Utility bills are a nasty, recurring household expense. And they are about to get more expensive as the weather changes.
We are offering you many ways to cut your heating and lighting costs, with potential savings for every room in your house.
We recommend starting early to fortify your home from drafts that are costing you a lot of money.
Get the Kids Involved
“Close the door! I’m not trying to heat the whole neighborhood!”
“Who left the lights on?!”
Children generally have little awareness of money matters, especially energy savings.
That might change if you involve them in conserving power. Then they could become part of your energy-saving solution, instead of your energy-wasting problem. We recommend turning the experience into a fun game.
Children will enjoy helping you test the rubber linings on several of your appliances. Have them place a lit flashlight inside the fridge before closing the door. If you can see light escaping, replace the seal. Repeat for your freezer and oven.
Next step: Shut a piece of paper in the fridge and freezer doors. If the paper moves freely in the door, the seal is failing, and you are wasting expensive electricity.
You can involve your children in reducing heat waste by investigating hot air escaping from your home. Eliminate all drafts, including heat, fans, open windows and movement in the room. Give your children a lit incense stick. If the smoke doesn’t rise straight up, you’re losing heat to the great outdoors. Check every room in your home.
Use this method to check for leaks around doors, windows, floors and ceilings. Inspect for gaps around water pipes, flues, ducts, fans, dryer vents and utility connections that penetrate exterior walls. Test for air escaping through gaps around the chimney, recessed lights, heat registers, baseboards and other interior trim.
You can often eliminate drafts with inexpensive caulk. Children can also help you install weatherstripping around doors.
As a last-ditch effort, consider telling your children there won’t be any money for fun stuff if it has to go toward utility bills.
Cool Tips for Heat Savings
After conducting extensive research, consider investing in a new, energy-efficient furnace to save up to 90 percent on your heating costs.
Upgrade to a smart, programmable thermostat that automatically adjusts the heat for you.
Slippers, socks, sweaters and sweatshirts should be indoor habits in the colder months. And keep a blanket on the couch for when you are watching TV.
Experts recommend a thermostat setting of 20° to 21° C (68° to 70° F) during the day, 18° C (64° F) at night, and 16° C (61° F) when no one is home. Don’t worry: Your pets will be warm enough since they are wearing fur coats.
Apartments are more sheltered, so you can set the thermostat as low as 10° C (50° F) when unoccupied.
Use drapes and blinds strategically for lower energy costs. You score free solar heat on a sunny day with open curtains. Close them at night to insulate your home from the cold.
Don’t heat unused spaces, such as a seldom-used guest bedroom. Adjust the temperature to the minimum and close the door.
Set your ceiling fan to low to circulate warm air, which forces heat down into the living area. This is especially effective for rooms with high ceilings.
Don’t block heat ducts with furniture, curtains or rugs. If space requires furniture to sit over ducts, attach inexpensive deflectors or vent extensions to redirect the hot air.
Change the furnace filter regularly.
Have your furnace serviced and cleaned regularly to ensure optimal performance.
Keep registers, baseboards and radiators clean.
Repair leaks in your heating ducts with – what else? – duct tape.
Cranking the thermostat higher than the desired setting won’t heat your house faster and will waste energy if you forget to turn it down.
Resisting Drafts
Home insulation can save up to 25 percent of your heating costs and eliminate annoying drafts, especially if your home is more than 20 years old.
In cold weather, wrap window air conditioners in a protective cover and shut any vents feeding outside air to the unit.
Look for holes or cracks around doors, light fixtures, and plumbing fixtures, as well as other areas where air may leak into or out of your home.
See the article “Get the Kids Involved” above for ways to detect heat leaking into the great outdoors.
Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows.
Seal air leaks where plumbing, ducts or electrical wiring penetrate through exterior walls, floors and ceilings.
Tenants who only see their landlords on rent day can create a draft guard by filling cloth tubes (from old socks to fancy fabric) with sand and placing them against the bottoms of their doors.
Light Your Fire
A wood-burning fireplace is the least efficient heat source because heated air goes straight up the chimney.
Leaving the flue open when your fireplace is not in use is equivalent to having a medium-sized window wide open.
Tightly seal off any fireplace that is not in use.
Lower the thermostat while your fire blazes and snuggle up to the hearth.
Burn only seasoned, dry hardwood, wherever possible. Avoid “green” logs and softwoods.
Have your flue cleaned annually for safety and energy savings.