Last updated on December 7th, 2023 at 08:27 pm
This winter will be a colder one than expected. We all will be staying home for most of the season, and guess what this means? The increased need for indoor heating, and therefore a higher utility bill next month. Heating makes up about 40 per cent of our utility bill, and obviously, heating will be at the highest during winter, particularly during a winter when we’re working and studying from home. Given all of this, the main question becomes how to lower your electric bill this winter. Luckily, there are some things we can do to minimize our bill and save energy, (and therefore be more eco-friendly) without shivering through this cold winter.
- Why am I using so much electricity in the winter?
- What are the Common Areas of Heat Loss in a House?
- How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Doors and Windows
- How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Roof and Walls
- How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Fireplace
- How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Power Outlets & Appliances
- How to Increase Energy-efficiency with the Help of Devices
- Other Essential Tips to Save Money on Heating
- Want even more tips? Bundle up!
Let’s systematically go over the various heat sinks in our homes, and see how we can reduce the amount of heating fuel we use for each purpose. We can then understand the variables that affect our heating costs, improve the efficiency of our heating systems and, ultimately, save money. A little information and some good habits are all it takes to make your home more energy-efficient!
A general tip to remember is that it’s all about trapping heat inside your home as naturally as possible. There are various ways to do this – and we will go over them in this post – but if you keep this general principle in mind, you’ll find it a lot easier to think of solutions! Read on for tips to prevent heat loss, optimize heating options, and minimize your electric bill. (And learn how to increase humidity in winter and and save energy).
First, an important question…
Why am I using so much electricity in the winter?
Because it’s super cold and you need to crank up the heating. But there are specific reasons why. A house with old construction traps heat less efficiently than a new one. Similarly, the state (age and condition) of your HVAC system or furnace will determine how efficiently energy is used to heat up your home. An older system will probably use more fuel and energy than a newer, more energy-efficient system.
And finally, your own habits and behavior will determine how much energy wastage goes on in your home.
Harsh, but true.
It’s all about efficiency, whether the HVAC system’s or your own!
If your thermostat is on a higher setting than required (if you like wearing fewer layers, then you will probably have the thermostat at a higher setting), then you’re using more energy than you need to. If, for some weird reason, you like the windows open during the day, then it’s going to take more energy to warm your room up for the night.
Do you see what I’m getting at? A significant portion of your energy bill reflects your habits, and tightening up your habits will actually help lower the bill! The rest of your bill is determined by how efficient your appliances are, the condition of the insulation, etc – and we’ll get to that. But you need to first be mindful about doing all the easy and free things that will help reduce heat loss from your home (or increase heat trapping). Ideally, you ought to do this before moving into your new home, but you can do it at any time, obviously. We’ll go over all the steps, so get ready to take notes.
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
What are the Common Areas of Heat Loss in a House?
How can we detect and how to prevent heat loss in our house? Our homes are not air-tight, so warm air can leak out through small cracks in walls and windows. Similarly, sometimes cold air from outside can also sneak into your home. Up to a quarter of your home’s heat can be lost in this way. Heat loss from our home usually happens at these places:
- Door & Windows
- Roof & Walls
- Fireplaces
- Power outlets
Let’s go over them one by one, and see how we can prevent heat loss.
How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Doors and Windows
1 // Keep your curtains open during the day and closed at night
Let the sun warm your house during the day, and then that heat will stay trapped indoors if you close the curtains at night. You can also save money by switching to energy saving curtains and energy-efficient lighting.
2 // Clean your windows
Just to make the sun’s work more efficient, make sure you clean your windows and prevent any ‘obstacles’ from bouncing that heat back outside. Plus, you need to clean your windows anyway;)
3 // Seal all air leaks in windows and doors
Heat lost through windows that leak account for 10-25 per cent of your total heating bill. So, take a walk around your house, and check your doors and windows for bits of air leaking through. Feel around with your hand, until you find a draft of cool air along the sides of windows (and bottoms of doors). You will need to seal this for winter!
