The weather outside is beautiful, not frightful. But before you know it, the cool Massachusetts mornings and crisp afternoons of autumn will give way to a long and unforgiving season of winter's chill. Do you winterize your home to prepare it for the snow and ice to come? You should.

When utilities use spikes during weather extremes, ceiling fans help take the edge off. Right now, the heat of summer is bearing down across most of the nation. That means higher electricity consumption and some pretty scary bills. Although fans also use electricity, the combination of benefits that they bring to the table equals savings without losing comfort. Here's how to get it.

Your kitchen garbage disposal gets a real workout, and it might even take more than its fair share of abuse. You may never know how many chicken bones, half-eaten sandwiches, and even small coins have run through the powerful jaws by the time you need to replace it.

Higher efficiency and other standards in the HVAC industry have given birth to newer and more complicated terms. Knowing how to translate these terms into plain English can help you make smart decisions about new equipment. Here are three of the most important terms and some in-depth information about just what they mean:

As we have learned how to seal up our homes to keep out cold air in winter and hot air in summer, we have encountered the problem of getting fresh air into the home. When houses were drafty, had no insulated windows, were poorly insulated and weatherstripping was never used, fresh air was not a problem. Plenty was coming in the home. Trouble was, it was costing more to provide the heating or cooling. Tightening up the home reduced those costs but created bad inside air.

Now more than ever, homeowners are looking for simple ways to save money on their energy bills.  With fuel costs rising, it’s wise to take advantage of every opportunity to reduce energy use and increase the efficiency of your HVAC system.  Believe it or not, you can get significant savings just by taking small measures to operate your heating and cooling system more efficiently.

Want the most energy efficient home? Here's one way to keep costs down during the colder months of the year. If you put this task on your spring to-do list, you'll be that much readier when temperatures begin to drop again in the fall.

Keeping heating and cooling costs down is a priority for all of us. Although  the SEER ratings of your home heating and air conditioning units may not be the first thing you think of when considering energy use, awareness of the ratings can help to maximize energy efficiency and lower utility costs.

Your boiler is the central unit in your home's hydronic heating system, so when it's on the blink, you can expect a loss of indoor comfort throughout your entire home. If you're having problems getting enough heat, the following steps can help you narrow down what the problem might be before calling in the HVAC experts.