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| The Basics | 12 ways to fight soaring heating bills
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Rising prices for heating oil and natural gas could mean big bills this winter. Here are some things you can do to cut your costs.
By Christopher Solomon
The unrelenting rise in oil and natural gas prices is about to run headlong into the steady approach of winter. Oil prices have roared to fresh record highs each time the U.S. government reported another fall in heating fuel stocks ahead of winter. World prices have surged on fears that the United States is running out of time to build winter fuel supplies.
The Energy Information Administration forecasts that households in the Midwest could spend 71% more this winter for natural gas and 40% more for propane than last winter; those in the Northeast that use heating oil could spend 33% more; and Southern households could see a 17% rise in their electricity bills. Nationwide, well see an overall increase of 24% in winter heat bills, the EIA forecasts.
The EIA is assuming typical winter weather, but the big forecasters call for a colder than normal season, especially east of the Mississippi.
What to do? Well, dont simply grit your teeth and wait for a big bill.
Theres a lot of things that the entrepreneurial homeowner can do, if hes a little bit handy, says John Ryan, team leader for commercial buildings for the Building Technologies Program in the Department of Energys Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who has spent years thinking about efficiency in homes.
Here are more than a dozen simple steps you can take to slash your homes heating bill. Seven steps cost nothing. Eight more cost under $100. Combine them, and you can often expect to save 20% -- and possibly much, much more -- on your home heating bill this winter. And some new federal tax breaks even sweeten the opportunity.
Related news and commentary on MSN Money
Grab that free, low-hanging fruit
First, the freebies. These strategies may sound simplistic, but they work well:
- Turn down the thermostat. The rule of thumb is that you can save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back your thermostat full-time, says Bill Prindle, deputy director for the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Turn down the thermostat 10 degrees when you go to work, and again when you go to bed -- a total of 16 hours a day -- and you can save about 14% on your heating bill, says Prindle.
- Use fans wisely. In just one hour, a hard-working bathroom or kitchen fan can expel a houseful of warm air, according to the Department of Energy. Turn them off as soon as theyve done their job.
- Keep the fireplace damper closed. Heat rises, and an open damper is like a hole in the roof. Also, limit use of the fireplace, since fires actually suck heat from a room, says Harvey Sachs, director of ACEEEs buildings program. Close off seldom-used rooms. And shut the vents inside.
- Turn down the water heater. Lowering the temperature of water in the water heater to 115-120 degrees reduces power use often without a noticeable difference to the user, says Prindle.
- Keep heating vents clear. Vents blocked by rugs and furniture prevent heated air from circulating efficiently.
- Use curtains. Opening curtains and shades on south-facing windows during the day allows solar radiation to warm a living space; closing all curtains at night helps retard the escape of that heat.
Web sites on the topic abound, but one of the best is run by the Department of Energy.
Low-cost fixes
So youve put the easiest, and free, ideas to work. Now you can really make a dent in that heating bill with one cheap trip to a hardware store (Home Depot, for example, has all of the items below) and a few hours of work:
- Block that leak! The small gaps surrounding windows, doors and other areas in the American house, taken together, are like a nine-square-foot hole in the wall, according to EarthWorks Groups 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Plugging them can save you up to 10% on that heating bill, and the materials will pay for themselves within a year, ACEEE says.
First, find the leaks: On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: chimney flashing, recessed lighting, sill plates, window and door frames, all ducts and flues and electrical outlets.
Buy door sweeps ($3-$10) to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk ($2-$5 per roll, plus a $10 caulk gun) or tacky rope caulk to block those drafty spots around window frames. Apply weatherstripping ($3-$6 for up to 17 feet) to moveable joints. Outlet gaskets ($10 for 10) can easily be installed in electrical outlets in a homes outer walls, where cold air often enters.
- Keep your ducts in a row. A home that uses ductwork to move heated air can lose up to 60% of that air before it reaches the vents if the ducts are poorly connected, not well insulated and travel through unheated spaces such as the attic or crawlspace, says the government. If you are a halfway savvy do-it-yourselfer, and your ductwork and heating and air-conditioning equipment are in the attic, you can do an awful lot to fix your system, at low cost, says Sachs.
First, look for obvious places in the attic, basement or in crawlspaces where ducts have become disconnected. Reconnect them, and fix places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house, says the Department of Energys Ryan.
Fix remaining gaps with tape, but dont use traditional duct tape, which deteriorates; instead, use metal-backed tape ($6-$10 per roll) or aerosol sealant. Where possible, wrap the ducts exterior with special duct insulation ($8-$12 for 15 feet). Though the cost will be substantially more, its a good idea to get a professional to help insulate ducts when electrical wires or lighting fixtures are nearby.
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