15 Ways to Save on Heating Costs
It’s the time of the year where it gets cold outside and we crank up the heat to keep warm. Before you do that and before it’s too cold to do 8. anything, consider doing a few of these things to give you heating saving tips in the winter.
Heating saving tips
1. Turn your thermostat down and put on a blanket. I’m not saying turn it down 10 degrees, but even 3-5 degrees cooler, can save you money.
2. Seal air leaks in your attic, the attic entry. You don’t want to heat the house and have it go right out of the attic (heat rises!)
3. Add insulation in the attic and walls. Adding insulation will keep heat from leaving the house, but also make your home more energy efficient and warm. The higher the R value, the better to keep heat in.
4. Inspect furnace. This may be a job for a professional to ensure it is working efficiently and cleaned for the winter.
5. Change the furnace filter. Dirty filters keep the furnace from running efficiently, so check it and change it often to keep the furnace working to capacity.
6. Use your oven! Unlike the Summer when you don’t like getting the house hot, cooking with oven in the winter is welcome as its double function of feeding your family and warming the house.
7. Check the windows and doors for air leaks. You will be able to find these more as it gets cooler. Seal them with low expanding foam or pack in insulation.
8. Have ceiling fans rotate clockwise in the winter. This will move the air downward and eliminate cold areas.
more ways to keep saving money
9. Replace weather stripping at the bottom of the doors. Inspect it to see if it is worn out and not working properly.
10. Use insulated curtains to keep cool air away. Double cell blinds also work really well and add insulation barrier.
11. Check electrical boxes to see if they are allowing air to come in. This could be a sign that your walls are not insulated properly or the insulation has settled.
12. Inspect the exterior of your house for areas where you have pipes, wires, etc. coming in. Use expanding foam to fill the holes. (Also keeps out pests!)
13. Inspect the chimney damper to ensure it has a tight fit and no leaks.
14. Put a chimney balloon in your fireplace. This strange looking thing keeps the air from going out of your chimney (even if you have it closed). This should save your about $100 a year.
15. Install a programmable thermostat and keep the temperature turned down while you are out of the house.
What do you to keep costs low and save on energy?
These are excellent tips to keep handy in the cool season. I also bring in my furnace guy to do a seasonal run through. That way, any pending issues can be taken care of.
Great idea Elizabeth!
I live in Florida so we don’t really do a lot of heating, the only time is when it’s really old at night. That’s pretty much it.
Nice! I hope you get regular maintenance on your furnance.
Good tips! We replaced one of our doors last winter, and have two more to do, but they are spendy!!! Plus replacing doors isn’t fun. I am also getting a programmable thermostat next payday, which has been on my wish list for a while! Thanks for the added tips!
New doors and and a new thermostat, I’m jealous! We need new doors too.
Adding attic insulation made a huge difference for us. We bought an old house and it didn’t have the same requirements when it was built.
Great tip! We don’t even have a good heating system and I need to follow some of your suggestions to stay warm inside my home 🙂
I tend to use my Crock Pot in teh winted time so I think I will switch to braising! LOL! I always knew that you had to switch the rotation of the fans but never knew which way was for which season. Thanks for clearing that up. Insulated curtains? Where can I find those?
I found my insulated curtains at Walmart years ago. They are also available at JC Penny, Kohls, Bed Bath & Beyond and Target to name a few!
Great tips!! By doing such little improvements in our habit, we can same some more….
I agree. Even doing 1 or 2, could help you save money.
These are all great tips! I’m looking forward to the cold weather it is still in the 90s around these parts!
Oh wow that is warm! Enjoy your weather!
Great tips! I’m wondering if there’s a way to change my ceiling fans to rotate the other way now, cause that sounds like a great idea! I’ll have to look into it.
There is usually a switch/tab at the base on the fan sometimes called reverse, if that helps any.
I have never heard of a chimmny balloon. Very interesting. Great tips and reminders as we head into winter. Who doesn’t love to save money.
Saving money is the key for sure. Who wants to spend more than they need to on things they could prevent!
I will find out of Chimney balloons really work and update the post. Gotta connect with a HVAC guy on that.
Great tips. We have tries most of these. Have you heard of the heater you can make with flower pots?
I have heard of the Chimney pots before, but I’m always concerned with open flames and kids knocking things over that I have never tried it. Have you? I always wonder if it really works.