Save on Your Heating Bill

If you follow a few quick tips from home energy use experts, you can save on your heating bill this fall.

Make sure your home is properly insulated

DuWayne Dunham, the Energy Services Supervisor at Clark Public Utilities (our local electric company in Vancouver, Washington), helps people find ways to save energy in their homes. The biggest problems he usually sees in homes are air leaks around outside doors and poor insulation.

If you want to get the “biggest bang for your buck,” DuWayne suggests you start by filling holes on the outside of your home and adding extra insulation to your attic, floors and walls. Both of these things — in most cases — can be done by the average DIYer, are relatively inexpensive and can make a big difference by keeping heat inside your home and cold air out.

Use programmable features to save on your heating bill

A lot of people don't actually use the program feature on their programmable thermostat.

But don't take my word for it. According to the Berkeley National Laboratory, up to 50 percent of programmable thermostats are set to hold. In other words, they're just manual thermostats.

That programmable feature isn't going to save you money if you're not using it.

If you have a regular schedule, set it up so your heaters automatically come on when you're home and lower when you're not or when you're sleeping.

Sure, you can save just as much cash doing this manually yourself, but it’s easy to miss a day or two in your routine. That will end up costing you.

Upgrade from mechanical to electronic thermostats

If you’re using our products, upgrading to an electronic thermostat can also lead to energy savings.

Basic knob-style thermostats aren't particularly accurate. Brand new out of the box, they can be between 3 and 5 degrees off.

Electronic thermostats will keep your room within one degree of the temperature you set, which leads to more consistent comfort and energy savings. (Be sure to check out our blog post on 3 common misconceptions about thermostats for more energy-savings tips).

Heat individual rooms when you're using them

With our products you can heat rooms when they’re in use. Why waste energy heating the living room when you’re in the bedroom or kitchen?

If your home uses a central heating system, you can add an electric wall heater to the room (or rooms) you use most. Then lower the overall temperature with your central system and add a little extra warmth to those rooms when you need it.

BONUS TIP: Upgrade old electric baseboard heaters

Do you have one or more old electric baseboard heaters in your home? Try upgrading to one of our wall heaters to save energy and, perhaps more importantly, to enjoy better comfort.