9 Tips for Reducing Your Gas Bill This Winter

During the winter months, a homeowner’s gas bill often will cost more than the electric bill, especially in the Midwest, where most homes are heated using natural gas or propane. There are numerous ways to keep your home warm and save money at the same time, without trading comfort.

Here Are Nine Proactive Ways You Can Save Some Money on Your Gas Bill During This Year’s Heating Season.

1. Be sure that your attic and walls have adequate insulation. If your attic has 14 inches of insulation or less, it’s time to beef up your coverage.
2. Install a programmable thermostat. Once you install a programmable thermostat, set it as low as is comfortable in the winter.
3. Seal areas any place cold air can come into the house – in the attic, crawl space, around doors and windows. Prevent hot air from escaping your home by caulking around doors and windows or by adding a plastic film to your windows. This could lower your heating bills by as much as 14 percent.
4. Replace old single-pane windows with higher-quality windows.
5. Change your drapes to curtains with a thermal lining. Leave your curtains open during sunny days to let in the natural (and free) heat come in, but close them as dusk falls to retain that heat.
6. Replace the filter for your heating system more often for better airflow.
7. Upgrade your heating equipment to something more efficient.
8. Upgrade your water heater (if it uses gas) to a newer, more efficient model.
9. Look at alternate heating sources. A wood-fired stove that uses outside air for combustion would add heat to the home. Another source of heat that is fairly cost-efficient is a fireplace, but be sure that the fireplace damper is sealed when not in use because this is a good place for air to escape.

What’s the Best Temperature to Keep Your House Set?

There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this one, but you need to be comfortable. To save gas, a lot of people will drop the house temperature three-to-five degrees at night and raise it back up during the day. You can save three percent on your gas bill for every degree you decrease on the thermostat. If it’s very cold – below 10 degrees – you should maintain the daytime temperature to protect the house’s plumbing from freezing.