 |
The colder months are upon us and I have something to give away that every homeowner could use to help save on the the cost of heating/cooling your home for many years to come. A Honeywell WiFi Programmable Thermostat that lets you change the temperature in your home from your cell phone or anywhere. Wouldn’t it be nice to come home after a trip to a house that is the perfect temperature inside? Or not have to worry if you turned the heat down before you left? It can all be done with this -
You can program it differently for each day of the week. Do you work all day on Tuesday? Program it so the temperature is lower while no one is at home and will automatically go up an hour before you arrive back home. Being able to easily keep the heat lower at times you don’t need it is a huge money saver.
I learned all about this and other energy saving tips when I was out in Michigan with the Home Depot Blogger Network.
I know you may be more interested in the decorative aspects of making a house a home, but with a little bit of energy saving knowledge – you can use those dollars saved to buy a new piece of furniture every year or pay a painter to do a big job for you.
The energy savings really add up when you complete a few simple winterization projects. Here are a few that we did to the home of Stiggy’s Dogs: Clean and/or replace your furnace filters, caulk around the outside of your windows, and wrap your water heater in an insulating blanket. All of these tips are simple and easy to do and the cha-ching you hear will be from the sound of the savings in your pocket.
If you would like to know more, let The Home Depot Show You How to Get Started with Home Weatherization:
- Each Saturday this October, The Home Depot stores will offer workshops to show you how to complete many of these projects on your own. Learn more at www.homeimproverclub.com.
For more energy efficient tips and information, visit Home Depot’s Eco Options Program.
This giveaway has ended:
The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me for their Celebration of Service Blog Network. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any product mentioned in these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
{ 139 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, I live in Texas, so “winterizing” my house includes wrapping the faucets in a towel…yup, that’s about it! :) I would love to have this…thanks!
Winterizing in WI is important, so I make sure I have window and door insulation. That’s where we leak energy the most.
We’re getting insulation blown in. Hopefully that will help take the chill off!
I would love to have this thermostat! I am moving to a new (older) house and this would help me so much to keep my costs down. I plan on weatherstripping doors and other work this fall.
I would love to win the Honeywell Thermostat . . . We keep our temperature during the day between 65-68. At night we turn it down to -sixty. We adjust the thermostat manually and would benefit from the WiFi Honeywell. We change our furnace filters monthly and use caulk for various windows.
We’d love to replace all the windows in the “living areas” of our house before winter!
Our house is 20+ yrs old and the windows are original to the house. This year we are pricing replacement windows (ouch). This thermostat would be such a wonderful thing in our cold Colorado winter.
We are going to winterize our home by lighting the pilot light in our gas fireplace tonight! :). Counts, right? :)
Just tweeted from @ambergilstrap! Private so u might not see it :)
We are actually planning on winterizing by getting a new thermostat! We live in Ohio, and our thermostat hasn’t been working properly for about 6 months. With three little ones in the house, it can get very cold in the mornings if it doesn’t kick on!
I use the Home Energy Monitor in my home and it’s really grreat. I’ve been using it for over a year and it helps me find energy usage throughout my house. I’ve saved hundreds so far. You can read about it here http://green-energy-at-home.com/wp/home-energy-monitor.
I would love to control my house temperature from afar. I am planning on blowing insulation, this will be a big upgrade from the current sawdust insulation (joys of 1920s homes).
I also live in Texas, but I keep the towel around my water faucet all year long to save that last minute winterizing rush! Seriously, I would love to win a programmable thermostat as I travel a lot and being able to reset the thermostat from the road would be wonderful.
Shared it in FB (msmaf@ymail.com)
Does getting an energy audit count? Gotta start somewhere, right?
We are winterizing our home by making sure we have solid seals on the doors and windows. We just moved into a new place, and since we live up north, we need to be sure that we don’t be dealing with melting snow coming through cracks! A lovely giveaway to be sure, thanks for the opportunity! :)
We too live in Texas. But we don’t put a towel on our faucet. Not sure what that is for. To winterize, I plan to close our windows. I’m hoping to avoid turning on the furnace until November, hopefully even December! (But once we do turn it on, we sure need a programmable thermostat….ours doesn’t work right!)
I love your blog!! I’m planning on using weather stripping for my windows this winter, its an old house.
I live in South Carolina, so we summer-proof our house to keep the air conditioning in as well as winterize in the fall to keep the heat in. :) But we don’t do that towel thing. What is that?
