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I’ve collected some tips for reducing heating costs - in an effort to lower my bills this winter. Here they are:

Heating your home throughout the winter months can become a costly expense. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to make the most of my family budget. If you’re like me, you may be paying almost twice as much to heat your home as you did a few years ago. However, you can cut down your heating costs a lot by using these tips:

* Energy Audit - You should do an energy audit of your home and identify places where heat may be leaking out of your home. Check around the doors, windows and fireplace to see if you can feel a draft. You can use caulk, weather stripping, door sweeps, plastic and other appropriate means to close off these leaks. If your house is not sealed properly, you will have be spending money unnecessarily.

* Reduce Energy Consumption - Try not heating the areas of your home that you do not use regularly like guest rooms and unused bedrooms. You can close down the ducts and close doors for a reduction in your winter heating costs.

* Turn down the heat - Use space heaters to heat the room that you spend the most time in. This is a great way to save on your heating costs. If your space heaters are new and up to code, you should have no problem using them at all and you will find it helps to keep your heating bills down.

* Find a set temperature that is comfortable in your home. You should keep your thermostat a at a steady temperature and if you’re feeling chilly, wear more clothes - think layers. You can actually turn the heat down at night when you are sleeping because your bed covers to keep you warm.

* Consider a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temperature at certain times of the day. Your thermostat can do this when you are not at home and you will not have to worry about having your home heated too heavily when you are away.

* If your water heater is in an unheated space you can wrap it in insulation to prevent heating loss. This is something that you can find at almost any type of home improvement store.

* Wash your clothes in cold or warm water whenever possible. This will save you on your heating bill too.

* In the winter times open up your blinds or curtains to let the warm sun shine through. This will help to keep the room on the sunny side or the south side warmer. Make sure you can shut them again when the sun goes down to keep the chilly breeze out too.

I’m already starting to see results and lower my bills - I hope you are able to put these tips for reducing your heating costs to good use.

Good question - and the answer may surprise you. Yes, the use of an electric blanket can lower my bills in the winter.

Running the heat at night when you are sleeping or just laying around watching television may not be the most effective way to spend your heating dollars. If you can reduce your furnace usage at night you may save a considerable amount of money during the cold winter months. By reducing your usage, your winter fuel bills will go down.

What is your typical heating fuel in your home? Have you set aside enough to afford the next onslaught of winter heating bills? Most people want to lower their heating bills, especially with the rising costs of energy and home heating oil prices. There are ways around these high costs and all you have to do is look for them.

When you are sleeping at night, an electric blanket can provide a lot of comfort. You can set programmable thermostats lower so that your heating system only runs once a night or early in the morning. An electric blanket will keep you just as warm and cozy in bed. Even with your heating system set to a lower temperature, you will still sleep well because you are staying comfortable at night.

There are many great types of heating blankets out there. You will find larger and smaller ones, some come with variable temperature settings - shop around and find out what type of electric blanket is going to work best for you. You can use these heating blankets on the couch when you are watching television too. I’m sure you will agree - it is relaxing and comfortable to be wrapped up in your electric blanket. The best part is - you will lower your bills and save some money on your winter heating costs as well.

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With rising winter heating costs - having a furnace running all the time is going to get expensive. One way I can lower my bills is through the effective use of space heaters.

There are many different types of space heaters on the market today. If you’re like me, trying to lower my heating costs - efficient space heaters are probably the best choice. You may want to use one per floor. I’m using space heaters to help keep our main living spaces comfortable.

For smaller rooms, I’m using smaller space heaters. In larger areas, we’re using units designed to heat larger spaces. Of course, we’ll remember to shut them off when they are not needed and never leave them on while unattended.

Everyone know that heating costs are on the rise and home heating oil prices are skyrocketing. By using space heaters strategically throughout the house, we’ll be able to keep our thermostats set a few degrees lower. The space heaters will keep the rooms that we’re using cozy.

How does this help? The biggest benefit in my mind is that there is less energy being lost out the furnace flue. That should help cut down on my home heating costs and lower my bills this winter.

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I found this video in my quest to lower my bills - there are several energy saving tips mentioned.

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My highest winter heating bill last year was over $400 - I’ve got to find ways to lower my bills this year. I’ll be taking advantage of my fireplace to reduce heating costs.

Many homes around the world have fireplaces in them. More builders are installing fireplaces as an alternative heat source. Some are standard wood-burning fireplaces, others are direct-vent fireplaces that are fired with natural gas or liquid propane. Both can help reduce the strain of high home heating oil prices as well as other high priced winter fuels.

There are pros and cons to having a fireplace in your home.

On the pro side - there’s a “coziness” factor to having a fireplace. There’s just something about the warmth of a fireplace that no other heating system can quite duplicate.

In addition, fireplaces don’t require power to create heat - just fuel. So, even if your power goes out - you can still have peace of mind when it comes to staying warm.

There are some things to look out for. Some research has shown that fireplaces can be a source of heat loss during the winter. An open damper on an unused fireplace can increase your energy consumption by 20% to 30%. A damper or draft stopper should stay closed unless your fireplace is in use - this will help lower your heating bills.

Another factor to keep in mind is leaks. An improperly sealed fireplace can cause problems and increase your heating costs. Check your seals - re-caulk if necessary.

I’m taking advantage of these tips to help lower my bills and reduce my heating costs.

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Making a budget for your heating costs is important. I’m working on my winter heating budget so I can lower my bills. You should make sure that you know what you are going to be able to afford for heating your home this winter. When you are sure of your budget - you will find it much easier to keep your heating costs low and to keep your home comfortable during the winter months.

Every year heating costs are going to go up as the price of home heating oil increases. It makes no difference what type of heating fuel or source you have. The costs of heating our homes is going to continue increasing and we need to budget for it if we’re going to lower our bills.

With the current housing crisis and the economic downturn in some sectors - many people out there will have a hard time keeping their homes warm this winter. Budgeting is a fine idea, but what if your expenses are going up and your income is going down?

That’s a tough question - but we’re working on resources to help you lower your heating bills, and we’ll post them as soon as they’re available.

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Winter’s coming - it’s important to find ways to save on home heating oil prices. It’s one way I can lower my bills. With oil and gas prices on the rise - it’s time to find ways to cut back on my winter heating costs.

Consider this - many home heating oil users have a 250 gallon tank. That could cost $750 to $1,000 to fill and depending on the house - may need to be filled more than once during the heating season. Yikes!

There are some things you can do:

One thing to realize is that the higher the temperature the more fuel you are going to have to use. You do need enough heat to keep your pipes from freezing. If you have well insulated pipes, you should be able to keep your home heating oil prices down by having the temperature set at 65 to 68 degrees. You could possibly take it down to 60 when you aren’t home, but you should consider the use of space heaters for things like bathrooms and laundry rooms so that you don’t have to worry about your pipes freezing.

The use of space heaters will increase your electric bill, but that will most likely be less expensive than having to fill up your oil tank. Make sure you utilize proper safety techniques so that you can use the space heaters to keep some rooms comfortable and keep your home safe.

One more tip - make sure that your home is well insulated. You may want to add a little bit more insulation in the attic and the basement so that the hot air will stay inside and so the cold air will stay out of the home. Keep in mind that there are things like door covers so that you can block the cold air from coming in through the bottom crack of the doors in your home. I’m following these tips so I can lower my bills this winter and save on home heating prices.

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