Lower Your Heating Bill & Save Some Money

With Winter approaching we thought we would share this great article on how to save money on your heating bill!

1. Energy Audit
The first step is to assess any problem areas. Ask if your utility company provides a free or low-cost energy audit, which will identify changes you should make. If such audits aren’t available, there are still ways to ascertain problems for yourself and small projects you can accomplish without professional help.

I had this done at my old home and then again at the new house. They give you SUCH great ideas on how to improve the efficiency of your home to save money and it is FREE! Also, you get an energy saving kit with lots of free goodies to make your house more efficient!

2. Seek Incentives
Some states offer improvement incentives, including providing and installing a free programmable thermostat; paying a portion of insulation upgrades; or providing rebates on the cost of materials. Look for such offers at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. If you can’t find an applicable program, you can reduce the cost of supplies by finding coupons for major home improvement centers, hardware stores, and big-box stores.

3. Change Furnace Filters
Many of us think of changing our furnace filters just once or twice a year, yet experts say we should replace them every month during the heating season. Better yet, switch to a permanent filter you can clean regularly.

The energy audit guy who came to the house told me the same thing and we hadn’t changed it since we moved in! It was FILTHY!!

4. Dodge the Draft
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can waste 5 to 30 percent of your energy use to heat the great outdoors through drafts. The simplest remedy is to place draft dodgers or snakes at leaking doors. You can use an old towel or make your own easily out of a leg of pantyhose stuffed with rice or sawdust and tied at both ends. To find air leaks, place a lit candle in front of possible drafts, have someone blow through the crack from the other side, and watch to see if the flame wavers.

The energy audit guy said you can do the same thing with incense :)

5. Weather Strip Thresholds
Draft snakes are fine for cracks at the bottom of doors, but we often lose heat at the sides and top of doors and windows. Check out this Dummies.com video explaining how to install weather strips.

You get an entire strip of these for FREE in your energy audit kit!

6. Install a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to keep the house cooler when it’s empty and automatically turn up the heat before you arrive at home or get up in the morning. You can pick one up for as little as $20 and save an average of 10% a year on your heating and cooling bill. Check out this article for other high-tech ideas for keeping warm this winter.

My father-in-law changed to a programmable thermostat and started saving money immediately.

7. Upgrade Your Attic Insulation

Roofs are energy vampires. They’ll suck rising heat right out of your home, if not properly insulated. Types of insulation include the standard fiberglass (in both batt and blown forms), rigid foam board, spray foam and cellulose. Unless you’re handy around the house, this is a project best left to professionals, but it’s the best investment you can make to reduce future energy bills.

This is exactly what the energy audit guy said. Have your attic accessible (if you do the audit) so that they can take a look and see if you have any areas that need to be fixed- meaning, not properly insulated.

Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc., and has been featured among such top news outlets as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. She is available for in-studio, satellite or skype interviews and to write guest posts or articles.

For all media inquiries, please contact Andrea Woroch at 970-672-6085 or email andrea@kinoliinc.com.