Free Energy Saving Tips for Saving on Home Heating Costs This Winter

Free Energy Savings Tips for Saving on Home Heating Bills

Everyone wants to save money and this week is a continuation on a two part series on Saving Money on Home Energy Costs.  To continue on last week’s topic of Energy Saving Tips for Homes “Preparing Your Home for Winter” Cost Saving and Free Energy Tips.  I left off last week with one free tip and wanted to share some additional tips that “won’t cost a single penny”.  What better way to save money then on freebies and hopefully you will find these Free Energy Saving Tips helpful and will share them with friends and family.

Until now, most suggestions so far cost money in order to save money. However, there are a few things you can do that won’t cost a single penny.

First of all (and probably the most obvious), add some layers! Before you crank up the thermostat, put on a sweater or wrap a blanket around you. This simple act will keep you warm without increasing your heating cost.

Now you have an excuse to have a party – “More people in your home means more body heat”

Another thing you can do is invite some people over for a dinner, or party. More people in your home means more body heat gets circulated around your home, which means your guests ultimately provide the same warmth as your furnace. Feel free to throw a hot drink into the mix, like cocoa, hot apple cider, or tea.

Speaking of hot drinks, you might want to also adjust the temperature of your water heater. Set this to a maximum temperature of 120°F. This is warm enough for bathing, washing (dishes or laundry), and cooking purposes. Insulating your water heater is also a good idea, which can be done by wrapping a big “blanket” around it (not the kind you put on your bed, but a special kind you can get at the hardware store). Also, considering that water heating typically accounts for 13% of your utility bills, washing laundry in cold water might also be a good idea because heating water for that purpose alone is one of the most energy-consuming activities in the home—and not necessary at all!

There are 2 other features that come with every home that can also help with saving heating costs: windows and doors. It should be a no-brainer, but when you have the heat on, keep all windows and doors closed. If you can, avoid heating rooms that aren’t used very often and keep doors closed to rooms you use frequently, to keep the heat contained. Window curtains (or blinds) should be open during the day to absorb heat from the winter sun (especially north-facing windows) and you should close the curtains at night to help keep the heat in and the cold out.

“No-brainer?…keep window and doors closed”

If you’re wondering about fireplaces, don’t use them unless you have to. Heat can escape right out the chimney, which means you’ll be wasting even more money trying to keep warm. Even though fire is really hot, fireplaces are only 10% efficient when it comes to heating the home. However, if you do want to sit by the fire some nights, lower the thermostat to about 50° F first and open the window closest to the fireplace a little bit, so all the heated air won’t escape through the chimney. It also helps to have those glass doors in front of the fireplace that you can close.

 What do the numbers say

Finally, I’ll leave you with a few statistics that will hopefully push you in the right direction:

• You will save 5% on heating costs if you clean your furnace filters regularly.
• You will save 10% on heating costs if you use your ceiling fan (low speed, clockwise) to circulate the warm air through the room.
• You will save 20% of energy by using a new, EnergyStar-rated heat pump.
• $125: the amount you will save per year by turning the thermostat down 3 degrees in the winter.
• $250: the amount you will save per year by installing a programmable thermostat.
• $80: the amount you will save per year by cleaning or upgrading your filters every 3 months.
• $120: the amount you will save per year by adding caulking and weather stripping around your windows and doors.
• $40-$70: the amount you will save per year by lowering your water heater temperature to 120°F.
• $35-$55: the amount you will save per year by wrapping a “blanket” around your water heater.

If you found this article helpful we would love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment and let us know what you liked.  If you did not like the article and would like the comment, please comment as well as we value everyone’s feedback and want to hear from everyone.   Please feel free to pass this on to others as well.  We look forward to hearing from you and to saving energy this winter on home heating costs we hope you enjoyed the “Free Energy Saving Tips for Saving on Home Heating Costs This Winter”.

For other energy saving tips and resources be sure to check our Energy Saving Tips section at MyEcoMaid.com

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