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Keep Your House Warm This Winter — and Save Money Too!
An energy-efficient home can lower the bills and keep you cozy
The average family spends more than $2,200 on energy bills each year, and about a third goes to keeping the house warm. This winter, bring down home heating costs with a few simple changes:
Buy a programmable thermostat, which shuts heat off at a set temperature. Prices (with installation) start at around $100, but savings can be about $180 a year.
Set the thermostat down to 55°F–58° at night and when you’re out. “Some people think it requires more energy to heat up the house than to maintain it, but that’s a misconception,” says Charlie Rogers, owner of Habitat Home Energy Audits, a Seattle-based company that advises homeowners on energy efficiency.
Stop cold air from seeping in through outlets; even those on interior walls may be connected to the attic. “There are various products for this, but childproof safety plugs will work,” says Mark Cannella, managing partner for Pro Energy Consultants, which offers home energy audits nationally.
Speak to your utility company about scheduling an energy audit. Some companies even offer rebates for the service.
Keep the fireplace damper tightly closed. Consider installing glass doors in front of the fireplace or chimney balloon if you don’t use the fireplace often. And although snuggling by the fire on a winter’s night is cozy, note that hearths tend to lose more heat than they generate — especially if you leave the flue open long after the last ember has died.
Check your ductwork. According to Cannella, a quarter of all U.S. homes may have a duct that’s disconnected, and many more have minor leaks. Close them with mastic, a flexible sealant. Don’t use duct tape, which doesn’t allow for expansion and contraction.
Look for air leaks — and caulking opportunities — around windows and doors and where plumbing goes into the floor. “And look for spiderwebs. Spiders build where there’s air movement,” Rogers says.
Consider heating by room. If you tend to stay in one room, you might try warming it with a space heater and lowering the thermostat. With one space heater and the thermostat at 62°F, you can save $200 a year, according to the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.
Minimize use of bathroom and kitchen fans, which are great for clearing out unpleasant odors but will force the heated air out of a room if left on too long – a guaranteed way of increasing your bill.
Seal your attic hatch (similar to an exterior door in terms of air leakage) with an attic stair cover.
Investigate your insulation: what you have and what the building codes say you should have.
Ask your utility company about changing to natural gas. According to Rogers, it can be cost-effective, and some utilities may subsidize the switch.
Get help with energy-saving retrofits from a national program called Home Performance With ENERGY STAR.
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Try to keep mini-blind/curtains closed as much as possible; helps keep heat in and cold out