With the cold weather comes the necessity to stay warm. Well guess what? All week long I've been complaining about the cold drafts throughout the house. While I was working our family budget I noticed that our heating bill from last year was $156 for the month (we are on Equal Billing Plan). I am determined to lower that number by a few dollars each month, by making hour house more energy efficient.
According to Consumer Energy Center website, Heating and Cooling accounts for about 45% of your energy bill and making some small changes can lower your bill as much as 2%. For us that equal to $3.12 for the peak winter months.
So yesterday, off I go to our local Home Depot to check out what they had to stop the leaking of energy from our house.
After looking around, I grabbed the following things to start with:
- Electrical Outlet And Switch Insulator
Foam Draft Strips for windows and Doors. Be careful to get the right width to fit your gaps.
And then I had some safety outlet plugs from baby proofing, so I made sure each outside wall plug had one. Even the ones behind the couch that are not being used.
So that's my start. I wonder what my bill will look like this time next year. Anyone else have tips for me??
2 comments:
Hi there, I'm Appleby from frugal shopper......how are your windows? If they are new, great, if not put that window cling film stuff on them.
Can you feel a draft by your baseboards? If so use clear sealant to block that draft.
Do you have a digital thermostat, they are more energy efficient than the old ones. Try turning it down a degree or two and wearing extra clothes.
We live in a leaky 1911 farmhouse so know about how much heating bills can cost!!!
Gill
Thanks for extra tips Gill!
We do have a Programmable thermostat. I lower it by 2 degrees during the hours that the kids are at school and also during sleeping time. We are currently saving to replace our 30 yr old furnace that I'm sure is not very energy efficient. Do you know of any gov't rebates?
We are slowly replacing all of our windows with energy efficient ones. I will definately pick some window cling stuff. I've stuffed some of the vents in the basement with old towels. Alot of unneeded heat was escaping down there and not reaching the upper floors where it is needed more.
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