Dominion Recommends Annual Furnace Inspection to Promote Safety and Comfort, Offers Conservation Tips to Save Money.

Energy Editors/Business Editors

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2003

Dominion reminds customers that now is the time to get their furnace ready for winter. To keep a furnace running safely and at maximum efficiency, Dominion recommends an annual furnace check.

An annual inspection by a qualified, reputable heating contractor can help ensure that the natural gas furnace will provide comfortable, reliable natural gas heat when customers need it most, while preventing any potential carbon monoxide problems.

While checking your furnace, the contractor should make a visual inspection of all vents, heat exchangers and motors. Contractors and customers should follow this general checklist, to ensure maximum comfort, safety and economy from their natural gas heating systems. A thorough furnace inspection should include:

-- Lubricating the blower bearings and blower motor as

recommended by the manufacturer.

-- Visually inspecting all vents, the heat exchanger and filters.

-- Checking the pilot light. (Most new furnaces feature

pilot-less ignition.)

-- Clearing the furnace area of any dust or combustible 

materials.

-- Cleaning dust from the blower compartment.

-- Testing the thermostat to be sure the heating system works as

it should.

-- Checking the safety components on the heating equipment, such

as limit controls and pilot safety.

-- Checking the flue to make sure it is clean and open. Any fuel

that does not burn completely can create harmful levels of

carbon monoxide. The gas can collect in a home if a

fuel-burning appliance is not working or venting properly.

Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors provide an excellent second line of defense, but they should not be used as a substitute for an annual furnace inspection. With an annual inspection, however, a single CO detector, placed in the sleeping area of your home, can offer additional peace of mind.

Conservation Tips

Natural gas delivers the greatest value for your home energy dollar. To help make natural gas an even greater energy value, Dominion offers these low cost, no cost conservation tips:

-- Change furnace filters according to the manufacturer's

instructions; get an annual furnace inspection.

-- Caulk and weather strip windows and add door sweeps beneath

doors.

-- Close off unused rooms. There's no reason to heat these areas.

-- Install storm windows and doors; they can reduce heat loss in

these areas by 50 percent.

-- Turn down the hot water tank's thermostat to medium.

-- Reduce cooking time and energy by covering pots, pans and

casserole dishes.

-- Don't peek. Every time the oven door opens, consumers pay a

penalty of 25 degrees from lost heat.

-- If the gas flame on a cook top is visible on the sides of the

pan, lower the setting to conserve fuel.

-- Always dry full loads of clothes to make the best use of

appliances and energy dollars.

-- Clear the lint screen on dryers after each load for the

quickest drying.

-- Keep a kitchen timer in the bathroom, and cut shower times to

three minutes.

-- Switch to lower water temperatures for clothes washing and

rinse in cold water.

For more tips, go to www.dom.com and enter "tips" in the search box.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a diversified and integrated energy portfolio that includes 24,000 megawatts of generation and 6.1 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. Dominion also serves 5 million retail energy customers in nine states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.