If the weather INSIDE is frightful because you are afraid of home heating bills, you won’t spend a very pleasant winter. A better solution is to stay warm by finding multiple ways of reducing your heating bill and then combine these strategies to reduce your heating bill to the lowest cost possible.
Selective Heating
Only heat the rooms you are actually using. Are there any rooms that can be closed off temporarily during the coldest part of the year? Even if your home isn’t zoned, you can make it warmer in the rest of the house by isolated unused rooms. Shut the vents or baseboard to the room and close the door. You can also block the bottom of the door with a draft dodger or a rolled up blanket or towel.
Likewise, if you spend your whole day on the main floor, is it worth heating the upstairs bedrooms during the day? Reduce your heating bill by not engaging heat in areas where it is not needed.
Installing a Programmable Thermostat
With a low-cost programmable thermostat that takes pennies to run, you can save big dollars. Set the thermostat and let it do the work for you of saving your heat when you don’t need it. The thermostat can lower the heat when you go to bed and raise it up again for the morning, or keep the house at a lower temperature while you are away at work, warming it back up right before you get home.
If you don’t want to be a slave to constantly changing the heat setting, and you want to save money, run out and get this device to reduce your heating bill.
Negotiate Your Rate
While it might be too late to negotiate a new rate to reduce your heating bill for this season, it is never too early to do so for next season. Fuel oil companies will often allow you to lock in a lower rate. By knowing that you will use so much oil, for example, they can get it early in bulk. The same goes for propane and other fuel sources. If you have electric heat, contact your electric company to get an audit and find out how you can reduce your heating bill. If you are willing to reduce the amount of electricity you use at peak times, you may qualify for big savings on your electric bill overall.
Bundle Your Home, Bundle Yourself
Insulate both yourself and your home, and you’ll feel warmer with less energy required. Block out drafts, caulk windows, get foam inserts for electrical outlets, install insulated plastic window sheeting, and find other ways to bundle up your home. At the same time, bundle yourself as well. Throw on an extra sweater or hoodie, and if you are sitting down watching television, get under a blanket. You can also bundle yourself up with your own metabolism by staying active. Sometimes 30 minutes of exercise is enough to keep your body warm for hours.