Money Saving Tip: Save Up to 50% on Your Heating Bill with Three Simple Tasks

With the prices of energy this winter season, I've read lots of articles on how to save money on your heating bills. But until I saw the January/February issue of This Old House magazine, I'd never seen savings percentages along with the tips. Well, this article has them (and quotes the Edison Electric Institute as the source) and using only three of the tips can cut your heating bill in half.

Here are their suggestions:

• Seal around joints in metal ductwork -- saves up to 20%.
• Lower your water heater temp to 120 degrees -- saves up to 15%.
• Replace your forced-air furnace's filter -- saves up to 15%.

Ok, so they hedge a bit by saying you can save "up to" a certain percentage, but they are still good tips.

For me, I need to seal our ductwork -- I know we have leaks in it.

As far as the water heater goes, I need to check ours (I don't even know what it's set at).

I do replace the furnace filters religiously -- mostly because it cuts down on dust floating around the house.

Comments

[Tim West]

We installed a System2000 boiler in our home in 1999 and it cut down on heating oil consumption by 400 gallons per year on our 3700 square foot home. We averaged 2100 gallons from 1994-1998 and that fell to 1700 gallons on average 0from 1999-2004. I strongly suggest you research into Energy Kinetics and see how they can save you money. We moved this past summer and installed another System2000 boiler to replace a 30 year old boiler. I recommend you call them or look them up on the internet.

[Dus10]

I am seriously considering installing an on-demand, tankless water heater. I think that will make a nice impact on my gas bill all year long... not just in the winter.

[Gary Ferguson]

Before the System 2000 Boiler you were using 78,900 BTU/sq ft per year and after the System 2000; 63,900 BTU/sq ft per year. We have a natural gas system that uses 25,000 BTU/sq ft per year. Maybe there's a better way...

[Rob Carlson]

Regular filter replacements also keep your forced air motor from burning out too early in the life of the system from the reduced air resistance. I pay less than a dollar each for my filters, and at $12/year even for a single month's gain in motor ($400 service call) life, it's a bargain.