You know when a sweatshirt, coat, mittens, hat, gloves, scarf, moon boots, etc. are no longer cutting it, that it’s time to turn on the heat. I hate the thought of having to pay for warm air–I get it, but I don’t like it. Keeping costs down, so that I have more money to spend on things that I love, like travel and cupcakes, is priority one for me. If you are in the same unheated boat, here’s a couple of tips to keep costs low this winter:
- Make sure furniture isn’t blocking any heating vents. No reason to pay for heating the underside of your couch.
- Use all of the heat your pay for. Whenever I bake in the winter, I leave the oven door cracked after I turn it off. I figure, I already paid for the heat, I might as well disperse it out into the room. {Probably not a good idea if you have little ones, though.}
- Replace your furnace filter religiously. It seems like a bummer of an upfront cost to buy filters, but a blocked filter will cost you way more than a new one.
- Install a programmable thermostat. Seriously, if you do one thing, do this one. You can program it to kick on 30 minutes before you wake, or to drop the temperature when you are at work. You just set it and forget it, using valuable heat only when you need it most.
- Seal all of the leaks around the windows, door, etc. A tube of weather caulking is super cheap. About 1/3 of a house’s total heat loss is lost through the windows and doors. Seal ’em up.
- Use the sun to your advantage. That’s a little harder for me here, but I hear tale of places where the sun still shines in the winter. Open up the blinds on those days and take advantage of the earth’s free heat.
- On the flip side, pull the blinds and drapes when it is dark outside. It will create one more layer of insulation to heat loss.
- Lower your thermostat at night. Supposedly, we sleep better when it’s cooler anyway. Invest in a down comforter and drop the temperature. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it to start warming up about 1/2 hour before your feet even hit the cold floor. Ain’t technology grand?
- Make sure to change your ceiling fan direction {so it pushes the air down} and turn it on low.
- Close off rooms and vents that are not used regularly.
How do you save money on your heating bill in the winter?
~Mavis
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Karen says
I also wear more clothes, use my fire place, hang out upstairs in my loft when I can because the heat rises, use a hot water bottle in my bed at my feet, and cuddle with my furry four legged children….. simple little things that let me keep my thermostat set a little bit lower. 🙂
JayJay says
My mom made me a bag from terry cloth with rice in it.
I microwave it for about 3 minutes, put it in the bottom of my bed and it keeps my feet and body warm while I read,
before I go to sleep.
mildred lane says
that is especially nice since your mom made it for u… I need to make my children one. thanks for the idea.
Beckybeq says
We installed a high efficiency wood stove a few years ago when there was a tax credit for “biomass heating units”. Hubby gets firewood for free from his job site, we just have to cut it and split it. We haven’t turned the furnace on since 2009. 🙂 Our home is 1300 sq feet – living room, dining room and kitchen tend to get to 76 degrees, hallway and bathroom to 73 and bedrooms 69-70.
Mavis Butterfield says
Nice! I wish I had a wood stove, they can really heat up an entire house, AND they’re great for when the power goes out because you can cook on them as well.
Melody Mahanna says
We didn’t run the main heat in the house at all last year (then again I think winter skipped us … it didn’t get below around 50), instead I would turn on the gas fireplace for an hour or so to take the chill off. Our biggest tip would have to be: Dress like it is winter! Wool socks, thermals, layers etc. When we do run the heat ,and it is rare, we set it to 69 degrees. Invest in good hefty blankets and layer those with thermal blankets.
Laura says
After 27 years of living in a freezing cold, poorly insulated, house… with jalousie windows that didn’t seal… one wall heater in the living room… a fireplace that couldn’t be used (crack), I am happy to pay to use the energy inefficient electric ceiling heating in my small (960sq. ft.) house! I guess in comparison to a larger house, my $150 a month in the winter isn’t all that high. But, I swore to myself I wouldn’t be cold again!
I try to hold off turning it on until Nov. and I do turn it down at night. I have storm windows, so that’s a big help. Also, insulated drapes, and the new exterior doors are all ultra energy efficient.
mamalala says
I completely agree with you. I hate visiting people’s homes in winter if they are cold. I actually skip going to a specific family members home, since it is ALWAYS cold. I hate being cold, so we try to conserve heat, but when I am in my house, I like to be warm. I will pay an extra 40 to be comfortable.
Ellen in Clackamas says
Before I moved into my rental house 7 years ago my landlord invested in new double pane windows (which is good because this is an old house so I’m sure the old ones were drafty)…but she left the aluminum front door in. Holy cow that thing gets cold! Especially if there is a cold wing blowing. You can almost see waves of cold air coming off of it so I hang a flannel blanket over the doorway and it really helps keep the living room warmer.
Cyntha says
We have an electric clothes dryer so I vent the warm air inside instead of outside my house in the winter, because I have access to it in the basement. I just use hosiery to catch any lint. We haven’t had to use a humidifier for years. My tropical plants love it, because they are near the vent. It just makes sense to reuse the heat you have paid for. : ) I told my neighbor and she loves it. She wishes she had known about it years ago.
mildred lane says
My home was built in 1929 so over the last 20 years I have slowly replaced the windows w/ double panes,had storm doors made because of the odd sizes, had insulation blown into the attic, had a double thick black plastic applied as a ground cover in my dug out dirt basement,closed off a non working chimney,set out shade trees to the front but really need them on the side where the sun sets- 2 bedrooms on this side that I line w/insulation in the summer. I dry my clothes on a wooden rack inside the house in the winter to get the moisture into the air, replaced my heat pump x2 from an oil furnace,weather stripping around the basement door w/ home made draft snakes for 3 outside doors. I had the utility co. do a free check to see where I could save more and they gave freebies of 2 low flow shower heads, 2 items that go on your water sinks outlets to add air to your water and decrease the flow-forgot the name. Also received the curly light bulbs, Every couch, recliner etc has a fleece blanket to curl up under while dreaming w/ a seed catalog…lol
Shirley Hull says
I have heavily lined all my curtains & drapes. Easy to do even w/store bought drapes using flannel. Not only keeps the sun out but in the winter, I saw a 15* difference in temp from window sill (where the thermometer was placed) to air temp in my front room even with double pane windows. Saw an ad for “drapery insulation lining” & going to local Joann’s saw that it was $10.00 yd & looked & felt just like cotton flannel (4.99 yd.) ergo, prewashed the flannel, cut to panel size adding 1/2″ or so to turn under & sewed into the original seam. Two of my kitchen windows face north & when I made curtains for them, used a heavy drapery material & triple lined. What a difference it will make.
Alexandra says
Hi Shirley! I’ve been researching this for my drapes right now. I saw the flannel at Joanns- is the basic one the one you used on all your drapes? I saw the thick insulation fabric but it was 17.99 a yard! And silly question, I’m a new sewer, but when you say you triple lined them, does that mean you sewed on more than one piece of flannel to the back of the drapes? Thanks so much!
crystal says
Living here in or Oregon where the humidity is high, I’ve found that using an energy-efficient dehumidifier helps to reduce the moisture in the air and thus, the damp cold that makes me feel its colder than it actually is. Just my observation.
dawnelle says
Mavis, how low should I turn the heat down while at work? Is there a specific temp? I heard once that if it gets too cold, it takes a lot to heat back up but I have no idea if that is true. I’d love to hear some specific temps that are the most efficient.
Mavis Butterfield says
Dawnelle, it’s hard to say. What do you normally keep your thermostat at? When everyone is home we keep it at 65 {and turn it down to 62 when everyone goes to bed}. It really just depends on your comfort level.