1.Get a thermostat that is programmable

One of the worst things that can happen to you is leaving the thermostat on when you go to work. This will heat your house when nobody is in it and that of course is practically the definition of wasting money. Getting a programmable thermostat will allow you to program exactly when the thermostat is on and when it is off and this will allow you to set the calibration and then forget about it, dealing with other parts of your life that are more pressing and more important. The thermostat will automatically turn off when you leave instead of forcing you to turn it off manually and since most thermostats are digital nowadays (especially the programmable ones), you can easily see what is going on with a quick peek at the thermostat monitor.

2. Increase efficiency in housing circulation

If your family is like most families, you already know that there are a lot of rooms in the house that are not used very often. These include closet spaces, storage areas and in some cases even bedrooms that used to have children in them that have now moved out of the house. Most of these spaces will have a vent nearby, but since you don't use the space often, why bother heating it? Cover those vents up with duct tape or a wooden board (you can paint the board beforehand to make it look better) and you will ensure that heat travels to the areas of the house that actually need it. Combine this tip with the previous one and watch your heating costs go downwards in a hurry.

3. Maintain your heating unit

The furnace in your house is primarily driven by filters and pipes and along the entire central heating system of your house there are areas that can severely increase your heating costs if they are not operating at normal capacity. Practice a little prevention by making sure your system is maintained and you will make sure that it is as efficient as possible. It may seem annoying now, but investing a few dozen dollars in maintenance today can save you hundreds of dollars over time in heating costs.

4. Seal your windows and doors properly

Purchasing caulking supplies from your local hardware store will allow you to shore up windows while getting weather strips for your doors will allow you to make sure that drafts do not escape underneath your doors. If you do this you will be making sure that the heat you pump into the house stays in the house (as well as the air conditioning during the summer). The net effect will be that you use less energy to heat the same amount and that of course will cause a downward spike in the amount you pay for heating.

5. Dress for the weather

This may seem a bit obvious, but the best way to reduce heating costs is to stop heating! If you never used your central heating unit to actually heat the house, you would never expend energy to heat the house and therefore you would never actually incur any heating costs. This means that any tips to save on heating costs that serve to curb the actual use of heating are the most precious tips around. The main way for you to actually reduce the amount of heating you need is to dress warmly at home. Dress in a sweater when you sleep and pull multiple covers over you so that you do not have to use the heating unit at night. If you allow your warm dress to trap heat within your body that would normally be given off, heating costs will go way down because you will very rarely actually need to heat your house.

6. Purchase home insulation

For people that have a little bit of money and a little bit of time, a high-end solution for you to pursue might be purchasing insulation for your home. If you take a look at some of the heating costs you have, chances are good that a lot of the extra heating costs you incur are directly the result of poor insulation that results in a lot of heat escaping the premises of your house. Caulking and weather stripping (mentioned in an earlier tip) are low-end solutions to deal with some of the problem but if you want to make your home as heat-efficient as possible, you really need to go the extra mile and invest in the best home insulation available on the market. You will see long term gains because of the lower heating costs, but in all honesty it will take you years to recoup your initial investment just because of how expensive home insulation happens to be.

Make your heating portable

The effectiveness of a particular heating source on a particular area is inversely proportional to the actual size of the area. In other words, as the area gets larger, the effectiveness of the heating gets smaller. Because of this, many people have found that using portable heaters in smaller rooms such as bedrooms and offices has really saved them a lot of money. Portable heaters are not expensive at all (you can get a good one for under $50) and they use a lot less energy than your central heating unit. If you use a portable heater in a bedroom, you can heat the room a lot cheaper and in the long run save some money. Of course, you could also use an electric blanket when you sleep and think of the electric blanket as another form of portable heating. The combination of this tip and tip five that has you dressing warmly is a potent combination that will really knock a dent into your heating bill.

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Comments (3)

• |2008-10-28 12:26:28 Tim Brady  - insulate water heater!
  I can't believe this isn't on the list! One of the easiest ways to save money is to insulate your water heater. Feel your hand on the outside of the water heater, if its warm to the touch you are in need of a hot water heater blanket! Some come pre-insulated so that is why you touch it to see for yourself.
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• |2008-10-21 10:20:54 David Turner  - clothes and portable heat!
  I can attest to this savings. Last winter, with natural gas prices getting really high we decided to dress warmer with shirt and sweatshirt on, sometimes slippers if on our wood floors and also we only use 2 rooms a lot in our house. The living room and the bedroom and we use a portable heater in each that we just turn on when in the room and the room heats up quickly. We have a thermostat controlled portable unit and that really helped. Originally we had the type that just ran non-stop for four hours and I do not recommend that!
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• |2011-03-04 00:39:36 Richard  - help
  Its March 2011 and my home heating oil is now
  $4 a gallon ....last fillup was $540 for 138 gallons! This winter I will spend over $2,000
  just to heat the house.
  What is the answer? No gas on my street.
  Geothermal, solar ?
  
  Thanks,
  DS
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