DAYTON — Dayton Power and Light has encouraged customers to take steps in advance to be prepared for winter weather this season.

DP&L customers can fight the winter chill with convenient and easy resources available to help bear the burden of extremely cold days. The company has offered helpful safety and energy tips to consider.

Be safe at home:

• Avoid using appliances such as stoves and ovens to heat your home.

• Always use caution when using alternate heat source such as fireplace, wood stove, portable/kerosene heater or electric heaters, practice fire safety, provide for proper ventilation and follow all manufacturer’s safety guidelines.

• Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.

• Never leave candles unattended and remember to keep them away from children and combustible materials.

• Take precautions with your pets and limit their time outside.

• Prepare an outage emergency kit.

Be smart about energy use:

• Set your thermostat back at least 8 degrees each day – when you are at work, away and/or sleeping.

• Set ceiling fans to turn clockwise and run them on low speed to circulate warm air.

• Seal doors and windows with weather stripping. There are many types of weather stripping available so pick which is best for you.

• Have your system inspected regularly. An annual tune-up helps your system run more efficiently.

• Vacuum registers and vents regularly.

• Don’t let furniture and draperies block heating airflow.

• Prevent drafts by closing fireplace dampers when not in use.

DP&L directs customers to www.dpandl.com/winter for easy outage reporting, safety tips and recommendations on what to pack in an emergency outage kit.