How To Save Money on Home Heating Bills
10 Ways to Keep Cozy Without Driving Up Fuel Costs
Even with a slew of exceptionally mild temperatures this winter, home heating costs can take a bite out of your budget. But you don’t have to shiver to save money on your home heating bills!
We’ve got some energy-saving tips that will help keep your home and family warm—while keeping fuel costs under control.
10 Ways to Save Energy
- Get a tune-up. It’s never too late to schedule seasonal maintenance for your home heating equipment. A tune-up keeps your heating equipment running smoothly, so you’ll use less fuel to keep your home warm. Our service technicians check for and fix problems that can decrease performance and efficiency, or could lead to breakdowns, no-heat emergencies, and expensive repairs.
- Use your programable thermostat like a pro. Used correctly, a programmable thermostat can help you lower your home heating costs by 10% or more. Here’s how: When you’re at home and awake, set the thermostat for 68°. Lower the setting by 10° when you’re sleeping or out of the house. Smart thermostats make it even easier. They learn your heating and cooling habits, and create a schedule that matches them. Some even connect with your home automation system like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
- Turn down your water heater. Most water heaters have a default setting of 140° but that’s not only dangerous, it’s also inefficient. Reducing the temperature setting to 120° will meet all your hot water needs and save as much as 10% in heating costs. When you consider that heating water—for bathing, dishwashing, laundry and more—accounts for close to 20% of your heating costs, you may want to talk to us about upgrading your water heater to a high-efficiency model that can help you save even more.
- Eliminate drafts. Unless you live in a brand-new home, it’s likely that as much as a third of the air in your home escapes via drafts around windows and doors. That’s like throwing money out the window—or door. Sealing up drafts with caulking, weatherstripping or expanding foam can help save you 20% or more on home heating costs.
- Go solar. We’re not talking about expensive solar panels. We’re talking about free heat from the sun. Leaving curtains and blinds open during the day lets the sun warm your rooms. Closing them at night helps keep the heat in. It can warm your rooms enough that you can lower your thermostat and use your boiler or furnace less.
- Change your filter. A dirty air filter restricts air flow, making your system work harder to heat your home—which uses more fuel and increases bills. The filter also protects your home heating equipment from dirt and dust, preventing problems that can lead to a breakdown—and an expensive repair.
- Reverse ceiling fans. Switch the direction of your ceiling fan in winter and run it at a low speed. The blades will gently push warm air that rises toward the ceiling back down toward floor level.
- Add humidity. You know how humidity can make the air feel oppressive and warmer than it is in the summer. In winter, when running your home heating system makes the air in your home feel dry, adding humidity can make it feel more comfortable, but it will also feel enough warmer that you can lower the thermostat a little bit.
- Try our budget plan. Our EZ Pay Budget Plan spreads your home heating costs across 12 months, so heating bills are predictable. Instead of several big bills over a few months, you’ll pay one level amount every month, even if stretches of extra-cold whether cause you to burn moil oil. Plus, EZ Pay customers receive a 10-cent discount on every gallon. We also offer a 10-cent per gallon discount when you pay your monthly bill within 10 days. For EZ Pay customers, that translates into a 20-cent per gallon discount!
- Invest in new equipment. If your boiler or furnace is more than 10 or 15 years old, you may see big savings by updating your equipment. A new high-efficiency boiler or furnace could lower your fuel costs by as much as 20 percent. Today’s equipment operates with improved efficiency, so you burn less fuel to keep your home warm. The same is true of your water heater. High-efficiency versions of traditional oil-fired water heaters employ improved insulation and thermal abilities to heat water and keep it hot without burning as much fuel. Tankless water heaters heat water on demand, rather than keeping a tank of water hot until you need it.
Bolkema Fuel Company Helps You Save Money
Over four generations, the team at Bolkema Fuel Company is always looking for ways to make sure it’s worth it to be our customer. From dependable fuel deliveries to great, neighborly service, we go above and beyond to make sure you’re comfortable and help you save money.
Contact us for more information.