How can I save on my home heating (gas) bill?

Question

I rent an old house that still has the wooden framed windows and they just let the drafts right in. What is the best way to put plastic up? I must have not done it right last year because my gas bill was like $400 a month in the winter for a 2 bedroom rowhouse that is vey small. Also, I would turn the thermostat all the way off when I left for work in the morning and turn it on when I returned in the evening. Could this have also contributed to the high bills? I just didn't feel safe letting it run all day with no one home. Any serious heating energy saving tips will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

Go to your local Lowes/ Homedepot and look for a "Insider Heat shrink" window draft kit. They come in various sizes and are really easy to install. Check the furnace filter every month. If it looks a LITTLE dirty. Change it. Check for drafty doors. 40-50% of your energy loss is because the home you are in has drafty doors and windows.

Answer 2

Caulk! A caulk gun and 1-2 tubes of caulk is a great cheap investment and you'll use it the rest of your life. Plug air leaks around all doors, windows, electrical outlets and switchplates. Do a nice neat job & the manager will never know. Even new homes aren't caulked and should be. About sliding doors, those are bad leakers, whether you're paying for energy to heat or cool! Maybe there's a way to caulk around the glass with a silicone that can be pulled off during other seasons, I don't know, ask at the hardware store. 75 at night has my curiosity up, I sleep better cool. I also have CuddlDuds camisole undershirts so any bedding and nightwear is comfy. One-time purchases trumps paying out forever & ever.

Answer 3

Ugh.. I know how you feel. I live in a 1500 sq ft brick house built in the mid 70's and the windows are still the old-fashioned ones, and they leake like a river.

I have central heating/air, but I can tell you that I've noticed a bit of a reduction in my bill since I started leaving the temperature at one constant temperature. If I got hot, I turned a ceiling fan on high and sat underneath it, and if I got cold, I covered up. I make sure and leave it on a temp that I can still stand most of the time, but the unit does run 24/7 trying to keep up.

As far as insulating the windows - I'm in the same boat you are, and have yet to find an affective way to keep them better insulated. I think we're going to have to just purchase new windows (NOOO!!!!! They're sooo expensive).

Good luck! Hope that helps a bit.

Answer 4

Turning the heat off when you are not at home is a good thing. Keep turning it off and as low as you can.
Air infiltration is you biggest heat loss. Get a can of great stuff, and fill up all holes etc. Use a latex based formula on the windows and doors that you want to open in the spring. If you use the polyurethane formula you will never get the windows up again. Polyurethane is the best for filling up holes around pipes etc. If you really want to be warm. Get a sheet of insulation that looks like a sheet of plywood. Cut it with a knife and stick it up in the window and great foam it in place. Your land lord will thank you for not putting up the plastic with tacks. You can just scrape off the foam but tack holes are a bad thing.

Answer 5

For what you are paying for rent, and heat, and a/c, you could probably own a home instead of giving obscene profits to unfriendly countries that would rather see all INFIDELS dead. Your options are limited since you don't own the house .You can go to energy star.gov, Its amazing what you can learn there. Shrink wrapping windows is probably a good starting place. Sealing all doors is good also, Caulking all windows is good also. There is a caulk available that is designed to be readily removeable next spring. Check lowes or Home depot!!

Answer 6

Get a timer for your thermostat. Most hardware stores have them. Easy to install. You can set it to maintain a low temp while you are gone, preheat for your return, and maintain on days you are there.

Plastic works, really read the instructions. Do the outside if necessary.

Try adding more carpeting, cold seeps up from the ground, newspaper is an excellent insulator, cover with throw rugs (Wally world sale?)

Answer 7

that is why your bills are high...you turn it off. you are using more energy to reheat the place every time you come home. you are pushing the furnace to work extra hard for hours just to reheat your place. if you want lower bills, reduce the thermostat by a few degrees while your gone. you'll probabely cut you bills in half by leaving them on.