Anyway, coming up, we’ll be looking at the patio door to make sure it’s not leaking anywhere and we’ll probably put in new weatherstripping on the front since the stuff on there now is looking a little iffy. I’m so glad I don’t have to put plastic on my windows like my sister in Minnesota, but I know that helps her house a lot. We won’t have to use the curtain at the bottom of the stairs to keep the cool air upstairs (where we spend most of our time). We’ve got people coming next week to check the heating/cooling unit (it’s the same piece of equipment in our house) to make sure everything is running fine.
I’d love to have programmable thermostats on both floors of our house. We spend most of our time upstairs, so having the downstairs set itself for when we’re actually going to be in that space would be LOVELY.
We have been planning to winterize for years, but haven’t gotten around to it. Winning this would help us get started!
We aren’t as concerned with Winterizing our Camper. This is our second home during the summer. We have to keep it fresh by draining water, cleaning, and re-caulking the roof and windows. Have to make sure no moisture gets in during the winter.
*We aren’t as concerned with winterizing our House as our camper.
TYPO!
I’m in the Midwest – so winterizing is a must! I too check for leaks at every window and door – plus then I get my electric blanket out!!
I’ll be adding plastic heat wrap on the windows!
We just had our heating unit serviced in preparation for the upcoming winter months.
I would love to win this. I frequently forget to adjust the thermostat when leaving for work for the day! Thanks for offering the giveaway!
https://twitter.com/DesMoinesDealin/status/254383703290163201
We need to caulk & fix some of the weather stripping on ours doors. Would love to win this thermostat & help with energy costs!
We are starting out by getting new windows to winterize our 1891 house, we know that this should make quite a bit of a difference. Winning this therostate would be the icing on the cake!!!
What a great giveaway and a great product! Everything we do to “winterize” our homes helps, but having this type of thermostat would be awesome, and is something that many of us couldn’t afford to purchase.
Would love to have this programable thermastat for my older house. Planning to winterize my sunroom with new insulated windows this year!
We always cover our windows with the plastic film that you use a blow dryer to shrink the film. living in Iowa this stuff really keeps the wind from blowing in the windows. Thanks for the great giveaway.
We’ll winterize by insulating our windows with plastic and using draft catchers on the doors!
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/tcrowley122/status/254418408853102592
I just learned how to put weather striping around the doors, with 5 exterior doors I’m hoping it will make a difference! Thanks for the giveaway! We have a 1940′s home with the original thermostat :-)
To winterize my home this year, I plan on replacing some of the old weather stripping around my doors.
With the winter months approaching we are looking into a pellet stove to help heat the house. However, the initial cost is certainly a consideration. A programmable thermostat would be a great help with energy savings.
So much to do to winterize in the Chicago area. Need to add weather stripping to our front door. Have lots of windows and think this year we may need to do plastic on the windows. Also, looking into thermal draperies. Love your blog!
The best way I could winterize my home would be to replace all the doors and window. A programable thermostat would be the next best thing though as I have a teenager who loves to adjust the temp to fit her, irregardless of others or the cost. This will surely put a crimp in her ways and money back in our empty pockets. Thanks for the give away.
We live in MN and winterization is important this time of year here! We had our energy coop come to our home recently and they gave us some great suggestions – this thermostat bring one of them! We are blowing out our outdoor faucets and sprinkler system this weekend, it’s getting chilly!
Hi, Diane,
Mr. Sweet and I are seniors and we have worked all thru this summer, adding storm windows. We are on a fixed income so we buy a couple of windows every month and put the windows in ourselves. We have only 4 more windows to go before winter hits us. :)’
I would love to win this thermostat….it would be awesome to be able to program it.
Thanks much for the chance to win.
We’re going to add plastic to the larger windows…the kind you put on then use a hair dryer to make it tight. It’s very economical and when done properly you can barely see it on the windows. :-)
We’re also going to be putting some insulation into the box sill in the basement area.
I’m also going to make a little “draft stopper” for the bottoms of the exterior doors.
I will put your giveaway on my FB.
Thanks, bj
We’ll wrap our water heater with an insulating blanket.
Thankfully, our home is well insulated and ready for the winter. I will be adding a clear plastic cover to the screen to our front door and placing a cover over our air conditioning unit. Thanks for the give-away opportunity!
we are building a new home, so this would come in handy :) Nita
I live in NH so I have already started putting plastic on my windows.
We live in the South in a newer home so we don’t winterize but I would love to have a thermostat that I could control with my phone. Thanks for the giveaway!
