Saving money on heating costs

Here are practical tips on how to save money on electricity bills without breaking the bank

WINTER has come down on us with a vengeance - and so have heating costs. The television and web are full of great ideas on how to save money on energy costs, but more often than not it takes money to save money.

For many spending money on major home improvement projects to make a home more energy efficient just isn't on the cards this year.

But you still have options. You do not have to spend a packet of money to cut your heating costs.

Here are nine tips on how to save money on electricity bills without breaking the bank. Each tip should cost from nothing to very little.

Bundle up!

Running around with shorts and a tank top in the middle of winter just doesn't make much sense. Winter is winter because it is cold, so act like it even if you're just sitting around the house.

Put on a sweater or sweatshirt, wear socks and fuzzy slippers. Place a soft, comfy blanket on the couch to cuddle up in while watching TV, reading or chatting with friends.

Put throw rugs on hardwood and tile floors to eliminate the shock of the ice cold surfaces.

Doors

Not all doors are used in winter, nor are the windows, so plastic up the windows and doors that are going to go unused.

These can help to eliminate drafts to keep in the heat. Can't afford the kits or plastic sheeting?

Hang blankets to help insulate. If you are creative enough, you can hang it to look shabby chic.

Anybody home?

Turn the heat down at night and when no one is home. This doesn't mean turn the heat to 40ºC, but turning it down to 60 overnight or while you're away can make a big difference.

Sweet

After baking cookies or making dinner in the oven, leave the door open a crack.

There's a lot of heat in that oven, so letting it escape puts the heat to good use by warming up the kitchen and surrounding rooms meaning the furnace has to run a little bit less.

Focused

Use a space heater only in the room you are hanging out in. This will take the nip out of the air to make you feel more comfortable without heating all of the other rooms in the house and wasting energy.

Patch it

Use silicone to fill any cracks in doors, windows, and so on, including the basement floor and walls. You would be surprised at how much heat is lost through cracks that seem insignificant.

Close any vents going to rooms that are not used regularly. That guest room that sits empty when you don't have any guests? Close the door and the vents.

Put weather stripping around windows and doors. Weather stripping helps quite a bit, especially in older homes.

Cover up the attic entry with plastic, pieces of insulation, old blankets, weather stripping, saran wrap, painter drop cloth, or even a few old shirts.

Any of it will help to slow, if not stop, the drafts and warm air from floating away through your roof.

All of these tips are good, old fashioned, common sense thoughts that take but a few minutes and maybe a few rand to implement.

True, these thoughts won't save you thousands like all-new windows would, but they will help you save as much as possible with what you have. - about.com