Here’s my last set of tips for you all. Remember that some of these tips aren’t for everyone, but I encourage you to give most of them a try so that you can drastically reduce your heating costs this year.
15. Wear Warm Clothing. This one should be the obvious one, but there are those of you that like to run around half dressed most of the day. Learn to love your socks especially, because if your feet are cold then your whole body will feel cold.
16. Turn down your water heater by 10-20 degrees. You won’t notice the difference, but it will decrease your bill.
17. Don’t leave doors and windows open. This one should go without saying, but too many times I’ve seen people standing in open doorways talking to the delivery guy.
18. Turn off those vent fans. If the vent fan over your stove or in your bathroom is on for even an hour, it can do some serious damage in expelling heat from your home.
19. Close your fireplace or wood stove vent when not in use.
20. Close off lesser used sections of your home. We usually close off half of the house during the cold months, so that we aren’t having to heat as much space. Be sure to close the vents in those unused areas.
21. Make Your Own Solar Heaters. This is actually very inexpensive and easy to do, and I will follow up with step-by-step instructions on how to make these this coming week. We have made these and are using them now.
And remember that when the heat is on, your air inside the home is drying out. If you keep your heat set at a cooler temperature, you and your family are less likely to get sick from dried out sinuses. Be sure to use a humidifier or two in your home this winter, as this will help prevent everyone from getting sick because of all the dry air.
So what do you all think of these tips? Did I miss any tips for reducing your heating bills? I’d love to hear what you have to say!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
You mentioned that you folks may several solar heaters…can you post a link for those. Sounds kind of interesting. The small space heaters are very efficient…ie, 100 efficent…every cent goes into heating your house. If you have an old furnace…but you hand by the exhaust (not over it…be careful!) and you can feel how much heat goes out the chimney. but with space heaters it all stays in the house. Do look before doing this…in some areas…it is cheaper to use natural gas than to do the electric route. So you may want to a test run one month and see how it changes your bills.
Errandboy – I’ll be posting a tutorial on how to make it next week
Stay tuned…
We did a test last winter and used a small space heater in the living room during the day. It kept the room that we spend most of the day in (and that that thermostat is in) comfortable and kept the heat from kicking on in the rest of the house. We were able to save significantly on our gas bill. We did pay more on electric, but not as much as what we saved on the gas bill. Very interested in the tutorial!
.-= Kristi´s last blog ..My Savings =-.
Lighting a candle can make you feel like you are all warm and cozy. But, be safe. Only burn pure candles that won’t make you sick. Use proper candle holders and NEVER LEAVE CANDLES UNATTENDED.
We installed a solar air heater we purchased last year.
If it helps some, we have listed in some detail the step by step on how we installed it, including lots of pictures, here:
http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2009/09/21/solar-air-heating-product-and-installation-summary/
We ended up with a temperature rise (increase in temperature) of between 60 and 70 degrees on sunny days (we used an infra red device to measure the increase in temperature).
I hope this help,
Dan
I want to ask you about the humidifier we have mold allergys in my house and with a humidifier we are thinking that it will make mold, what do you think andy suggestions?
I swear that I should tattoo #17 to my mother’s forehead. They live in WNY, and all winter long she cranks up the furnace and then opens a window for “fresh air”. And then she hyperventilates over the oil bill.
a great place to check if you’re paying too much for oil and propane is lowermyheat.com – it checks your per gallon price against department of energy state averages and compares it to others in your area.
our fireplace is gas and we rarely use it because of the draft- we installed a chimney cap over the top
These are great. I have two more for you!
There is a product called TuffSTUFF or something like that, you get it at home depot. You would be suprized at the spaces between the floor and the wall, when you have floorboard heating. Just spray the stuff in there like caulking, be careful it expands. It keeps our place much warmer. Each apt we were in I have installed this stuff and it dropped our heating bill about $80 a month. Be careful, dont use around a room with a gas heater. read the instructions.
Also, put carpets down.. increases thermal insulation. Even if they are large area rugs it helps.