Your heating and cooling system is the biggest energy hog in your home, accounting for almost half your total energy costs. The money you spend on utilities rises dramatically in the summer and winter months when temperature control sees the highest use. Winter can be especially problematic, as heating costs are a matter of survival. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways you can reduce your heating costs and save money on your utility bill while still staying toasty in the winter. And the cool thing: You are also helping to save our planet! Below are some ways how to save enrgy in winter.
1. Let the Sun in During the Day
There’s a reason the family cat likes to nap in sunbeams — the sun is a fantastic source of free heat. By opening your curtains and blinds during the daytime, you take advantage of the greenhouse effect and allow the sun to naturally heat your home.
2. Close the Curtains at Night
Unfortunately, windows can also be a source of heat loss, as they are not as well insulated as your walls. Close your curtains and blinds when the sun goes down to prevent cold chills from cooling your home. Consider purchasing insulated curtains to maximize the energy efficiency of your windows to save energy in winter.
3. Eliminate Air Leaks and Drafts
Another way how to save energy in winter is to eliminate air leaks and drafts. Air sealing your home is simple, effective, and relatively inexpensive. Caulking and weatherstripping will usually pay for themselves in energy savings within a year. Use caulk for cracks and openings between stationary objects like door and window frames. You can use weatherstripping around anything that moves, like the door itself or window sashes.
4. Close Doors and Vents in Unused Rooms to Save Energy in Winter
Have a guest room you don’t use unless the in-laws are in town? A storage room? Maybe the kids are away at college. Whatever the reason, if you have a room in your house that people rarely enter, you’re wasting valuable energy heating it in the wintertime. Close off all vents in the room and shut all doors. This will prevent you from paying to heat uninhabited space and will save energy in winter.
5. Stay Warm With Clothes and Blankets
It’s much more cost effective to warm your body than your house. Keep the thermostat low and compensate by wearing a nice sweater and warm socks around the house. Stay toasty at night under a thick blanket, comforter, or duvet.
If you’re concerned about keeping your pets warm, consider buying a doggie sweater for your pooch. Sweaters are not recommended for cats. Not only do cats hate clothing, but they also seem to have a natural ability to find the warmest spot in the house anyway.
6. Reset Your Water Heater Thermostat
After heating and cooling systems, water heaters are the second highest source of energy usage in the home. It takes a lot of energy to heat water, and most people have the thermostat on their water heater set way too high.
Your water heater heats water to a set temperature, then maintains that temperature 24/7. That means that your water heater just cycles on and off, continually reheating water to that temperature, whether you use it or not. Just setting the temperature on your water heater a few degrees cooler can save you a couple dollars on your energy bills. Unless you’re in the habit of taking showers at skin-scalding temperatures, you likely won’t even notice the difference.
7. Keep the Air Circulating
Everyone knows that ceiling fans are a great way to stay cool in the summer, but did you know that they can also help keep you warm in winter?
Normally, ceiling fans rotate counterclockwise, pushing air down and producing a slight wind chill effect, allowing you to feel cooler. However, most ceiling fans have a reverse switch that will enable them to turn clockwise, producing an updraft and moving the warm air that collects near your ceiling down into the rest of the room.
8. Use Space Heaters
If you only need to heat a small area, try using a space heater. Electric space heaters are a very energy efficient way to stay warm because there is no heat loss through ducts or combustion.
Space heaters are excellent for heating closed-off areas that you only occupy for shorter periods, like your garage or that bathroom that’s always colder than every other room in the house for some reason. However, when it comes to heating your entire house, space heaters are less efficient than a natural gas furnace or a heat pump.
9. Choose LED Lights for Your Home and Decorations
If you’re planning an elaborate Christmas light show this holiday season, consider using LED lights. LED lights are the most energy-efficient lighting option currently available. They use 75% less energy than standard incandescent lights and last 25 times longer.
You’ll have to spend a little more up front, but LEDs are so durable and long-lasting that your grandchildren could be using the very same string of lights 40 Christmases from now. They use so little electricity that 25 strings of holiday LEDs can be connected end-to-end without overloading a standard wall socket.
10. Leave the Door Open After Using the Oven
Heating your home entirely with your oven would be an impractical waste of energy. However, if you’re using it anyway, there’s no sense in letting that heat go to waste. After taking dinner out of the oven, leave the door cracked open and allow that extra heat to escape and warm your kitchen. This is a great way to save energy in winter.
11. Lower the Temperature in Your Home
Lowering the temperature in your home by just a couple degrees can result in significant long-term savings. Turn your thermostat down to the lowest temperature you find comfortable.
12. Turn the Thermostat Down When You Go to Sleep
Another great way how to save energy in winter is to simply adjust the thermstat based on your temperature needs.
You can save 10% on your energy bill just by turning your thermostat down 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day. Turn down your thermostat when no one is home and when everyone is asleep. You’ll stay toasty warm under your thick blankets while saving money.
13. Get a Smart Thermostat
Even better, consider purchasing a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat is a green innovation and a Wi-Fi enabled device that automatically adjusts temperature settings in your home for peak energy efficiency. These devices learn your habits and preferences and establish a schedule that automatically adjusts to energy-saving temperatures when you are asleep or away.
Some states and local city governments incentivize installing a smart thermostat with rebates, so be sure to run a search on rebates or other perks available in your area to help you save on a new device. Your energy provider might offer exclusive discounts on smart thermostats, so check with them as well.
14. Insulate your home
About a third of the heat lost in an uninsulated home escapes through the walls, so making sure you have proper insulation on your solid walls or cavity walls could help keep the heat in and lower your energy bills.
If you live in a house, bungalow or ground floor flat, you could be losing heat from the bottom of your home. Insulating under the floorboards could save you about £40 a year. Insulating the top of your home – either the roof or loft space – is also an effective way to reduce heat loss and lower your energy usage.
Furthermore, pipe insulation can reduce the amount of heat lost from the pipes in your home, keeping your water hotter for longer and reducing the amount of energy needed to heat the water.
It consists of a foam tube that covers the exposed pipes between your hot water cylinder and boiler. All you need to do is choose the correct size from a DIY store and then slip it around the pipes.
15. Monitor your water situation
Water use is closely linked to energy use. Water companies use energy to treat and pump water into houses, while energy is required to produce hot water at home.
Currently, the average US household uses around 330 litres of water a day – or 140 litres of water per head every day. Using water wisely at home can make big difference to your water and energy bills.
Our top tips to help you save water – and therefore energy – at home include:
- take short showers instead of baths
- swap your shower head for a more efficient model
- use cold water instead of hot when you can
- make sure washing machines and dishwasher are full before using them
- turn off the taps when brushing your teeth
- use a washing up bowl to clean the dishes
Year-Round Savings on Your Energy Bill
Energy savings isn’t just a wintertime activity. Many of these tips will save you money all year long. While you wouldn’t want to wear a thick sweater in front of a space heater in the summer heat, air stripping, insulated curtains, and smart thermostats work equally well in the summer. These techniques are just as capable of keeping your home cool in the summer as they are of keeping you warm in winter. Saving energy in wintertime really is a smart idea for year-round savings.
Get to know the top 100 ways to save energy at home.
