It’s that time of year again! It’s autumn and winter will be here before we know it. If you haven’t turned your AC off yet, it will be time to do so soon. If you don’t own a wood-burning heater, then the winter heating season can get expensive. Sometimes the bill swells to twice its normal size, depending on how cold it gets where you live.
So, how can you stay warm while not spending a bundle? Here are 5 ways to slash your home heating costs this winter.
1) Dress to Impress Heating Costs
When you’re going out in the winter, you know you need a jacket, thick socks, and warm clothing. Why not do the same for your house? In the summer, it’s easy to strip down. But in the winter, you can put up thicker blinds, put down rugs, cover the couch with a warm blanket, and so on. You can even use flannel sheets and a thicker comforter for when you sleep.
2) Opening and Closing the Blinds
One trick is knowing when to open and close your blinds. If you open them in the morning and let in the sunlight, it will naturally heat your house during the day. It can heat things up enough that you can turn your heat off. As the sun goes down, close your blinds to keep the heat inside the house. With this natural heating, you won’t have to rely on your heat kicking on as much, saving money.
3) Don’t Use Your Fans as Often
Many homes have fans throughout the house. By fans, that includes in the bathroom and kitchen. They work wonders for clearing out the air, but they also suck out the heat. Usually these fans are meant to blow four odors outside of the home. But if the warm air goes with it, then you’re literally sucking dollars out of your wallet. Keep the fans off if you can. The exception here is the ceiling fan. Warm air rises, so turn on the ceiling fan to push that air back down to ground level.
4) Turn Down the Thermostat!
Turning the thermostat down a few degrees will have a huge impact on your bill. They say a degree or two can add or subtract as much as 10%. That’s a large chunk of change! If you can comfortably turn the thermostat down, do it. Especially do it at night and when you leave the house. During the daytime, you can benefit from sunlight entering the winters.
5) Add Insulation
Your home may need a little extra insulation to help keep things warm. You might have an area of the home where the warm air is sucked out or the cold air gets in. Insulation might mean putting plastic over the windows as well. There are tests you can do to find where the bad areas are in your home that needs extra insulation.
