10 Tips to Reduce Heating Bills without Freezing

The homeowners can be pressed down by the annual heating bills. In Germany, where temperatures tend to fall below 0 °C (32 °F) in the wintertime, the heating bills can be among the most costly components of your utility bill. Are you wondering if you need to freeze to cut down on your bills? The answer is no. There are ways to reduce heating bills without constantly feeling cold. Here are the 10 tips that you may follow this winter to reduce your heating bills and save your sanity as well as money.

Use of curtains to reduce heating bills

The curtains are a great addition in your home. It can work both ways to let the sunlight in and also stop the heat to move out at night. Keep all the curtains at home open that are in the north in the morning and keep it shut tightly during the nights. It helps to keep the warm air in the room without moving out too quickly. If you have glass doors and windows, it is best to use blinds or thick blackout curtains to create a barrier and reduce heating bills.

Keep the thermostat low to reduce heating bills

The thermostat is obviously a great solution, but what is the ideal range? Usually, each degree is equal to around 3% of energy costs. So, by the end of the winter if you can drop a few degrees full time it can help. In the same way, reducing the thermostat by 10 degrees when you head to work and while going to bed can reduce heating bills greatly.

Put off the extraction fan to reduce heating bills

When your rooms are warm, you must keep the kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans off as these fans draw the air out of the house. The extraction fans take about an hour on average to suck the air in the room out of the house. It is basically a lot of warmth being taken out of the house.

Use reverse ceiling fan to reduce heating bills

The hot air moves upward is a known fact and that’s the reason a lot of warm air accumulates on the ceiling. It is the reason why roof insulation is required. It stops loss of warm air. The use of reverse ceiling fan can circulate the accumulated warm air and push it down around the room. You can come across fans with both winter and summer settings. It can help reduce the heating bill.

Lower heat on water heater to reduce heating bills

Do you think all the heating energy is directed to you? Then, you are mistaken as a lot of it is utilized in keeping the water hot for the showers. According to the experts, if the water heater temperature is kept low at 45-48 degrees Celsius, the power consumption will be less and also won’t much effect in the water temperature.

Sealing your house to reduce heating bills

After a certain time, the wood around the windows and doors of your house slightly warps. It creates gaps and makes you utilize added energy to cool or warm your home. When you seal all the gaps that let the cold air move in or warm air move out, you can keep a check on your heating bills.

Lock the rarely used rooms to reduce heating bills

Do you have a guest room or any store that is not used regularly? If yes, keep the room locked and shut off the heating vents of that room. Doing so doesn’t allow the room to steal any heat from the other parts of your home.

Air filter cleaning to reduce heating bills

When the filters are blocked with dust and grime, the heater will require functioning with more energy to push the air through. Cleaning the filters during approaching winters can ensure that it is unobstructed and clean for the free flow of the warm air.

Lighting fire to reduce heating bills

If there’s a wood burner, fireplaces, or wood oven, try using it picking up a few pieces of wood. It not only offers heat and warmth but also cheers you up in the dark night.

Wrap the pipes to reduce heating bills

When the pipes are not insulated and the hot water flows through it, it unnecessarily increases your heating bills. If your water heater is placed in an area which is not heated, for instance, the garage space, then you may buy insulation wraps and cover the ducts and the pipes with it.

The above points are the easiest steps that you may consider to reduce your heating bill. However, don’t underestimate the effective result of the above steps. They might be simple but not ineffective. They can help you in saving you a good amount of money each month. You may also check 5 energy saving tips article on our blog.

Moupriya Das

Acknowledgment:

• ''Featured photo'': for source click here.

• ''Picture no. 1'': for source click here.

• ''Picture no. 2'': for source click here.

• ''Picture no. 3'': for source click here.

This article was originally published in 2018 on SPIC AND SPAN. Home & Office Cleaning blog.