With winter here most customers have probably already noticed their energy usage going up, so I wanted to once again look at ways to cut energy costs.

An important first step in discovering the energy improvement options in your home is to look into a free energy audit.

With a call to 800-632-8300, you can talk to an energy efficiency consultant to learn more about energy audits and find out if one is right for you. The audit includes a top-to-bottom analysis of your home’s energy use with printed results, advice for saving energy and rebates on recommended improvements.

Once complete, you’ll be armed with the information you need to make your home more comfortable and energy efficient throughout the year.

To make it easier for customers to make efficiency upgrades, generous rebates are available for installing high efficiency heating and water-heating systems. And to help offset the cost of adding the extra insulation recommended for your home, we’ll pay 75 percent of the installation cost up to $2,000.

A programmable thermostat may also be installed for free at the time of the audit. You may even be eligible for a no-interest loan to make your home improvements more affordable. For loan details, visit MassSAVE’s Heat Loan web site.

For more information about audits, rebates and other programs, click on “Energy Efficiency” in the left-side menu above.

Join me again in February for more energy-saving tips and information.