#heating bills

Martin's multiple mentions of the uncomfortable chairs and him worrying about his bills was amusing though.

Buddy, is this year's winter bearable?

Winter Chills: Easy Ways to Cut Heating Costs

Cut heating costs now by making a few simple changes to your home before the really cold weather comes. With energy prices higher than ever, making your home as energy efficient as possible can save you serious money and ensure you stay warm for less.   How can I save money on my gas bill? See our DIY quick fixes Keep your home warm and cosy Get free money from the government Keeping yourself warm   How Can I Cut Heating Costs? The first and most obvious way to cut your bills is to switch to a cheaper provider. Many people are looking at monthly bills of around £200 right now so the most urgent thing you need to do right now is to switch to a cheaper energy company. If you’re desperate to warm the house but worried about the nasty bills it will incur then switch right now to save yourself hundreds over the year. If you are using oil to heat your house then look at our article on how to get cheaper oil. There are a number of specialist heating oil websites around that will help you compare prices and also buy in bulk with your neighbours so that you can get cheaper prices. It’s definitely worth doing as oil prices rise.   DIY quick fixes You don’t have to pay hundreds to make your home warmer and more energy efficient (therefore cheaper to heat). There are all sorts of little tweaks you can do yourself that are easy and cheap but make a big difference to your bills.   Tin foil behind the radiators Sticking some tin foil behind your radiators will make them heat your room more efficiently and allow you to turn the radiators down a bit. Simply attach the foil to the wall using sticky tape or wallpaper glue, and make sure the shiny side is as close to the radiator as possible. This works by reflecting heat back into the room rather than letting it escape through the walls. You can pick up some specially-designed radiator foil from Wickes for £14.99, but good-quality kitchen foil will work almost as well.   Thermal curtains Another option is to buy ready-made thermal curtains – but with this you have a limited choice of colours and fabrics. Also the cheap ones often look it, while the expensive ones can cost over £100 in some stores. It’s pretty easy to make your own thermal curtains though – by simply lining your curtains with an insulating material you can dramatically reduce heat loss. You can get thermal curtain lining which can reduce heat loss by as much as 25% – some start from just £11. Alternatively, you could easily make your own using cheap fleece or a PVC shower curtain with some lining sewn over the top. For added insulation you can replace the shower curtain with foil insulation. If you’re not much of a sewing whizz, pick up some fabric glue and fix the fabrics together that way.   Insulate your windows, doors and floors Check the draughts around your house. Loads of cold air comes in under the doors and through the letter box, floorboards, cat flaps, and window cracks. You can find out where the draughts are in your house by lighting a candle and placing it near your windows and doors. If the candle flame starts to dance around like crazy then you know you’ve got a draught! By using draught excluder seal around your windows and doors, you can eliminate chilly draughts running through your home. It’s really easy to install and makes a surprisingly big difference.   Insulate your fireplace Whatever you do – don’t try this if you actually use your chimney. But iif you don’t use your fireplace, all you need to do is stuff the opening in your room with newspaper or cardboard to stop draughts from creeping in. If you do have an open fire during the winter months, there’s an easier way to insulate your fireplace: A chimney balloon. All you need to do is inflate it to block the draught from the chimney cavity, then when you want a fire, you can deflate it and easily remove it. You can get chimney balloons from Amazon from just £17.99.   Keeping your house warm and cosy Then there are ways to cut your heating bills without any effort at all!…   Turn your heating off. Yes, really If you’re going to be out of the house all day, simply set it to come on just before you return in the evening and it should be nice and toasty for your arrival. Just make sure you switch it back off again before you go to bed. You don’t want to be paying to heat the house while you’re tucked up warmly in bed asleep!   Keep all the doors closed And close off any un-used rooms so you’re not heating places you’re not going to spend your time in. Close your curtains when it starts to get dark, but keep them open during the day to let any sun in.   Turn the thermostat down Sounds ridiculous we know, but turning you stat down just one degree can cut your energy consumption (and your bills) by 10%.   Only heat the room you’re in If you’re spending the whole evening in your bedroom, don’t put the heating on for the whole house, just use a portable heater in that room for a few hours.   Don’t put your wet laundry on your radiators Have a look at Lakeland’s heated tower airer instead. It costs £92.99 but it costs less than 5p per hour to run and will leave your radiators to do the job they were intended to do. It will also save you money on the cost of running your tumble-drier. Jasmine has a heated tower airer and it’s amazing. Not only is it cheap to run but it also warms the room a little. Highly recommended.   Get free money from the governmENT If you receive any benefits like income support, pensions or disability allowance, you may qualify for a grant from the government’s Affordable Warmth scheme. This can be spent on things like loft insulation, draught-proofing and cavity wall insulation. Of course we don’t know how long this scheme will continue for as the spending cuts bite so apply early so that you can be in with a chance. Even if you don’t receive benefits, there are still loads of discounts available. Check out our article Insulation: save money and conserve energy for loads of information about larger scale insulation projects and how much you could save. Certainly the first thing to do if you’re really struggling with your fuel bills is to contact your energy provider. All the big ones have ‘slush funds’ to help those in need. As with anything, the more persistent you are the more likely it is that you will get something! There are grants and other help organisations for fuel poverty as we explain here. The government have also set up the Green Deal, an initiative designed to encourage homeowners and businesses to use more green technologies. The great thing about this is that you will not be expected to pay any upfront costs. Click here for more information about the Green Deal and how it could benefit you. Also if you are a pensioner or on tax credits/benefits there are grants and other types of help at hand. If you want more information there is a free helpline that can give you access to grants and information on heating bills.   Keeping yourself warm Keeping yourself warm is just as important as warming the places where you spend your time. If you can keep yourself warm with exercise and sensible clothes then you won’t need the heating turned up so high and like we said, turning the thermostat down just one degree will save you 10% on your bills.   Exercise Spend 20 minutes a day exercising. Not only will it keep you wamr it will do wonders for your immune systme making your body better able to tolerate the cold. Even if you’re at home your daily exercise can include vacuuming, cooking and dusting. Housework and exercise in one? Done.   Layer up If you’re in the house all day but you don’t want to spend a fortune heating it, put on an extra layer or two. Layers will keep you warmer than one big jumper so if you are a particularly chilly person invest in some thermals. And smokers be aware: Smoking slows down your circulation so you’ll get colder quicker. Your circulation will begin to improve after two weeks of quitting, helping to keep you warm from the inside. And think of the savings you will make!   Keep warm in bed Instead of leaving the heating on all night, turn it off before you go to bed, make yourself a hot water bottle and put an extra blanket over your duvet – you’ll be warm enough that heating won’t be necessary.   Have you got any tips for keeping warm on the cheap? Any saucy ones? Go on – I bet you do! Tell us about them in the comments below!   [inlineslignup]The post Winter Chills: Easy Ways to Cut Heating Costs appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Danielle Braff, Mental Floss, December 8, 2016

