12 Easy Ways to Lower Your Energy Costs and Stay Warm All Winter

By James K. Kim

When the outside temperature starts to drop and the season changes into winter, it is natural to expect your energy costs to increase as you heat your home.

According to the Department of Energy, heating your home uses more energy and costs more than any other mechanical system in your home, equaling on average almost 30-50% of your utility bill.

If you’re like most people and keeping a close eye on your costs each month and through the winter, then we’ve put together our expert tips to help you lower your energy costs and conserve heat in your home. Trust Cottam Heating & Air Conditioning as your trusted HVAC experts in Westchester, NY.

1. Lower Your Thermostat and Consider Upgrading to a Smart Thermostat

The simplest and easiest way to reduce your home heating bill is to simply not use as much heat. You can do this by setting the thermostat set point temperature as low as you safely can without freezing or feeling uncomfortably chilly in the house. 

Even just setting it a handful of degrees lower can help add up to significant savings on energy costs in the long run. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by turning your thermostat down 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day, you can save almost 10% off your energy bill.  

Also, today’s modern smart thermostat offerings are Wi-Fi enabled to automatically adjust the temperature settings to enable optimum energy efficiency. 

Smart thermostats can learn your indoor climate habits and preferences to create a heating and cooling schedule that automatically adjusts the temperature in your home, even when you are sleeping or away on vacation. 

While smart thermostats can have a higher upfront investment than standard thermostats, in the long term they can help you save significantly on your energy costs. 

2. Keep Doors and Vents Closed to Empty Rooms

If your home has a room or two that remains mostly empty and unused such as guest rooms, storage rooms, basements, or a spare bedroom, then it doesn’t make sense to direct heating into it. 

If you have a ducted forced air system such as a furnace, you can close the supply air vents and the entrance doors. Similarly, if you have hot water or steam radiators, see if you have valves that can control the amount of heating and turn it down accordingly.  

And if the room gets used again, you can simply open the vents or valves back up.

3. Seal Off Air Leaks

Are you detecting any drafts around your home? If so, that’s a sign you have heat escaping, which is costing you money and raising your utility bills. 

Apply caulking or use weather stripping on visible leakage points around windows and doors. Double-check the existing weather stripping and sealants on windows and doors to make sure they’re still holding up. 

It’s important to also be aware that cold winter air can also seep into your home via electric outlets, light fixtures, and any gap within the insulation or thermal envelope of the home. 

Other large infiltration and leakage points include attics, basements, and crawlspaces. Additional insulation plus replacement of weather stripping and seals can help reduce air leaks. 

4. Close Your Unlit Fireplace 

Fireplaces are great heating sources for homes in the winter. But just like windows and doors, they are also a big contributor to heat loss and outside air infiltration when not in use. 

As a solution remember to close the damper when the fireplace is not lit. And if you never use your fireplace at all, then consider plugging and sealing the chimney flue entirely to help cut off heat loss seepage once and for all.

5. Reduce the Temperature of Your Water Heater

The standard temperature for most water heaters is 140 degrees F. However, a lot of people tend to set the water heater temperature too high. As the second biggest user of energy in a home, the water heater that’s on 24/7 could cost you quite a bit year after year. 

The Department of Energy recommends turning water heaters down to 120 degrees F. This difference in temperature will mostly be undetectable to a lot of people, especially if you are not in the habit of taking regular scalding hot showers and baths. 

6. Use Your Ceiling Fan to Help Circulate Heat

Most people utilize ceiling fans to cool off in the summer. However, some may not realize that certain ceiling fans can also be used in the winter for heating. 

Typically, ceiling fans usually rotate counterclockwise, which pushes air down to keep you cool. 

However, many ceiling fans also have a reverse switch (usually located at the fan base). This creates an updraft, which displaces the hot air that rises and gathers at your ceiling and moves it down to where it can help warm chilly people.

7. Use LED Lights 

LED lights use 75% less energy than standard incandescent lights and last 25 times longer. While the upfront cost of LED bulbs is higher, the long-term energy savings will pay for itself over time. 

And don’t just consider LEDs for regular home lighting. Remember to consider using LEDs for holiday lighting as well for even more energy cost savings and efficiency.

8. Switch to Insulated Curtains for trapping Heat at Night

After the sun goes down, you can still trap the solar heat by using insulated curtains to help add insulation to windows and prevent loss of heat. 

9. Apply Temporary Insulation Film on Your Windows

Needless to say, windows are a big contributor to heating loss for a home. Since they are less insulated than walls, even properly sealed-up windows can still let precious heat seep away outdoors. 

You can lessen this effect by insulating your windows during winter by sealing the window frames with clear plastic window film. 

While admittedly applying these films is a chore and not the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye, the temporary insulation can still do its job by trapping a layer of air between the home’s interior and the window. 

This buffer effect will slow heat loss, and the cost and time of applying the window film should result in energy savings.

10. Utilize the Sun’s Free Heating Energy

Even if your home is not equipped with solar panels, you can still make the most of the clean and free energy produced by the sun.

Simply opening curtains and blinds when the sun is shining can allow warming sunlight to enter your home for hours. 

11. Bundle Up

That ugly holiday sweater you wore to the office party once can come in handy as you layer up with warm clothes and cozy blankets. 

Test your level of manageable comfort by wearing your comfy warm layers and setting the thermostat at the lowest temperature you feel you can live in for winter. 

And when everyone goes to bed for the night, you can also try turning the temperature down even lower. Just be sure everyone has their cozy comforters and thick blankets.

12. Repurpose Your Oven’s Residual Heat

In the olden times, wood-burning stoves were both a cooking and home heating source. Obviously, today’s modern ovens are strictly for cooking. 

However, after cooking in the oven, you can turn it off, leave the door open a crack, and let it cool while also helping radiate some residual heat. 

You Can Save On Energy Costs Year-Round

While these tips will help reduce energy costs on heating in the winter, many of them can also apply to reducing cooling costs in the warmer months as well.

The main idea is to keep outside unconditioned air from infiltrating your home while retaining the conditioned air inside to minimize costly wasting of energy. 

Improvements to your home’s thermal envelope with insulation and sealant upgraded windows with insulated curtains, LED lightbulbs, and smart thermostat controls all add up to big savings and maximized home energy efficiency. 

If you’re sick and tired of seeing your home utility costs continue to rise, you can be proactive and take the steps necessary to help gain better control over your home comfort and costs for saving energy today for a better tomorrow. Here at Cottam Heating & Air Conditioning we have skilled HVAC technicians that are ready to help keep your home comfortable year round.