Heating costs in the winter time can be quite high. Especially for people living in the north. There are several simple low cost things you can do to help lower your heating bills subtantially. Plus these simple things will help you to retain heat if you have to suffer through a long term powerout during the winter.
Of course for the best savings on your heat bill you will need to make sure your house is well insulated and your have more energy effiecent doors and windows. But those can run you some big bucks. If you can not afford it try the simple things below.
1. Cover all your windows in plastic. You can use the window kits that are available in most any hardware or big box store that allow you to still see outside clearly. If you don't mind not being able to see clearly you can use bubble wrap or the heavy duty painters plastic that is sold in 100 foot rolls at home improvement stores. Which either one you chose it will help stop cold air from coming in and lower your heating costs.
2. Caulking is really not that expensive. By caulking all around your windows and behind the moulding you will keep warm air in and keep cold air out.
3. Weather stripping around doors cuts heating costs as well and if you place draft dodgers along the bottoms of all out side doors you can stop a lot of cold air.
4. Wrap your water heater in a blanket made for water heaters. Even if your water heater is in a heated part of your home it still loses heat into the air which causes the water to cool faster making your water heater work more often.
5. Wrap you hot water lines in the foam that is made for insulating them. I would recommend wrapping both cold and hot water lines to keep the cold ones from freezing so quick during a power outage and the hot ones to keep the water warm longer. If you live in a mobile home or have a house that is built on a crawlspace you will want to had heating tapes to avoid frozen pipes in really cold weather.
6. If you have unused room, shut off the heat vents and close the doors. Why waste heat on rooms you are not using.
7. If you live in a mobile home or a house with a crawlspace placing bales of straw around the outer edges under your home will help keep your floors warmer and keep the warm air flowing through the floor vents from the furnace warmer to.
8. Place a pan of water on a heat vent, woodstove or very near a fireplace. The heated water will add moisture to the air making the rooms feel warmer.
10. Dress in layers to help keep body heat in. Our bodies make their own natural heat. By dressing in layers you are able to retain that heat and not let it out in to the air.
11. Use an electric blanket or matteress pad to keep you warm at night while you are sleeping and turn back your thermostat at night to 65 degrees. You will stay warm and cozy while using less heat. A programmable thermostat is a nice thing to have because you can program it to go down when you go to bed and go up and hour before you wake up.
12. Keep some cheap red clay bricks handy for power outages in winter time. You can warm them by whatever heat source you are using, wrap them in old towels and place at the foot of your bed to help you stay warmer during the night. The bricks will retain the heat for some time. Be sure not to get them to hot or them might scorched you bed and bed clothes.
13. Learn from your ancestors. Even back then they knew you lost the biggest amount of your body heat through your head. Your brain needs a lot of heat to work and if your head is cold your body starts sending the heat it makes to your head leaving the rest of you body cold. That is why they wore night caps to bed. You can do the same by making your own or simply use a knit stocking cap at night.
14. Remember the old saying "Cold hands, Cold heart" well the same can be said for cold feet. When your feet are cold so it is you body. Wearing socks to bed and help your feet and your body stay a lot warmer.
15. Install curtain rods above door ways or use shower curtain rods that expand by turning between the door jams to rooms that have no doors. Hang blankets or a pretty quilt on cafe curtain rings to block the warmer air into the room you are using. They can be slid back and forth for entrance into the room you are not using at the time. During power outages you can do the same for out side doors. Hanging a blanket or quilt over the door will help retain heat.
16. Pull all furniture at least 2 -3 inches way from outside walls to let heat get to them to warm the room. Having furniture placed up against the walls keep the walls cold making it cooler in the house.
17. Buy thermal curtains or make you own quilted curtains to hang on windows. You will be surprised at the amount of heat they will keep in while keeping the cold air out.
Of course for the best savings on your heat bill you will need to make sure your house is well insulated and your have more energy effiecent doors and windows. But those can run you some big bucks. If you can not afford it try the simple things below.
1. Cover all your windows in plastic. You can use the window kits that are available in most any hardware or big box store that allow you to still see outside clearly. If you don't mind not being able to see clearly you can use bubble wrap or the heavy duty painters plastic that is sold in 100 foot rolls at home improvement stores. Which either one you chose it will help stop cold air from coming in and lower your heating costs.
