16 Ways to Beat Soaring Heating Bills!!!

Rising prices for heating oil and natural gas could mean big bills this winter.
Here are some things you can do to cut your costs.

The unrelenting rise in oil and natural gas prices is about to run headlong into the steady approach of winter. Oil prices have roared to fresh record highs each time the U.S. government reported another fall in heating fuel stocks ahead of winter. World prices have surged on fears that the United States is running out of time to build winter fuel supplies.

The Energy Information Administration forecasts that households in some areas could spend 71% more this winter for natural gas and 40% more for propane than last winter. We’ll see an overall increase of 24% in winter heat bills, the EIA forecasts.

What to do? Well, there are a lot of things that the entrepreneurial homeowner can do. Here are some simple steps you can take to slash your home’s heating bill, and some new federal tax breaks even sweeten the opportunity.

Steps to Save:

It costs money to save money, however. While an adequate vinyl window might work, a double-paned window with a low e-rating is the real way to save energy, and money!! This adds up, especially when you’ve got 8-15 windows in your house. National energy experts recommend buying high-efficiency windows and appliances as their predecessors wear out and you need to replace them anyway. Over time, the extra cost is recouped in improved efficiency.

Low Cost Fixes:

• Turn down the thermostat. The rule of thumb is that you can save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back your thermostat. Turn down the thermostat 10 degrees when you go to work, and again when you go to bed - a total of 16 hours a day - and you can save about 14% on your heating bill.
• Use fans wisely. In just one hour, a hard-working bathroom or kitchen fan can expel a houseful of warm air, according to the Department of Energy. Turn them off as soon as they’ve done their job.
• Keep the fireplace damper closed. Heat rises, and an open damper is like a hole in the roof. Also, limit use of the fireplace, since fires actually suck heat from a room.
• Close off seldom-used rooms. And shut the vents inside.
• Turn down the water heater. Lowering the temperature of water in the water heater to 115-120 degrees reduces power use often without a noticeable difference to the user. The only concern here is that 140 degrees is the temperature for sanitizing in a dishwasher, so keep that in mind.
• Keep heating vents clear. Vents blocked by rugs and furniture prevent heated air from circulating efficiently.
• Use curtains. Opening curtains and shades on south-facing windows during the day allows solar radiation to warm a living space; closing all curtains at night helps retard the escape of that heat.
• Block that leak! The small gaps surrounding windows, doors and other areas in the single-family house, taken together, are like a nine-square-foot hole in the wall.
• Buy door sweeps to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk (or tacky rope caulk) to block those drafty spots around window frames.
• Apply weatherstripping to moveable joints. Outlet gaskets can easily be installed in electrical outlets in a home’s outer walls, where cold air often enters.
• Keep your ducts in a row. A home that uses ductwork to move heated air can lose up to 60% of that air before it reaches the vents if the ducts are poorly connected, not well insulated and travel through unheated spaces such as the attic or crawlspace. First, look for obvious places in the attic, basement or in crawlspaces where ducts have become disconnected. Reconnect them, and fix places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house.
• Swaddle water heater and pipes. Unless you’ve got a newer water heater that is already Energy Star rated, it takes a lot of extra energy to keep all that water at the specified temperature.
• Winterize windows.
• Buy a low-flow showerhead. A water-efficient showerhead can use 25% to 50% less hot water, saving both on water and power bills.
• Buy a smart thermostat. If you’re the kind of person who forgets to turn the temperature down at night and before work, but who doesn’t mind programming things like the TV remote control, a “smart” thermostat can be set to change the temperature for you.
• Keep your furnace in shape. Replace the air filter according to the manufacturer’s directions and your heating system will operate more efficiently.

By following all of the aforementioned strategies, the owner of an older home can likely save much more than 20-25% on heating bills.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gives most of its $14.5 billion in tax breaks over the next 10 years to businesses, but it does throw money toward homeowners. Homeowners who make energy-efficient improvements to existing homes can qualify for a 10% tax credit, up to $500. A credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes, compared with a deduction, which only decreases taxable income. Improvements that can qualify include adding insulation, metal roofs coated with heat-reducing pigments, and energy-efficient windows, doors and skylights.

The tax breaks begin in 2006! They will not be available in 2007.