At GazeboCreations.com, you can design your own beautiful sunroom in just a few steps, selecting from tons of options that include insulation, partitions, ceiling fans, cupolas, decorative sliding glass doors, and several colors of vinyl siding, shingles, and trim. With all of the features available, you can also turn it into a spare room, entertainment room, home office, or a guesthouse. In fact, you might even want to live in it throughout the entire winter.
To see their entire gallery of sunrooms, gazebos, sheds, pool houses, garden bridges, and patio furniture, go to GazeboCreations.com. To contact one of their design consultants or customer service professionals, call 888-293-2339, or e-mail cs@gazebocreations.com. Oh, by the way, there is one more really big advantage of having a separate sunroom, besides the extra privacy that it affords: if you ever decide to move, you can take it with you.
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…I must tell you how thrilled we are with the gazebo - we just wish we had done it years ago!
M.S. – Raleigh, NC
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I ordered a 12'X14' oval gazebo and assembled it as a retreat from our bedroom
M.R. – Hedgesville, WV
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Quick and well packaged delivery. Product is absolutely beautiful.
L.S. - Carriere, MS
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…Our gazebos weathered Hurricane Katrina just fine…
N.W. Mobile, AL
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Prompt shipping; good, friendly customer service when I called to ask an assembly question
J.S.B. - Brevard, NC
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Assembly went well and I was impressed with the final product. I will refer you my requests for any gazebos
M.M. – Winter Park, FL
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