2. Caulking is really not that expensive. By caulking all around your windows and behind the moulding you will keep warm air in and keep cold air out.
3. Weather stripping around doors cuts heating costs as well and if you place draft dodgers along the bottoms of all out side doors you can stop a lot of cold air.
4. Wrap your water heater in a blanket made for water heaters. Even if your water heater is in a heated part of your home it still loses heat into the air which causes the water to cool faster making your water heater work more often.
5. Wrap you hot water lines in the foam that is made for insulating them. I would recommend wrapping both cold and hot water lines to keep the cold ones from freezing so quick during a power outage and the hot ones to keep the water warm longer. If you live in a mobile home or have a house that is built on a crawlspace you will want to had heating tapes to avoid frozen pipes in really cold weather.
6. If you have unused room, shut off the heat vents and close the doors. Why waste heat on rooms you are not using.
7. If you live in a mobile home or a house with a crawlspace placing bales of straw around the outer edges under your home will help keep your floors warmer and keep the warm air flowing through the floor vents from the furnace warmer to.
8. Place a pan of water on a heat vent, woodstove or very near a fireplace. The heated water will add moisture to the air making the rooms feel warmer.
10. Dress in layers to help keep body heat in. Our bodies make their own natural heat. By dressing in layers you are able to retain that heat and not let it out in to the air.
11. Use an electric blanket or matteress pad to keep you warm at night while you are sleeping and turn back your thermostat at night to 65 degrees. You will stay warm and cozy while using less heat. A programmable thermostat is a nice thing to have because you can program it to go down when you go to bed and go up and hour before you wake up.
12. Keep some cheap red clay bricks handy for power outages in winter time. You can warm them by whatever heat source you are using, wrap them in old towels and place at the foot of your bed to help you stay warmer during the night. The bricks will retain the heat for some time. Be sure not to get them to hot or them might scorched you bed and bed clothes.
13. Learn from your ancestors. Even back then they knew you lost the biggest amount of your body heat through your head. Your brain needs a lot of heat to work and if your head is cold your body starts sending the heat it makes to your head leaving the rest of you body cold. That is why they wore night caps to bed. You can do the same by making your own or simply use a knit stocking cap at night.
14. Remember the old saying "Cold hands, Cold heart" well the same can be said for cold feet. When your feet are cold so it is you body. Wearing socks to bed and help your feet and your body stay a lot warmer.
15. Install curtain rods above door ways or use shower curtain rods that expand by turning between the door jams to rooms that have no doors. Hang blankets or a pretty quilt on cafe curtain rings to block the warmer air into the room you are using. They can be slid back and forth for entrance into the room you are not using at the time. During power outages you can do the same for out side doors. Hanging a blanket or quilt over the door will help retain heat.
16. Pull all furniture at least 2 -3 inches way from outside walls to let heat get to them to warm the room. Having furniture placed up against the walls keep the walls cold making it cooler in the house.
17. Buy thermal curtains or make you own quilted curtains to hang on windows. You will be surprised at the amount of heat they will keep in while keeping the cold air out.
18. Some people reroute their dryer vents into a special bucket kit to help keep the heat in the house during the winter time. A lot of good heat goes out the vent in the winter time. If you are thinking of doing this please read all about it first before doing. You want to make sure its done safely.
19. It hard to keep small kids covered at night unless you stay right by their beds and stay of watching them all night long. Kids do not like the weight of all those blankets on them. Instead of just placing regular pjs on them use thermal underwear plus pjs and socks. Kids will stay warmer and you can sleep and not have to worry about them getting cold. For older kids you can place pillows around them to to help them retain body heat. But please never do this with infants. Infants can suffacate in the pillows.
20. Last but not least. Burn a few cheap candles or oil lamps around the house for a few hours at night and place blankets and throws around the room for snuggling in. The candles and oil lamps will add more warmth to the room and the blankets will warm your body during your down time. During the day you are more active so your body stays warmer by itself. During your down time your body does not produce as much heat so you will need the added comfort.
I hope my little tips help you stay warmer this winter. I know they will be keeping me warmer. :) If you have more tips on staying warm while cutting heating co
Prepping Granny