Have a window air conditioning unit? Taking down your window AC unit is an option (especially if you have few windows and you need the sun doing its heating work without the AC blocking the glass surface area), but who wants to spend every two seasons setting up and taking down the bulky window unit? To prevent cold drafts from swirling in through gaps around the edges, simply seal around the edges. This will minimize both cold air coming in and warm air going out.
Here’s a helpful video showing you how to seal your windows using caulk:
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Roof and Walls
4 // Insulate your home adequately
An inadequately insulated home can lose up to 35% of heat through its walls, 25% through its roof, and 40 per cent between doors, windows, and flooring.
Yikes!
First, find out what the main insulation gaps in your home are. You can try a DIY Home Energy Audit and identify the spots where cold air is coming into your home from the outside. This includes electrical outlets and plumbing. For leakages in plumbing, use spray foam to block air leaks and insulate gaps effectively. Check your electrical outlets and wall plates and ensure they are properly insulated. Seal ducts with foil tape or mastic sealant.
5 // Close off unused rooms
Have any rooms you do not use often or regularly? Close the door for winter, and line a towel at the base of the door for good measure (or an under-door draft blocker, if you’re more particular!). Also, make sure you close the vents in your unused rooms.
6 // Install an attic tent
An attic access door needs to be dealt with! Use an attic tent to insulate the attic door, and ensure that warm air from the rest of your house isn’t escaping into the attic.
7 // Move your furniture around
This will improve the airflow in the room, allowing better distribution of heat from the vents. Also, make sure your furniture isn’t blocking any vents, and are at least a few feet away from vents, if possible.
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Fireplace
Around 80% of the heat your fireplace produces goes out the chimney. And these fireplace drafts end up cooling other rooms in the process, and you will need to use your furnace for longer to heat your home sufficiently. You have two options:
8 // Don’t use your fireplace!
Invest instead in a vent-free natural gas-fired stove, which will heat your space much more efficiently. (Please consult with a professional, though, before you play with fire.)
9 // Make your fireplace more efficient
Use bone-dry wood (and not damp wood), EPA-certified wood fireplace inserts, adding a fireback, etc. You’ll find more tips to make your fireplace more efficient here.
How to Prevent Heat Loss Through Power Outlets & Appliances
10 // Clean out your fridge
Not just the expired food, but also the condenser coils. Dirty condenser coils restrict airflow and make your refrigerator work harder to cool, and therefore use more energy. That translates to a higher bill for you, so get cleaning.
11 // Lower your water heater thermostat
Want a warm, refreshing shower? Set your water heater thermostat to 120 degrees F. This reduces heat loss from your water heater, and helps you save up to 22 per cent in energy costs per year.
12 // Insulate your water heater
Is your water heater located in your garage or basement? Insulating it will help it operate more efficiently. Get a water heater blanket at your hardware store. In addition, make sure your water heater is well maintained, all the better for its energy efficiency (and therefore your electric bill).
13 // Fix your ceiling fan for some heat
What your ceiling fan does so wonderfully in the summer can be reversed to help you in the winter. While blades need to rotate counterclockwise to cool the room during summer, switching this to a clockwise rotation can warm up the room during winter. This works by pushing warm air away from the ceiling and back towards the room. There’s usually a switch at the base of the fan for changing the rotation of the blades. You can probably turn down your thermostat and save some energy use on your room heater thanks to this tip.
14 // Avoid using exhaust fans
Exhaust fans, like those in bathrooms and kitchens, can expel warm air, so use them sparingly.
15 // Go easy on the dryer
Dryers use up a lot of energy. What’s more eco-friendly and pocket-friendly is air-drying your clothes. It’s not such a radical move; just use drying racks, and save money in the long run.
16 // Be efficient with your cooking
Cook in batches so that you can finish up more dishes and quantities with less energy usage. Use efficient appliances, such as a slow cooker (which requires very little energy). In addition, cooking produces heat – yay! Use the heat from the stove to help warm up your kitchen. If you’re using your oven, even better! Switch off the oven once you’re done, and leave the door slightly open – so the warmth can escape into your kitchen.