The weather outside is frightful, so chances are your heating bill is beginning to soar out of control. With months between you and milder temperatures, you’re going to want to keep your heating use in check. Here are some tricks for renters and owners to stay toasty without piling on the sweaters and blankets all winter long.

1. Shrink wrap your windows. Plastic wrap is an inexpensive insulation alternative you can use to block drafty windows, says Thomas Baker, technology editor at This Old House magazine. Baker suggests buying a kit, like the 3M Clear Plastic Insulator Kit from Home Depot ($5), to make the DIY job even easier.

2. Add drapes. Adding curtains to your windows can reduce heat loss from a warm room by 10 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And if you opt for floor-length curtains you can pin together and attach to the walls with Velcro or magnets, you can bump your heat conservation up to 25 percent. The key is to open the drapes when the sun is shining so you’ll let the heat in at the peak times, then closing them when the sun goes down.

3. Seal the attic. “Sixty-eight percent of our heat loss [happens] through the ceiling in the attic, but we only lose 20 percent through the walls and 10 percent through our doors and windows,” says Anthony Stonis, president of Building Energy Experts, based in Crystal Lake, Illinois. “That’s why sealing the attic has a much faster return on your investments.”

4. Weatherstrip your window frames. It’s typically not the window itself that’s inefficient, but the way it was installed, Stonis says. Luckily, fixing this is easy: Caulk the area around the windows for the winter, he suggests.

5. Choose Energy Star appliances. More than half of a home’s average energy consumption is due to heating, cooling, and water heating, says David Lee, Residential Program Supervisor for the Building Technologies Officer at the Department of Energy. So Lee recommends focusing on those three areas in order to trim your bill. You could start by replacing your old appliances with more efficient ones that have the Energy Star stamp of approval.

6. Do a home energy audit or assessment. An audit can help homeowners understand their home’s energy use, which can help identify problem areas and fixes, Lee says. Check to see if a home performance audit with Energy Star is offered in your area. “An Energy Star contractor will perform a whole house audit and make recommendations to improve the overall energy efficiency of your home,” Lee says. “In many cases, these improvements can save from 20 to 30 percent on a home’s energy bill.”

7. Seal your foundation. This most likely won’t be something you tackle on your own, but homeowners and renters can ask to air seal their foundation, attic, and plumbing and electric entrances to prevent unwanted leakage of conditioned air, either warmed or cooled. “In northern climates, properly installing insulation to levels called for by the local housing codes, when combined with air sealing, will also go a long way to reducing energy bills,” Lee says. “In addition to saving money, this can also greatly improve occupant comfort.”

8. Stop air leaks around electrical outlets. You could be letting hot air seep out through the outlets in your exterior walls, Baker says. Fix it by applying a foam gasket to the back of the electrical outlet plates and fill the receptacles with child-safe plug covers.

9. Turn down the thermostat. “For every degree you lower the temperature for eight hours, you save 1 percent on your heating bills,” Baker says, so turn down the dial when you’re away or sleeping. This doesn’t apply to radiant heating systems, however, because of the long time required to raise the temp after the room has gotten cold.