Easy Ways to Save Money on Your Heating Bill

Fall is officially upon us, which means the temperatures have already begun to dip and our bodies are already being challenged to acclimate to a cooler climate that’s only going to get cooler. With that drop, however, tends to come a pretty large rise in our energy bill as we start to daily turn up the heating system a bit more. This year, if you’re seeking some easy, proven ways to cut down on your heating bill, we have 10 right here! Some might be tougher than others, some we think you won’t even notice but for all we think you’ll notice a difference in that heating bill! So jump on board and save up some extra cash (maybe you’ll be able to treat yourself to a Christmas present this year!) 1) Turn down your thermostat by two degrees. Take whatever temperature you normally set your thermostat to, subtract two and let your body acclimate to that. You can even go slowly and drop 1 degree for a couple days and then switch to the full 2. Chances are, this will be absolutely painless! 2) Turn down your hot water heater by twenty degrees. This one just sounds more shocking than it is! Most hot water heaters are set to 140 degrees. Put yours at 120 degrees to save tremendous energy and we can almost guarantee you’ll never notice you turned it down! 3) Dress in extra layers. Feeling cool? Instead of turning up the thermostat, go put on rnanother sweater (or two). Dressing in layers with the bottom-most layer tucked in is the best way to keep your body heat in. Another tip: always wear both shoes and socks, you’ll keep in lots of heat you would otherwise lose. 4) Insulate the hot water heater. Putting an insulating blanket over the hot water heater will help it from losing heat, meaning less energy needed to maintain its temperature. 5) Install a programmable thermostat. This will save you on those days you “forget” to turn it off before leaving the house or down before you go to bed at night. Set it in advance and you’ll never have to think twice about making sure you remember to change it to save energy. 6) Use room heaters. Instead of using the central heating system when you’ll just be in one room for extended hours, use a room heater. This will save the cost of heating the entire house when you won’t even be using it. Ideal for the bedroom while you’re sleeping at night or for working in a home office for the majority of the day. 7) Change furnace filters once a month. Less dirt in the filters means less energy needed to push air through, saving on your energy used and cutting your electricity bill. 8) Make sure fan settings are set to reverse. Because hot air rises, by reversing the fan, you will pull cool air up from beneath the fan towards the hot air, pushing warm air over to the walls and down again where you will feel it. 9) Change out your light bulbs. If you’re using anything but carbon fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), you should start changing them out. It will be a higher upfront cost, but you’ll save greatly, especially since the loss of daylight hours increases the run time all winter long. 10) Check for Optimal Hours. Some energy companies have hours when it is cheaper to use electricity, and conversely, hours when it costs more. If this is the case, make sure you run high energy appliances like dishwashers and clothes washers at optimal hours to save.