One of the biggest expenses for people in the winter, is the heating bill. In certain areas this can be hundreds of dollars more in a month for a good part of the year. There are a few ways of reducing our heating bill without spending a whole lot of money, in fact these ideas cost only time.
Keep Room Doors Shut
Certain rooms require heat, but not all rooms are used on a daily basis. If we look at older homes we see they did not have the open floor plans of today’s homes. These homes were energy efficient for that reason. By shutting doors to all rooms that are not regularly used, and covering the heat vents, or shutting them off, we can reduce heat costs by not sending heat to rooms where it is not needed.
Blocking Leaks
One of the biggest heat leaks are gaps under our doors to the outside. We do not have to buy things to block these drafts when all we really need to do is roll up a towel and place it on the inside of the door. We can walk around our home feeling for drafty areas and sealing them up in the same way, while it might not be attractive, it will save money.
Shut the Curtains
On sunny days curtains should be open to let in the sun and the warmth, but these should be shut as soon as the sun begins to go down. Curtains may be kept shut on widows that do not have good light exposure. This acts as an other layer to stop heat from escaping outdoors.
Cooking
When we have used our ovens to cook, we can prop the oven door open after turning it off. This allows the heat to escape into our kitchen and we can take advantage of heat that would otherwise be wasted. It should be noted that heating the home with an oven is not economical.
Dressing Warm
Wearing socks, and/or slippers around our home will help us to stay warm and reduce our heating costs. We may need to add a sweater indoors, or make use of having an extra blanket on the sofa, we can even use a quilt off our bed over our laps when watching television. Not only will this save a few dollars on the heating bill, but it feels cozy as well.
At Night
When we sleep our bodies generally want to be cooler, so we can reduce our thermostat by 2-4 degrees about one hour before we go to bed. If this is too cold for our likings we can sleep with socks on as this has a positive way of making us feel warm. Of course adding additional blankets may help. Every dog owner knows that sleeping with a dog on their bed also keeps a bed nice and warm, if we do not have a dog, a hot water bottle works equally well.
Sleeping In
On days that we do not have to go to work staying in bed, and as such not turning up the thermostat, can save a few dollars on the monthly heating bill.
Common Sense
Other factors should be common sense, we should turn the thermostat down if we are going to be away for more than two hours. We should keep our exterior doors, and windows, shut at all times. Snow shoveled up against our house can act as insulation against colder weather.