My grandson and his wife gave me a heated mattress pad this winter so I could have a warm bed to get into at night. They said it saves $131 per year on energy bills, but I don’t see the logic in that so I haven’t used it. I’m hoping that you know the facts, so I’m writing to you for the first time. Can you tell me the truth about heated mattress pads?

What’s true is that, if you stay in bed with the pad on and with the house thermostat low, you’ll stay warm and you won’t use as much central-heating fuel over the course of a night. However, the same can be said anytime you turn down the house thermostat at night and keep your bed warm. Many people are able to warm the bed with blankets and body heat. Some use a hotwater bottle. If you prefer to add an electric mattress pad or electric blanket, you’ll increase your electricity costs.

As for the $131 claim, it’s based on the manufacturer’s assumption that you’ll turn down your house’s thermostat eight degrees, around the clock, for 25 weeks. That would mean about six months of keeping your house eight degrees colder than you now keep it.

If you want to use your grandchildren’s gift to have the bed warm when you get in it, I suggest using an appliance timer for your electric mattress pad. You could set the timer to turn on the pad about half an hour before bedtime and to turn it off at bedtime. You can experiment with the timing to get it right for you. Thanks for an interesting question.

- Kathleen for The Home Team

Our daughter is planning to buy her first house and she’s very interested in using less energy. She’s handy around the house, so we’d appreciate some advice on do-it-yourself books on saving energy that would make a good housewarming gift. Thanks for your help.

Great idea. Seeing as your daughter has do-it-yourself skills, I suggest taking a look at “Insulate and Weatherize” by Vermont’s own Bruce Harley. Bruce reveals common causes and fixes for heat loss in a home and includes a great section on renovating for energy efficiency. I should also mention free online resources for readers with and without your daughter’s level of DIY ability. “The Energy Smart Home”, a booklet available at www.efficiencyvermont.com, is a guide to improving the efficiency, durability, comfort, air quality, and safety of a home. You can also get a free booklet on doit yourself air sealing and insulating from The Environmental Protection Agency, available at www.epa.gov/greenhomes/Red uceEnergy.htm.

One point of caution for do-ityourselfers: Many homes have health and safety hazards that can make it challenging to safely make energy efficiency improvements. A Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® contractor is specially trained and certified to not only find and fix the causes of high energy use but to also identify issues such as back drafting, mold/mildew, vermiculite, and certain kinds of potentially hazardous antiquated wiring. If your daughter is interested in finding a Vermont contractor, she can visit www.efficiencyvermont.com/ho meperformance. All the best to your daughter in her new house.

- Li Ling for The Home Team