i need help about the heating bill Can u help me out?

Question

I am worry about the heating bill. i have a house but i get bill that it was so high... how i get keep low bill for heating? Can u help me out with budget of heat bill?

Answer 1

First tip.. Thermostats with Timers are good if ....
They shut off once a day like when you go to work and come on a half hour before you come home.

Thermostats with Timers are NOT good if they shut off and turn on 2 or more times a day, If you loose heat, because your furnace is off, your furnace has to turn back on and reheat the whole house anyways. Pointless.

Second tip, If you have about 30 or 40 dollars you can spend, go to Home depot, Buy window kits for each window(1 kit is usually good for 2-4 windows) in your house, yes they take 3 or 4 hours to install on your own but they keep the house warm and you can turn down the thermostat by at least 3 degrees. Goes along way. The window kits come with clear plastic precuts and a roll of double sided scotch tape. The tape goes on the molding of the window all the way around the window facing you. Cut the plastic in case your windows are smaller to overlap by a foot. Lay the plastic starting at the TOP of the window, slowly drop it with some tension like your dropping your sheets on your bed until you get to the bottom. Make sure the plastic is attached to the tape the entire way around. Next grab your blow dryer, about 4 inches from the plastic turn the blow dryer on high, give it 2 to 5 seconds and the plastic will become tight, and if you flick it with your finger it sounds like a drum. Do this for the entire sheet of plastic on your window. You will have a hard time even telling its there. Yes it takes patience ( I installed them in a house with 28 windows last year, saved a noticeable amount of money). These will last all season. I have put them up in November and they have lasted until April. Durable too. You can lean against one and it won't tear. Word of caution, don't install these before it gets below the 35 degree mark. This can cause humidy to build up between the plastic and windows causing damage to the molding or the window molding.

Third, Check your basement for drafts, insulate around basement windows that usually let heat escape, you want the heat to go up not out. Put insulation anywhere the heat could escape. You can hire people to check your entire foundation with heat sensor equipment if you have heat escaping, costly but effective.

Fourth, Make sure your water boiler is wrapped with insulation. Helps keep the hot water hot. And all hot water pipes insulated.

Fifth, check doors for drafts, like entrances, rear doors etc. You can buy door insulators that attach to the bottom of the door. The ones that sit on the floor at the bottom of the door but arent attached are a pain in the neck.

Sixth, Make sure your attic is insulated considerably. No insulation results in your heat escaping faster.

Seven, If youve done all of this and your still cold, consult between your walls, your house may not have enough insulation between your walls.

Eight, Socks, Slippers and long johns help keep you warm. or closing off a room you dont use during the winter, such as a second bedroom or storage area. If you dont need it, close the door, insulate the cracks.

Nine, Limiting access to the home such as one entry way only for family members can save some money. Hinges with self closing mechanisms for doors keep your door shut and your heat in.

Ten, Position furniture in your house or apartment away from the heaters so the heat can circulate. A ceiling fan can help considerably. Most ceiling fans have a circulate switch, flick it up and it pulls air up to the ceiling, causing the warm air up near the ceililng to circulate back down into the same room reusing the heat. Put fan on its lowest speed. A regular window fan not effective.

If you've done all this your home should be pretty toasty.

Jon - Maine

Answer 2

1. Get a programmable thermostat that you can set to automatically lower the heat when you're not home.

2. Go to Wal-Mart or somewhere else cheap and get plastic for your windows. That will save on heat going out the windows.

3. If you have rooms you don't use much, shut off the registers to those rooms so you're not heating them.

4. If you really can't pay your bill and you're under a certain income level, call your local welfare department or heating company. You can get assistance paying your bill, and you can be put on a payment plan that is a percentage of your income. The companies would rather help you with your bill than shut you off.

