MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR HEAT

We would all like to save a few dollars a month, right? Well your home heating bill is a good place to start - and you can do so without just dropping the temperature in your home.

Start by purchasing a digital thermostat that can adjust your heat settings automatically. You can set the heat to turn-on before you wake up, turn down when you leave, and back on again when you come home. This can save you from 5 to 30 percent on your heating bill.

Want to save more? Consider upgrading your old furnace. New furnaces are often much more cost-efficient than older units. Also, if you insulate your house at the time of furnace replacement, you might be able to buy a smaller capacity furnace and save money on the price.

Typically older houses were built with poor levels of insulation. As insulation ages, it compresses, becoming less effective at preventing heat transfer. Dust and moisture also contribute to the aging process in insulation. If the insulation level in your house is less than 6 inches, the most cost-effective action is to increase the insulation.

With rising energy prices and cold winters, it’s tempting to think about using portable room heaters. If your central heat is electric, you”ll almost certainly save money by using portable electric heaters.

For a typical house, windows can account for 10 to 30 percent of the heating bill due to temperature loss. Upgrading from single-pane windows to energy-efficient windows can cut this cost in half or better. You can also add door skirts to the bottom of your exterior doors to prevent heat transfer and drafts.

Running your ceiling fans on low in the winter can also make your house more cost-efficient. Many ceiling fans have a switch that changes the direction of the air circulation. In the summer, you want the air to push directly down on you. In the winter, you want the fan to push air upward - causing a downward flow of heat around the perimeter of the room. Hot air rises, and ceiling fans can push it back down to the livable areas of the home.

Finally, consider lowering the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120°F, which will save you about 5 to 10 percent in water heating costs. You might also want to consider a timer for your water heater that turns it off when not in use, say between 10 or 11 pm to 6 am. This would also lower your water heating costs by cutting down the amount of energy lost through the walls of the tank during the night.

Some of these tips may cost a few dollars upfront, but should pay for themselves in energy efficiency in the long run.