How to Increase Energy-efficiency with the Help of Devices
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
You can up your energy-saving game by using technology smartly. Here are some options:
17 // Install a smart programmable thermostat
Apparently, you can save up to 10 per cent a year on your energy bills if you use a smart programmable thermostat. The smart thermostat will automatically set the temperature depending on when you’re at home and when you’re not. You can also control it remotely via your smartphone.
Check out some smart programmable thermostats here.
What’s the best thermostat setting in winter to save on your gas bill? The best thermostat setting for cold weather is about 68° during the day, and a few degrees lower at night.
18 // Use smart power strips for your electronics
Ah, since we’re all at home this winter, our usage of electronics is off the charts probably. Are they all switched on all the time? If you’re trying to save energy by switching some of them off from time to time, you need to know that many of these electronics can still use power even when they are switched off (this is called ‘vampire loads’, lol). Here’s where a smart power strip can help. Smart power strips can cut power off and save energy by detecting when a plugged-in device is in standby mode. This means lower energy bills for you.
19 // Use a space heater
Live in an apartment with central heating? An eco-friendly electric space heater can help warm you up. Space heaters are energy efficient, so it’s definitely going to have an impact on your electric bill.
Or, you could use an electric fireplace in place of an energy-hogging heater.
20 // Use a humidifier
Did you know: Humid air feels warmer than dry air at the same temperature. A simple humidifier can make you feel warmer, and perhaps you won’t have to resort to increasing the room temperature.
21 // Switch to LED lights
The next time you need to buy lights, switch to smart LED lights. They are energy-efficient, long lasting, and do not heat the room up as much as standard lights do. It’s a good idea to switch your holiday lights to LED too. Check out these eco-friendly lighting brands.
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
Other Essential Tips to Save Money on Heating
22 // Clean and service your heating systems, and replace your HVAC if required
Keep your furnace clean, and do a thorough cleaning at least once a year. This will help your furnace work more efficiently, and keep your bill lower.
Proper and regular servicing of your heating systems will ensure optimal performance, and therefore less fuel usage and lower bills for you. You have the option of signing up for an annual maintenance agreement with a service company. A stitch in time saves nine, and all that.
If your heating system is an old one that’s not very efficient, you may want to replace it with a high-efficiency model. You may actually end up saving hundreds of dollars every month, and a lot over the long run even taking the cost of the new model into account. (A high efficiency electric furnace can cost over two thousand dollars, so it’s a good idea to maintain the one you have properly, to begin with.)
23 // Change your filters
The filter in your furnace traps dust, smoke, pet hair, etc. Replace your filter if you haven’t done it recently (also helps with the COVID situation?). A minimum of once in three months is recommended, and if you have fur-shedding animals in the house, you may need to replace the filter even more often (even once a month!).
24 // Check your gas bill for opportunities to lower your rate
Depending on which state you’re in, you may be able to switch to an alternative supplier with a variable (lower) rate. Shop around for a natural gas plan with a low rate locked in. Find out what your options are.
25 // Does your state have an energy assistance program?
Based on certain factors (such as household income and family size), you may qualify for your state’s low-income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP). This program will help cover your heating and energy costs, energy-related home repairs, energy crisis assistance, etc. Depending on your state, the program may make payments directly to your energy company. Contact your LIHEAP office here.
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
Want even more tips? Bundle up!
26 // Put on more layers to keep warm
Layer up, baby! Sigh. Shivering inside your home because you’re unable to pay your heating bills is the worst. But wearing as many layers as you need to will at least keep your warmer than you’d otherwise be. And it’s definitely a useful way to use up less energy via the HVAC. Get some cosy socks, fair trade rugs, and stock up on blankets to keep you company through this winter.
27 // Keep a hot water bottle in bed
Sleep with a hot water bottle. It’ll keep you warm, and you’ll not reach for the thermostat setting.
Note: Snuggling with a cat will also help;)
*****
So that’s it. I hope these 27 tips help you save on energy bills this winter, and also keep you warm. Take care!
If you liked this post, please share it with your friends. Thank you!<3
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.
NOTE: All brand photographs belong to the respective brands/businesses.
Leave a Reply