Learning how to save heat in winter

Could you send me information on how to prevent or lessen heat loss from the house in the wintertime? William Foster Jr., Greenwich, Conn.

Many pamphlets and other publications are available on how to reduce heat loss in a home. Clearly, the house has to be zippered up; that is, cracks and other places through which cold air can migrate must be eliminated. At the same time, a house has to breathe. It cannot be sealed up like a vacuum jug.

Check out your local public library for publications on the subject. You can write to the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009, and ask for a free booklet, "Tips for Energy Savers."

While you're at it, ask for a copy of the catalog, which list numerous other booklets and pamphlets, many of them free for the asking.

You can drop a note to the Department of Energy, Technical Information Center , PO Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, and ask for some tips on the subject, or for some further guidance so that you may continue your search.

Why not write to a manufacturer, such as the York Division of Borg-Warner Corporation, PO Box 1592, York, PA 17405, and ask for some tips on energy conservation? Borg-Warner put out a booklet some time ago entitled "Energy and Your Home." It is jampacked with helpful information, although it may be out of print and unavailable at this time.

Ask your neighbors for some suggestions on what they're doing to cut down on energy use in the home. Sometimes the home-grown advice is very useful and not too hard to apply.

With a little scouting on your part, and some work during the hot months ahead, you can probably reduce your home-heating bill next winter.