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This is a guest article from Jocelyn Anne
Down by Two
Whenever you walk over to that thermostat, think “Down by 2” and turn the thermostat down by two degrees. If you’re used to room temperature at 72º, then aim for 70º. You might be a little bit uncomfortable for the first few days, but your body will adjust very quickly. In the meantime, just put a couple extra layers on. Add some heavy duty wool socks to your normal wear, make sure you’ve got shoes on your feet and you might not even notice the difference!
Use Room Heaters
Central heating systems are often the most expensive way to heat a home, not to mention that they often heat multiple rooms unnecessarily. Instead of heating an entire home including rooms you may not even be using at all (guest bedroom?), use room heaters that allow you to heat just one room that you’re currently in. This is ideal for sleeping at night when you can turn off the central heat and heat just the bedroom. If you’ll be working out of a home office, same idea. Hanging out with the kids downstairs all day? You got it!
Room heaters are also great if you just need to boost the temperature around you by a couple degrees. 70º not cutting it while you’re sitting still at the desk? Up that room to 74º in minutes with a room heater and without having to wait for the whole house to get that hot or spending the money to heat the whole house that warm.
Turn Down the Water Heater
It might feel like everything is getting turned down, but the upside is that you will acclimate very quickly if you notice at all. Turning the water heater down is one that you are very unlikely to notice a change in. In fact, most hot water heaters are set to 140º but you should easily be able to get by with 120º and never even know that anything has changed, except the fact that your heating bill will go down. And that’s a change you’re probably more than happy to be okay with!
Do Your Research
Always check in with your local power company to see what their recommendations for saving energy and cutting costs are. There may be certain times during the day when they offer lower rates. If so, make sure to run your higher-energy consuming appliances then, like taking showers, running the dishwasher, using washing machine, running a hot bath, etc.
There may also be some forms of fuel that are cheaper than others in your area. Electric may be the cheapest, or it may be propane or even natural gas, depending upon the local resources in your area. Always double check to make sure you’re using the smartest option out there and then you’ll be able to change accordingly. If you can, consider using solar energy and taking advantage of the sun’s free rays. This will likely be a higher upfront cost, but should easily pay itself off over time.
Seal & Insulate
Wherever possible, no matter how small the crack may seem or irrelevant the opening, seal and insulate. Take just a half a day to go around the house and caulk any cracks that may have occurred over the year. Place draft stoppers behind your light switches and get some cozy draft door stoppers for all your outside doors. You may not think these are big enough crevices to make a difference, but over 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all fall and winter long, that’s a lot of heat escaping and a significant amount of money wasted. Finally! Remember, an extra layer or two of clothing can go a long ways towards keeping you warm and cutting down your overall cost. And one last tip: stock up on your winterizing products now while it’s still fall. The closer winter gets, the higher those prices are going to rise to meet demand. Purchasing things like de-icer and your heaters now is just one more way to save on your overall heating bill.
About author: Freelancer Jocelyn Anne writes for Heater Home, a company that seeks to help every family find the most affordable and best heater for their home, whether that’s a single room heater or even a fireplace heater.