Lowering Your Home Heating Bill

Whether you use electricity, natural gas, propane, or wood to heat your home, there are several ways to save 20-30% on your heating bill per month. Over the period of a year, that can add up to hundreds of dollars, money you can spend on something else. You don't have to shiver and suffer to gain those savings, either.

Long term, the highest return for your investment comes from ensuring that your house is well insulated. Double-paned windows, good composite insulating foam, and well-fitting doors and windows will keep inside air inside and the outside outdoors. Of course, some air exchange is vital for good health, but a well-designed enclosure and insulation plan will account for that.

Double-paned windows are just two well-fitted panes with a space in between kept in place by their common frame. Usually that space is low density air that doesn't conduct much heat. In more expensive versions it may be filled with a (relatively) thermally inert gas (such as argon) or partly evacuated.

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Double-paned windows are more expensive than single-pane. But since most windows will last generations, the cost per year is negligible, while you pile up the heating bill savings every month. They also reduce noise, so you get a double benefit for your investment.

Good insulation in the walls is a must, along with ample material above the ceiling. 'Heat rises' is an old and true saying, but it also moves sideways through walls. Create a less heat-conductive enclosure everywhere and you'll save money.

Often, that doesn't require professional services. Laying out a roll of fiberglass or composite insulation above the ceiling requires only that you be careful to step only on the beams and never in between. Insulating doors and windows with foam-rubber style strips is well within the ability of the average do-it-yourselfer.

Only when it comes to adding insulation to walls you will need to look into hiring a heating professional. Even then, just as with double-paned windows, the investment lasts as long as the house does, so you profit in the long run.

With an extra layer of clothing, such as a comfortable sweater or a second pair of socks, you can insulate yourself, too. Once you have the home (and you) properly insulated, it's a simple matter to alter some usage habits to increase your heating bill savings even more.

Most rooms in the house are unoccupied two-thirds the day. Most bedrooms see little use except at night. The home office, living room, and others are usually empty when the bedrooms are in use.

Keep the doors closed (or nearly so) and you can lower the air exchange between the two categories of rooms. Heating a home office takes less than 25% of your total bill. If you spend large amounts of time in there during the day, let the rest of the house or apartment remain 5 degrees lower. Small differences add up over time to big savings.

That's easy to do, even if you have only one thermostat for a central heating system. Just close the ducts and the doors for any room you don't want to heat. Then, open them up and/or alter the thermostat a half-hour before you make the switch to nighttime (or daytime) mode.