I would love to win this, I am always trying to remember if I turned down the heat. Thank you for the chance to win this. I have been putting in new windows for the last two yrs one or two at a time, and have done many other projects to save energy.
keeping my fingers crossed
Living in South Carolina, we don’t have to worry too much about winterizing, but we will be getting a water heater blanket and redoing some caulk. That thermostat would definitely be nice, especially during the summer months for us, but during winter too, as I am so cold natured and such a wimp about it! Thanks for the chance to win!
We plan on replacing our old drafty front door. This programmable thermostat would help as well. We used to have one, but my husband had a hard time reading it, so he replaced it with the old-fashioned manual one. Programming it by cell phone would be awesome!
Every year, i use removable caulk to “seal” any gaps in my older windows it keeps out drafts where the window frame meets the window. In the spring, I simply peel off the caulk to open the windows!
Wrap the water heater and check the windows.
We are replacing 3 sets of sliders which lost their seals since the original 1982 installation (we’re the 2nd owners of this house). The thermostat is also a bit old, so this Honeywell programmable one would be wonderful.
We are getting three large new windows for our dining room. They were our first DIY project when we moved in 27 years ago. They need to go, good excuse for some new window treatments too, and wouldn’t it be even nicer to have that thermostat. Ours is currently in the dining room. What a great giveaway.
We’ll be covering our windows with sealed plastic!
I usually leave winterizing up to my husband so winning this would be something I could contribute. Hope I am lucky!
I need new door seals and need to seal some air leaks in my basement!
Ohio winters can be brutal! We have scheduled the company that installed our furnace 8 years ago, to come and check everything out on the furnace to make sure it is working optimally before winter arrives. I have purchased two new heavy sweatshirts for my husband because we keep the temperature fairly low in the winter months and he is always cold. My husband cleans our furnace filter every 6 to 9 months. We always manually lower the temperature in the house when we leave for work each morning. A programmable thermostat would be the Bomb!
Great giveaway! We winterize our home by stopping all the cold air from coming in, at windows, the fireplaces, and around the doors. I plan to insulate the outlets too.
Today I tweeted about this giveaway.
We live an an approximately 78 year old home. Lots of charm, not so much energy savings. We have old original windows and doors and for this year will be replacing at least one of the outside doors. Not easy to find a new door that is in keeping with the style of this old house!
I really hope to win this thermostat. I do anything I can to help save the planet by lowering my energy consumption.
i’m winterizing by putting my lawn furniture away this year so I can shovel the snow on my deck in the winter (forgot to do this last year!)
We are actually in the process of building a new home. We are doing what’s within our budget to make our new home energy efficient. This thermostat would help control our energy costs – and certainly be within our budget!!! :)
I’m winterizing by hanging curtains – an extra layer of insulation!
Down here in Houston winter is a non-existent season (there’s only 3 seasons: hot, insanely hot, and not-so-hot)but I’ve been needing to replace the weather strips on our doors anyway! And the programmable thermostat would great…I hate to admit it but I don’t really know how to use ours. There was no instruction manual left by the previous owner!
We are having our HVAC Systems checked and cleaning our ducts to improve efficiency and reduce dust
We have had our pellet stove and furnace cleaned and readied for winter. We also replaced a door that was very drafty for a new insulated one. We put on a new roof and took out an old chimney. So this year should be a little bit warmer and a little bit cheaper. Living in northern Michigan, it can get pretty cold and windy.
We need to replace the seals around all of our doors. Sounds like a great job for my hubby :)
In southeast PA, it can get pretty cold in the winter–especially in this old, brick house! This winter we really need to buckle down and insulate a few of our windows, specifically the upstairs bathroom (have you ever come out of a nice, hot shower in the dead of winter and felt a freezing breeze? it’s not pleasant).
Here’s a link to my tweet:
https://twitter.com/MrsLaurMoran/status/254588192844574720
Hi and thanks for the giveaway! We are winterizing our home by adding more blankets to the beds, keeping the thermostat on the same temperature, and putting film over our windows…..
Winterizing in South Carolina means hoping for that one ‘big’ snow and cuddling up inside for a day. So we’ll have plenty of hot chocolate and my fabulous Homemade Kahlua!!
well we live in an older mobile home…in ND so cold is an understatement. We usually put plastic over the windows, around the outside skirting and put an insulator over the hose faucet since it is on the North side. We had it suggested by our heat repair man we should get a programmable thermostat! Would love to win one!!
Hi Shannon – You are the winner of the Honeywell Programmable Thermostat. Congratulations! Could you e-mail me your mailing address and I will forward it to my contacts at the Home Depot who will send it to you. I hope it helps you keep warm and save some $$$ this winter.
