Heating Costs in the Winter .You might have heard that you sometimes need to spend money to save money. The good news is that when it comes to ways to save on heating, you often do not have to spend any money at all. There are several free things you can do to help lower your cost.

Tips That Will Help You Save Money on Your Heating

1. Change Your Furnace Filters

This is an absolute must for winter. A clogged filter will restrict air flow and won’t protect your furnace from all the dust circulating in the air.

If your furnace breaks down, that’s a chunk of change you weren’t expecting to pay – plus you’ll be without a furnace during the coldest season of the year. Changing your filter every 3 months is an inexpensive, easy way to take care of your furnace.

2.Turn the Thermostat Down

Adjusting your thermostat can lead to a dramatic drop in your heating bills. Lowering the thermostat by up to 10 degrees can help you save up to 10% annually on heating.

Some of the best times to turn down your thermostat are bedtime and before you leave for work in the morning. Try sleeping with the temperature set around 63 degrees Fahrenheit. When you leave for work, you might want to lower the heat to 63 or even cooler, as long as no one will be home during the day.

3. Improve Your Home’s Insulation

Adding more insulation is a good idea if your house has a hard time retaining heat. The best way to determine if you need more insulation is to have a professional come in and perform an energy audit.

An energy audit will identify areas of your home that could become more efficient with the right improvements – for example, a high-quality insulation.

Ottawa has several certified energy auditors that can help you identify new opportunities for winter savings.

4. Seal Up Any Leaks in Your House

A draft lets cold air in – and that certainly doesn’t help your furnace do its job.

When you winterize your house, check for any leaks or drafts that could impact your home’s temperature. Use weather stripping, caulking or another sealing product to make your house draft-proof.

Ways to Lower Your Heating

1. Replace the filters.

You know those pesky filters no one likes to deal with? Well, they matter. And they can actually help you save money on your heating bill at the end of the month. So do the thing. Change the filter. And follow what the instructions say about how often you need to change them out.

You can even set a reminder on your phone to let you know when it’s time to change the filter. That will help you keep saving money as time goes on.

2. Use ceiling fans.

Yep, you read that right—using your ceiling fans can help you save on your heating bill costs. Here’s the catch though: You’ve got to get that fan to spin clockwise instead of counterclockwise (the setting most people keep it at in the summer months to cool off a room).

Heat rises, but if that heat stays up at the top of the room, it does you no favors. By switching the direction your fan moves, you’ll help all that trapped heat move down. And there’s your science lesson for the day.

Fixing your fan is pretty simple—you can usually change this setting on the ceiling fan itself (look for a little switch on the base of the fan). And remember to keep the fan on the lowest setting too.