5 Budget Ideas for Lower Heating Bills This Winter

You can’t get by without heat. It’s important to keep warm in the winter but you don’t have to break the bank to do it. Here are 5 budget ideas to lower your heating bills this winter.

It’s important to keep warm in the winter but you don’t have to break the bank to do it. Here are 5 budget ideas to lower your heating bills this winter.

1. More Efficient Heating

Heating and cooling can be more efficient and economical when the furnace filter is cleaned regularly. Metal-framed filters can easily be put in the trunk of your car and driven to the nearest car wash for this simple task. One dollar will cover the cost to “high power rinse” your furnace filter. There’s no need for soap. Just rinse with the car wash wand. Bring it back home to dry in the sunshine for a few hours, and you’ll enjoy a clean filter, save money, and eliminate a HVAC service call.

Julia

2. Winterizing Windows

Use bubble wrap to create double or triple pane solar windows. Large rolls of bubble wrap can be bought for around $20 at home and discount stores and will take care of the windows in an average size house with a lot left over. Cut your wrap to fit the glass. Spray the window with water laced with a bit of dish soap and place the wrap with the bubble side facing your room. Butt up sheets to fill whole pane. Sunny days will heat the air in the bubbles and actually help warm your rooms.

RS

3. Lower Heating Bills

Most homeowners have an area or room that they keep warmer in the winter. We set our thermostat at 55 degrees in the whole house, but we keep a space heater going in the main bathroom, and we keep the fireplace going in the kitchen/living room area.

Our home has an open plan, which is hard to close off. Our solution is clear vinyl. It’s available at our local fabric store. I added grommets and we hang sheets of it up to create an air cushion. The savings are extreme.

4. Fleece at Night

Now that the colder weather is fast approaching, it is time to check out the supplies (we live in Alberta so they are out).

Flannel sheets are great, but another way to keep warm on those freezing night is with fleece. I bought the ends of fabric roles at my local fabric shop. We just throw them under the comforter, and we are set for the night.

B. K.

5. Winterizing an Apartment

One thing I have found to make my condo warmer and more comfortable in the winter months is to run a vaporizer. With the moisture in the air, I can turn down my thermostat five to eight degrees and still feel warm. It also cuts down on carpet shocks from static electricity.

Kathy

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