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Dulley's Money-Saving Tip #1062

Open window briefly in winter

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If you experienced window condensation during the recent bout of severely cold weather (or all winter), try opening your windows a couple of times per week. You must do this right in order to be energy efficient. You should open a lot of your windows for only a couple of minutes. Also set the furnace thermostat down so that the temporary cool air will not kick the furnace on. This method quickly exhausts the excessive indoor moisture without drawing much residual heat energy from the house structure itself. Air has a very low heat capacity so loosing the heated air is not a significant energy loss.

This is in contrast to opening a window or two and leaving them open for a long while. If you do this, the incoming cooler air has time to absorb heat from the house structure. You may not feel its getting chilly, but heat is gradually being wasted. Also use your bathroom and kitchen vent fans sparingly when using those room. Do not use them for general continual ventilation in the winter.