I am always looking for ways to improve the efficiency of my home. My local area sees every type of weather extreme. During the winter, the outdoor temperature frequently drops into the negative digits. The summers bring temperatures in the nineties and brutal humidity. The fall and spring are typically wet, windy and chilly. We switch between running the furnace and relying on the air conditioner with very little break in-between. The cost of heating and cooling adds up to about fifty percent of our household energy bills. Upgrading to thermal pane, low E, Energy Star rated windows and carefully caulking around them made a difference. Keeping up with filter changes and professional maintenance helps to keep the furnace and air conditioner operating at peak efficiency. I’ve installed ceiling fans to circulate the air. I run the blades counterclockwise in the summer to create a cooling effect. I reverse the rotation in the winter to prevent the heat from rising straight up to the ceiling. When I complained to my HVAC contractor about the high cost of comfort, he asked about my attic insulation. I realized I hadn’t given the insulation in the attic a thought since my family moved into the house over five years before. I took a look and discovered that the insulation had been compromised by moisture damage and rodent infestation. A properly insulated attic minimizes the chance of the heat from the furnace migrating into the attic. It stops an overheated attic from adding to the workload of the air conditioner in the summer. I hired the HVAC contractor to install new insulation and immediately noticed an improvement in comfort.