by: Julianne Boulton
Space heating accounts for more than 40% of the energy used in U.S. homes, according to the most recent Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) . This means that you can save energy and money by reducing the amount of heating you use. You can on average reduce your heating bill by 3% a month by turning down your thermostat just by one degree. Turning down your thermostat doesn’t have to mean that you need to be freezing at home. If you make maximum use of the heat produced you may not even notice that your thermostat has been turned down. Some easy steps that you can take to conserve heat at home that won’t cost you anything are:
- Making use of your curtains
Draw your curtains during the day so that the sunshine can naturally heat up your house. Closing the curtains after sunset will help to trap the heat in at night so that no heat esca
- Dressing for winter
Dress appropriately for the season while indoors. Add an extra blanket to your bed and use a blanket when you watch television.
- Closing all unwanted doors
Closing the doors to rooms that you don’t need heating in, such as the basement will help you to save on heating by confining all the heat that you are paying for only in the areas of the house where you actually need.
- Closing the fireplace damper
By closing the fireplace damper when you aren’t using the fireplace, you can keep the heat from escaping through the chimney.
- Using your ceiling fan
If you already have a ceiling fan in your house you don’t have to use it just during summer. The Energy Star website says that you can reverse the motor and make your ceiling fan move clockwise during winter (ceiling fans usually turn counter-clockwise) at a low speed. This will help the warm air from your heater that has got trapped near the ceiling come down so that you can use it.
Apart from saving energy and money, Dutch researchers have recently suggested that reducing the temperature may help you burn up calories faster by speeding up metabolism!