Cold Weather Safety and Gas Saving Tips

Cold Weather Safety

Do NOT heat your home with a barbeque, charcoal, propane patio heater, or any other method intended for the outdoors as they will release carbon monoxide in your home.
Generators are also unsafe to use indoors and are intended for outdoor use only.
Check on elderly relatives and neighbors. The ability to feel a change in temperature decreases with age, and older people are more susceptible to cold-related injury or illness like frostbite or hypothermia.
If you have pets, bring them indoors. If you cannot bring them inside, provide them an adequate place to sleep—off the floor and away from all drafts. Make sure that they have access to unfrozen water.
Recognize the symptoms of hypothermia: confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering.
Recognize frostbite warning signs: gray, white or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, waxy feeling skin. Seek medical attention immediately if you have these symptoms.
Dress warmly and in layers—don't forget a hat and gloves.
Get out of wet clothes immediately and warm the core body temperature with a blanket or consume warm fluids like hot cider, hot cocoa or soup.

Keep your thermostat set at 68º F during the daytime and 55º F at night to stay comfortable and save gas.
Close drapes, blinds and shades at night to help retain heat.
Wash clothes in cold water and use detergent specially formulated for cold water use. About 90% of the energy use in a clothes washer goes to water heating.
Lower your water heater temp to 120ºF (low) or 140º F (medium) if you have a dishwasher without its own heating element.
Keep showers short.
Microwave small amounts of food instead of heating them up in the oven—you can reduce cooking energy by as much as 80 percent.