The winter months can make ice out of your cash flow during the winter months. Energy costs have been on the rise for quite some time and with a floundering economy everyone is looking for resourceful ways to stretch their income. If you are strapped for cash and looking for ways to save money on heating cost there are 5 zero cost ways for lowering those bills listed below.
1. Bundle up. One of the easiest ways to preserve precious cash on heat is to dress in layers. This will allow you to stay warm while keeping your heating costs to a minimum.
2. Jam it out. Every home has air leaks. Drafts of cold air are common around windows, chimney’s and doors. One cost free way to contend with these leaks is to cover them with a door jam cover. These covers can be purchased for around $10, but my suggestions are zero cost! Instead, you can easily make these with some extra cloth, rice and some basic sewing skills. Directions to make them can be acquired on your internet search engine.
3. Rock and Roll. Another option to manage the temperature is to open window shades when the sun is out. Let all the sun in you can and when the sun sets roll them back down. In the daytime, the sun will provide extra warmth and in the night the shades will help to lock in the heat.
4. Revere and Spin. If you have a ceiling fan, there is another way to make a house feel warmer. Since warm air rises, a ceiling fan in reverse will help force that air back down and make a room feel warmer.
5. Beat the clock. Programmable thermostats allow you to determine when you will be home and when you would like the house to be warmer and cooler. If you are going to sleep at 9 you should set your temperature to drop around that time. This free and simple step could save you a whopping 10% annually on heating costs!
If money is tight, zero cost efforts are the best place to start when you are attempting to improve the efficiency of your home. Pick off the low hanging fruit and you might just save enough money to make larger improvements to your home.