10 Simple Ways to Save Energy at Home in the Winter

Nov 27, 2013 on Frugal living tips

Over the winter, your energy bills can begin to skyrocket as the cold sets in. It is important to find ways to save energy around your home. The best way to save energy is employ a variety of techniques to lower your heating bills. Use several of these strategies around your home this year.

Space Heaters

It does not make a lot of sense to make every room in house the same temperature, especially in areas that you do not use that often. You can use a space heater to keep the rooms the use the most warmer, just when you are in them. Space heaters have gotten safer and more affordable over the years. You can save by just heating the rooms as you are in them, and keep the overall temperature a bit lower.

Seal Your Windows

Heat can easily escape through the windows of your home, especially if they are older. You can buy a special plastic to apply to your window. You use a hair dryer or other heating device to shrink it to your windows. This can prevent you losing a lot of heat out of the window. This is a project that you can easily do in an afternoon.

Identify and Fix Drafts

If you can identify the drafts in your home and seal them, you can save a lot on your energy bills. Look for areas where you can feel a breeze and then see what you need to do to stop the draft. You can put additional insulation around the window frames. You can also buy foam tape to tape in your doorway to help stop heat escaping in the winter.

Wrap Your Water Heater

Your water heater can burn through a lot of energy in the winter months. If you have a water heater that stores the water at a hot temperature, it may be spilling energy out constantly, especially if your water heater is located in your basement or in a crawl space that is not insulated. You can buy a water heater quilt online or from a home supply store. If you wrap your water heater, you will help the water stay hotter without putting out a lot of energy. This one of the things anyone who is looking for ways to save energy should do.

Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat is a great way to save money. You can set the house to be a bit warmer when you are awake and moving around. The thermostat is easy to install, and you can save a lot on your electric bill by having cooler temperatures when you are sleeping or you are gone for the day. You can save on buying programmable thermostat from Amazon by using Amazon discount free shipping.

 

 

Close the Fireplace Damper

Many people love to burn fires in the winter. However, this is an easy way to lose energy. You need to make sure that the fireplace damper is closed unless you are burning a fire. Your fireplace should not be used as a heat source unless it has a heating stove installed inside of it.

Lower Your Thermostat and Bundle Up in the Winter

One of the easiest ways to save energy is to simply turn down the thermostat. Instead of keeping the temperature set at 72 degrees, try lowering the thermostat to 68 degrees and dressing a bit warmer in the winter. You can stock up on your winter clothes by using Target promo codes, to save on sweaters and blankets. Many people dress like it is summer in the homes and pay a lot in heating bills. This is a simple fix that can help you save a lot.

Run Dryer in the Morning to Heat Up Home

In the summer, you can feel your house heat up when you run your dryer or you are baking. You can help warm up your house in the morning by simply doing your laundry first thing in the morning. This can save you from turning up the thermostat on the coldest mornings of the year.

Reverse Attic Fan/Ceiling Fans

Heat rises, and you trap a lot of heat in the winter. If you have an attic fan, you can save a lot of money by running it in reverse in the winter. This will pull the heated air out of the attic and push it back into your home. If your ceiling fans allow you to reverse direction you can do the same thing with your ceiling fans, and save on your energy bills in the winter.

Switch Out Your Appliances

If you are looking for additional ways to save energy, you may want to consider swapping out your appliances for new energy efficient models. You can also buy a new heating system that will help you save even more on your heating bills. This can be more expensive, but you can save up money and really cut back on your energy bills.