EnergySavers.gov can help cut your heating bill

If you live in a cold-weather climate, you don't need a thermometer to know that winter and its cold weather have arrived. (That said, the temperature exceeded a balmy 60°F at my New York City suburban hometown yesterday.) Even as home-heating fuel prices have dropped, you'll still want to trim your wintertime utility bills.

A friend swears that wearing sweaters and other warm clothing is the best way to save, so he turns the thermostat way down. He definitely saves, though his stinginess makes his house uncomfortably cold—so chilly that his mother-in-law refuses to visit. Perhaps that frostiness mirrors the relationship he has with her. . . .

You don't have to take such measures to save. The U.S. Department of Energy recently launched EnergySavers.gov, which features free and inexpensive ways to lower energy costs and a guide to do-it-yourself energy audits. Your utility company might also provide a free or low-cost energy audit; if you need to hire a company, use this directory of certified professionals and learn what a professional audit should entail.

If you or someone you know needs help paying their heating bills this winter, check out the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential reading: Use our experts tips to save energy and money. And learn how cutting your utility bills could boost the value of your home. 

Comments

[Dan]

There are (almost) countless of different energy saving tips that cost nothing or next to nothing that home owners can do to reduce their utility bills month after month after month after .... :)

We have been collecting these no cost and low cost energy conservation tips for the home owner (along with others requiring greater initial cash outlay) and have them listed here on the energy conservation page of our home web site:

http://dailyhomerenotips.com/energy-conservation/

Of the 240+ energy savings ideas we have collected over the past year or so, 107 cost nothing at all to do and another 74 cost very little to do.

We have had the energy audit which we highly recommend for anyone to have done on their home so they know the areas specific to their home that will provide the greatest return for any cash outlay.

Dan