As the colder weather of winter sets in, you may be thinking of a couple of different things. On one hand, if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking ahead to the holidays and planning special events for your family. On a less exciting note, though, you probably find yourself starting to worry about the hefty heating bills that come with the colder weather. Whether your home uses electricity, propane, or natural gas to heat itself, you can bet that you’re going to see higher utility bills in the coming months.
If the thought of trying to fit higher utility bills into your monthly budget is causing you to freak out a little, try not to panic. Although nothing will completely insulate you from having higher utility bills in the winter, you can follow these three easy tips to try to minimize your increase.
Check for drafts. The biggest threat to your home’s utility heating efficiency has to be the cold air from outdoors. Thoroughly inspect your home, focusing around windows and doors especially, for any gaps or air leaks. Use caulk to plug gaps and install weather stripping around doors to keep your heated air inside the house and the cold air outside the house.
Set your thermostat and leave it alone. Once you’ve chosen the appropriate temperature for your home (we try to stick to sixty-eight degrees), don’t be tempted to bump the thermostat up a degree or two on chilly days. You should also avoid turning the thermostat up when you’re in a hurry to heat the house. Turning up the thermostat won’t make your house heat any faster. (If you have a programmable thermostat, however, you can program the thermostat to drop the temperature in the house when it’s empty or everyone is in bed.)
Use your home’s window dressings to make the most of Mother Nature’s heating system. Open the curtains on southern-facing windows during daylight hours. As soon as the sun sets, though, close the curtains back up to keep the cold night air from chilling the room.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Robert // Nov 12, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Sealing doors and windows is a great way to keep warm air in (and cold air out), and bundling up and turning the thermostat down a few notches is a good way to keep your heating bill low.
2 David/yourfinances101 // Nov 13, 2009 at 6:17 am
On a slightly related note, I had heard fromseveral sources that the country currently has a major over supply of natural gas.
Living here in Atlanta, when it gets cold in the winter months, I usually see a tremendous spike in my natural gas bill. These same sources have told me that we won’t be seeing the spike this winter, and so far, this has proven to be true.
Great for us! One less holiday season expense to worry about…
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