heat for winter

[janey851]

How do you save money for heat in the winter?  My husband and I got a wood pellet stove?  We love it and our home  is so toasty.

[aoyelove]

How do you save money for heat in the winter?  My husband and I got a wood pellet stove?  We love it and our home  is so toasty.

How do those work? I've been thinking of buying one but, I'm not too sure.

[vlsm23]

We have a gas fireplace.  Its how we kept our home warm here in Kentucky during the ice storm when we didnt have power for 6 days.  On a normal basis its just nice to warm up the room quickly

[janey851]

We have one that has a thermastat.  It has saved us alot of money and it doesn't smell smoky.  Our furnace is now our backup heat.

[pshah1991]

We keep as many of the door, (Closets, bathroom doors, bedroom doors) closed as possible. It helps a little bit as air heat up beacuse it doesn't circulate.

[niner9ers]

Heated floors is a great idea too.. but rather expensive.

[partpa]

that's great. i like the summer better, the heat is outside lol

[mc1962]

Here in the Southern California Desert our electric bill can run $300.00 per month (thats a lot of surveys)  ....... It has been 110 -115 degrees this week and we are not even half way through the summer

[jerryleeboone]

The mere thought of heating costs this winter scares me to death.  We have put in all new windows, insulation and brand new siding.  We are anxious to see if all of this investment will pay off.  Here in Indiana, they (the power industries) are speculating that there will be a minimum of 25% percent increase in energy costs.  Another down-side, we make too much money for assistance and we have a budget plan of $285.00 per month.  So we are looking at an additional cost of $71.25.  On the positive side, I received my TRF (Teachers Retirement Fund Quarterly Report and for the first time in over 1 1/2 years I actually saw a positive return.  Could we be in the midst of an economic turn around?  What do you think?

[unojuno]

Here in the Southern California Desert our electric bill can run $300.00 per month (thats a lot of surveys)  ....... It has been 110 -115 degrees this week and we are not even half way through the summer

I can relate==we have had 115 here several days in succession.  My A/C is running constantly. I have found that soaking your filter in ice water for a few seconds helps.  The air coming through the vents is icy.  Only lasts for a while though, before you have to repeat.

[taintedbrilliance]

my fiance and i use heat pumps.... i mean although they are a bit more expensive than central heat and air... they pay for themselves with the energy costs we save.

[Valerie1979]

Here in the Southern California Desert our electric bill can run $300.00 per month (thats a lot of surveys)  ....... It has been 110 -115 degrees this week and we are not even half way through the summer

Don't complain about $300/month electric bills.  Our last one was $700 (and we are not crazy people with stuff on all the time-- it's just dang expensive here!)

[atvgirl1]

you guys win that is expensive bill

[Oryon20]

We have a natural gas furnace, and also use natural gas for our stove and water heater.  The key to saving money for heating/cooling is just doing a lot of the little things.  We have a programmable thermostat, which we dial down to 55 degrees when sleeping and not home.  If it's really cold, we have an electric blanket on the bed which uses pennies in electricity, compared to dollars to heat the house all night while sleeping. The rest of the time it's at 68.  Keep your curtains/blinds closed at night and on cloudy days.  When the sun is out, open them all up to let the sunlight in.  Each fall, inspect and re-caulk anywhere that needs it outdoors... especially around windows and doors.  Also, seal up and cracks and crevices with low expanding foam.  Buy a hot water tank blanket, they're quite cheap and do help.  Make sure you change your furnace filters at least once every 3 months, and try to use the better ones as they filter better.  Making sure your furnace is well maintained and cleaned helps its efficiency. Also, get your air ducts periodically cleaned.  If you have the money to do so, replace your windows with more energy efficient ones and make sure you have proper insulation in your attic.  Remember, through the end of the year, those type of energy improvements qualify for a tax credit in 2011 of 30% of the cost you paid, up to $1500.

[ahunter300]

our average bill is less than $150/mo - we keep the a/c at 80 degrees all year round - even though it is 45 to 50 degrees outside it still is 80 degrees inside - use a dehumidifier to keep the moisture down so we are not cooling or heating the atmosphere in the 2 bedroom condo - so it cost less than $5 a day and that is 2 computers with 5 hard drives working all day and 4 printers a blazing - oh, forgot the tv is on most of the time also - guess the computers, hard drives and printers are keeping us warm