Heating - Saving Money Tips

[jeffrey]

How To Save Money On Heating:

1. Replace your old thermostat with a programmable model. Low-cost models sell for around $25 and can easily pay back their cost within a couple of months. Better yet, they can save you more than $1,000 over the years.

2. Be sure to set your thermostat as low as possible in the winter while still being comfortable. The closer your indoor temperature is to the outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall heating bill will be.

3. If you don't have a programmable thermostat, you don't need to set your thermostat at a warmer setting than normal when you first get up. This will not warm your home any faster and it usually results in excessive heating which costs you money.

4. Call your local utility company to see if they offer energy audits. Many offer free or low cost inspections and free information booklets that can help reduce your heating costs.

5. Check for window air leaks and repair them. You can do this by placing a lighted candle near the windows. If there are leaks, use caulking to repair them.

6. If at all possible, install double-pane windows in your house. Single pane windows or windows that are improperly insulated can account for up to 15 percent of your heating costs.

7. Check to see if you feel a breeze at the bottom of your doors. Use a lighted candle and if it flickers you will know that air is passing under the door. If so, purchase door sweeps to help block the flow to keep your rooms warmer and use less energy.

8. Close the heating vents in rooms that are rarely used. There is no use heating a room that nobody is using. The one issue you need to take care about is determining where your thermostat sensors are located. If they are located in a room that you close off, you may actually make your furnace work harder as it tries to warm a room that you have effectively shut off.

9. Close doors to rooms that are not often used. This will keep the furnace from heating more space than necessary.

10. Keep all your closet doors closed. There is no need to heat your closets during the winter.




11. If you have pets, consider installing a pet door to save energy. Holding doors open for pets while they make up their mind whether to go out or stay in increases the load on your your furnace during the winter.

12. Change your furnace filter once a month. Dirty filters reduce airflow, making your furnace work harder and lowering the performance and efficiency of the entire heating system which ultimately costs you more money.

13. Close the curtains on north-facing windows. This will help insulate them and keep the house warmer.

14. Open your curtains wide on south-facing windows to let in as much sunshine as possible. Only close them after the sun has gone down.

15. If you have shutters, close those on the north side of the house and all of them in the evening when the sun goes down.

16. Be sure to turn off your ventilating fans in the kitchen, bathroom and other areas when not in use. Accidentally leaving one on can clear out a houseful of warmed air in about an hour meaning you have to reheat the entire room.

17. Make sure the flue of your fireplace is closed when not in use since leaving it open is the same as leaving one of your windows wide open.

18. If you never use the fireplace, consider having the flue plugged and sealed.

19. If you do use your fireplace, check the seal on the flue damper and adjust so that it is as tight as possible.

20. Use a candle to see if there are any leaks originating from the fireplace hearth. if so, caulk them so that air is no longer leaking out.

21. Have your furnace or boiler checked yearly by a professional to make sure it's running efficiently. Not only will this save you money now by having it work at top performance, it will also save you money in the long run by extending the life of this equipment.

[daveo]

Another nice tip is to place insulating plastic around windows. The kits are sold in stores, and they do make a difference when done correctly.

[andimorony]

[b]Also, when it comes to new homes, make sure you get a heatilator (the fan that kicks the warmed air out of the fireplace) and a solid grate. The builder's grate is very flimsy and you need one that allows air to circulate under the burning logs to get a good fire going. The builders fan's also tend's to be very small and fairly useless.

[mom-from-missouri]

Turn your heater on now, to make sure it is working. Even if you don't need it yet. If you want till the first cold night to do it and have to call a repair man, you be paying big bucks.

[segmond]

CHEAP WAY to heat your HOME, I am in Michigan.

Use a space heater in one room, and have your main heater really turned down low.

Dress like an eskimo, double sweater, double sweat pants, thermal underwear, double socks while at home.

Use an electric blanket.

INSULATE your house if you live in a house.

Don't live in an apartment in a lower floor, it's best to live above someone and inbetween apartments so you can get there heat for free. Heat rises, and if you have two apartments next to you, you get there heat as well.

[davidstuff]

The ideas are really good and they are little expensive. I just came to cool place now and searching for the tips to get my room hot and i got it from here.
I really thank for this.

[Johansen8]

Exercise- warms you up from the inside.
Yoga stretches out the muscles so that the warm blood flows better.
Also, shut the doors to rooms that don't heat evenly, if possible.
My friend has a small portable heating fan. If you know you're going to spend most of your night in one room, close all the windows and the doors and turn the fan on. If you don't have one or can't get one, just make sure you keep your windows closed and close all doors leading between rooms (even bathrooms) while the heater's on. It'll trap in heat in each room instead of spreading it around and making everything a bit cooler.

[WiseOwl]

My friend in Texas saves a bunch on electricity (30%) with the energy plan she has. It is not available where I live though.

[emilywebster07]

I stay on the first floor so it does help me a little but I cannot use tread mill to execercise , so there is a pros and cons.

[Mamaw]

Sometimes I think it is awful hard to save money on electricity, My Mom died we left heat at 55 to keep pipes from freezing. Nothing else was used. The bill was $86.00. $12.95 for water. I called and ask why there was a charge for water since none was used. Minium amount.

[ezme]

Me and my housemates turned the heating off in our rented house when we all went back home for christmas. Then we had the coldest winter in 60 years here in the UK and the pipes burst... ooops!

[tomer]

Try not using air-conditioner. It is hard to do so in 40 degress...Tel Aviv

[RedThunderBird]

down here it would be a dream come true

[maryannsms]

The most common suggestion on how to save money on heating bills is to turn down the thermostat. That certainly works, and it is true that you can put on a sweater to keep warm.

[shubh]

Thanks for sharing the tips. I would like to add:
Make regular check at insulations.
Cover all the leakage towards outer area.
Cover glass panes with films