We recently bought our first house and apparently the heat doesn’t want to work so to winterize we have to fix our heat! Talk about a bad time to find out!
We have some windows that need to be covered in plastic, one that needs the glass replaced first (someone bumped into it), and a porch newly converted to a utility room that still needs heat to keep the pipes from freezing.
Hmmm, down here in south tx, we don’t truly have to winterize. I have to say I’m working on making my yard ready for winter. Clearing old branches, mowing the lawn the right height and general maintenance.
Well, we live in SC. Winterizing for us means ensuring our windows and doors are sealed so that cold air stays outside, wrapping the well pump with some heat tape for those occasional freezing spells and keeping our blinds open as much as possible to let the sun warm the inside. It’s a much different process than when we lived in Maine!!
Hi Diane, Thanks for the giveaway. We live in southern CA, but in the mountains. So we can have snow one week and warm sunny days the next. We do need to replace the weather stripping around some of the doors, and will probably remove the flexible door screens.
Funny, this morning before I read this, I was telling my husband that we definitely need to get some weather stripping around our patio doors. Every time you walk by, you can actually feel a cool breeze! We will have to try that water heater blanket too.
we wrap the windows in plastic – very long winters
https://twitter.com/northwds28/status/254645594574962688
We had an energy audit done last spring and were amazed at all the air leaks they found (and closed up) in our unfinished walk-out basement. (Always wondered why it was chilly down there in the winter time.) Anxious for cold weather to arrive so we can see the difference it makes!!
Caution: If you have an audit done, make sure the company doing it has the necessary paper work and certification so you can apply for the tax and energy credits. (Ours dropped the ball on that so we did not get any of the promised money back.)
Living in Chicago we take all ideas to winterize. Plastic on windows,seal up any cracks and to win this Thermostat would be the finishing touch as mine is over 40 years old.
Just moved into my first Bachelorette pad at 60! It’s a lovely old Victorian Apt that am sure will need lots of winter help. I will be busy winterizing with the clear plastic window covers that you use a blow dryer to make super clear. Planning on window warmers (quilts that keep out the cold) as well as outlet covers. Could use a big rug in the dinning room as there is some loss through it’s old hardwood floor. Lots to do…
Love this giveaway! DH is busy checking our windows and doors for seals that need to be replaced and recaulking, checking the furnace and the filter, ect.
we live in a really inefficient place so we cover the windows with plastic on the inside, wear more clothes so we don’t have to heat as much, etc.
I tweeted too
https://twitter.com/jessrwarfield/status/254704000283332608
In Arizona winterizing is checking that the rubber around the doors hasn’t cracked from the heat – that’s about it!
Summerizing is the big deal.
We began winterizing early this year with new windows and patio doors that were horrible. We are going to convert our gas fireplace to wood burning as well. This thermostat would be the icing.
I plan on adding insulation to our attic.
we’re hoping to get new windows in january, yyaayya!
I’m buying some thermo curtains – supposed to help block the cold
https://twitter.com/elliebunny24/status/254755867071741953
great giveaway! i am planning on doing the old “plastic wrap” around the windows, sealed with a blow dryer to keep the drafts out of this old house!!
We will bw redoing some caulk.
My grandson and I just moved into a new (used)to me mobile home last year after losing our home to a fire and am going to seal all windows and the doors to make sure there are no air leaks and am checking under the home to make sure the insulation has no tears in it or will seal it as well. I have really learned alot about energy saving tips and could use all the help I can get …thank you
We’ll be caulking, replacing filters and there is some weather stripping that needs to be replaced!
I plan to winterize my home with caulk
plastric on the windows..layer on the clothes…draft dodgers by all the doors..and try to remember to turn down the thermostat everyday. Thanks for the opportunity to win
I would love to win this. We try to keep the thermostat down and wear warm clothes. Thanks for the giveaway.
Love the idea of this programmable thermostat! My husband has been talking about something similar – “Nest”. I’m glad to know that there are other options!
I’ll be making heavy drapes for the windows in the living room. My house is a 1926 English Tudor bungalow and we’ve opted to keep the original wooden windows, which are hard to insulate. They are, however, inset into a niche, so I will make heavy drapes that will extend over the sides and trap a layer of air during the cold hours. When the afternoon sun hits, I can open them to get the benefit of solar warming. I’ve used this technique in several apartments and it works really well in Southern California’s mild winters.