Answer 3

There are many possible solutions. Dressing warmer and lowering the heating, or more blankets as someone suggested. If it's a big house you can close off areas that are not really used and don't heat them at all. Also popular rooms like living rooms and kitchens that have high traffid can be kept a little cooler as the body heat of family members can keep it warm. Don't forget that if you enjoy cooking or baking this too will keep the kitchen warm.

In other words, be creative and see where you can cut back.

Another way to go is to compare different kinds of heating - for example gas based rather than electric, although the cost of switching can prove quite high...

Answer 4

One thing you can do is check the furnace filter,if dirty replace. Also much depends on windows doors if sealed properly(no drafts). 3m window plastic window covering can save you as much as 20% on heat bills. Other factors such as insulating value of house,if poorly insulated it will result in high heating bills. Thermostat may not be operating corectly or may be faulty. If not installed and set up correctly it can lead to wide temperature swings and high heat bills. For that you may need a furnace repairman. As for budget you can contact your public service provider and ask about going on a budget plan. Assuming not setting thermostat to a high setting such as 75Deg or better you may want to have the thermostat checked out.

Answer 5

Your situation can be caused by many problems. Checking the windows exterior and interior to ensure they are properly caulked. Make sure you have good weatherstripping around doorways - generally you can feel air leaks by hand on a cold windy day. Ensure your furnace system has been properly maintained. Never change the thermostat setting by more than four degrees or you cost yourself a lot of money. Don't shut the unit off when your gone - don't laugh because several people do this thinking they are saving money when it actually will cost them more to warm the house again, not to mention the risk of frozen pipes. Check with your state housing authority as they may have a free weatherization inspection.

Answer 6

What exactly do you meant by "heating bill"? Your electric bill or your fuel bill? If you're speaking of your electric bill, is it always high, or has it taken a sudden jump? My power bill took a HUGE jump one/two months. Turned out to be a submersable water pump was stuck on - running 24/7! It took me some detective work to figure it out, but my power company had some great suggestions for me to help me figure out the problem.

Answer 7

Sleep with the temperature at 65, wear sweaters, buy inexpensive plastic to cover the windows to insulate your home. A automatic thermostat is an excellent investment, best one for the money is at Sears. Lots of blankets or down comforters. Warm slippers. Long under-ware. One Winter I had no money and I found my fireplace was excellent at heating my condo. I would find people giving away free firewood and fill up the trunk of my car. Otherwise I wore wool hats and gloves, socks to bed. You could consider an electric blanket.

Answer 8

Common sense works- close off rooms you dont use, wear warmer clothes (keep your socks on-keeps body temp better), timer thermostat~ set it to warm when you get up, when youre away keep it cooler, have it warm up right before you get home, then when youre sleeping have it cooler- have warm blankets (comforters work well) Also, there is heating assistance out there to help and talk to your utility company most can put you on a budget plan.

Answer 9

Just reading over some of the postings, there are some myths posted that will hurt more than help... either way how do you tell them apart or even where to apply the good techniques?
My company Thermal Dynamic Resources (www.thermaldr.com), an ENERGY STAR (R) partner conducts our home energy evaluations using thermal (IR) cameras.
This method allows us to detect the exact problems causing a rise in utility costs and allows for the efficient planning to lowering them. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at [e-mail] and I will help set you in the right direction.

Answer 10

I WOULD SHUT OFF THE HOUSE FURNACE AND GET THE DOORS SEALED WITH TOWELS TOP AND BOTTOM AND LIVE IN JUST ONE ROOM. IN THAT ONE ROOM HAVE A SMALL ELECTRIC FAN TYPE HEATER OR ELECTRIC HEATED OIL TYPE HEATER W/LONG CORD THEN IF NEED BE RUN THE HEATER IN WHICHEVER OTHER ROOM YOU WANT TO BE IN FOR A WHILE. IF THE PLACE DOESNT HAVE DOORS USE DRAPES (FULL LENGTH) OR PUT UP BLANKETS TO KEEP THE COLD FROM ENTERING. REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE A WINDOW CRACKED FOR OXYGEN.