Whoa! Had a number of projects to do this week including replacing weather stripping around the doors, painting some of the trim outside AND replacing our old thermostat. Now it’s gotten quite cold and damp outside so we have to hurry the projects. This would certainly come in handy. Winter’s coming too fast!!
Let the yearly caulking begin and covering the air conditioner for winter. Bring on the programmable thermostat. Thank you ever so very much for the opportunity!
I’m planning on getting the caulk gun out this week! I love having a programmable thermostat and, hopefully, I will get to upgrade. :)
just shared you on FB!
I’m sewing new lined drapes this Fall. They have a second inner lining that is made for extra warmth so I hope that keeps out even more cold.
I’m also replacing and upgrading the seals around the outside doors. Thanks for the chance to win!
I live in TX so our preparation is minimal. We are in a new house this year and will do lots of caulking to make sure the cold air doesn’t get in!
I would love to have this thermostat, so that I could do via wi-fi. I plan to do caulking around windows, and replace insulation strips around doors. I also am thinking about more insulation for the attic for more temperature control in it vs. extremely hot and extremely cold which it is most of the time.
We’ll be caulking the windows…other than that, not too sure! This is our first winter up north after living in SC!
This would come SO in handy for us! We are filming some of the windows that are big energy sucks for us (mainly my stepdaughters room) and replacing our old french doors with energy efficient sliders by Andersen!
Plans to winterize our home are new shades for the front of the house and for the back thermal drapes. I bought the drapes last year, but I bought them that they only covered the lower window. The upper window let a lot of cold in, so now I am looking for fabric to add to the drapes to raise them to the ceiling.
We were actually planning on getting a programmable thermostat!
We already insulated the attic, and I’m planning on caulking the windows.
Winterizing is always important in Wisconsin and our closets have horrible drafts, so trying to put an object outside under them to prevent the flow of air is something we are planning to do this season.
This fall/winter we will be looking for and sealing any cracks or crevices around doors and windows so that we are not letting our “paid for” air/heat slip out of the house! Thanks for this chance to win!
Winterizing our home is an on-going process, as the house is 50 years old! We’ve been replacing insulation, storm windows, doors, etc since we moved in. One thing we’ve wanted to do is change the thermostat…as it’s an inexpensive and effective way to manage heat costs during cold months. Great giveaway!!
I live in San Antonio so we work a bit harder summerizing than winterizing but every little bit helps-on either side of the coin! My most important thing I do to save energy is to close my blinds every day during the spring/summer/fall seasons and to leave them open during the cooler winter months. I can always see the difference in my electric bill when I do this! This is an awesome giveaway!
shared it on facebook
We have turned a big red barn into our house and THIS WOULD BE AWESOME to have!!!! for so many reasons!!!!!
I winterize my home using the foam around the windows and plastic over drafty old windows. Having a controllable thermostat would be absolutely wonderful.
I posted the giveaway on facebook.
I tweeted the giveaway on twitter. (kimssweettweet)
We will seal at least 2 windows with plastic and have plans to caulk and trim out three other windows. (plus door socks at the front door)
I soooo need a programmable thermostat. My thermostat came with the house and is the original one installed in 1920! I have started to winterize my house by finally turning off my sprinklers considering I’ve already had a burst pipe due to freezing. Sigh.
Well if I don’t win I think I’ll be buying one of these… what a great idea! And caulk around the windows! I can do that!
We will be creating a better seal around our crawl space door as well as caulking around a few of our windows. Our extra goal is to insulate the garage door.
Love your blog and your awesome giveaway!
We plan on putting up those plastic shrink sheets on the windows as well as doing a spot check on all the windows for any air leaks.
First order of business though will be making sure our newly installed kitchen door is properly secured from any air leaks!
I live in ND no more need be said! I need new windows but will be putting up plastic on at least 2 and buying curtains for my patio doors. Love your “Style”
We are planning to “winterize” our home by caulking the door frames and windows as well as changing the filter for our heater.
I live in a condo so most of my winterizing is left up to our association, but I will wrap my hot water heater in an insulating blanket!
i will winterize the home by sealing all the crack and nooks in the house
Plastic on my windows for sure, to keep the wind out! And we are putting new weather stripping on all of our doors!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
I am getting a new door and some windows.
rrudnick@netnet.net
We are using weather stripping around the doors and windows. We have one really bad window that we will be covering with plastic.
First of all, I NEED this thermostat to winterize my house! Seriously! My thermostat is as old as my house, which is nearly 100 years old. After that, I need to put up my storm windows.
Great ideas! Thanks!