Save Money on Your Heating Bill

Having lived in California most of my life, I was not familiar with the costs of heating a house. After Moving to Washington, I found that my heating bills could be anywhere from $50- $200 a month. Here are some simple tricks to saving money by keeping your gas bill down:

• Use a programmable thermostat to lower the temperature while you are sleeping and at work. After doing some research, I found that fluctuating temperatures inside your home will save you big bucks.
• Gradually decrease you homes ambient temperature over time as you acclimate. If you normally keep your home at 68 degrees, try turning it to 67 degrees for a few days according to your tolerance, if you're ok with 67, then try 66. Continue to lower the temperature until a comfort tolerance is reached.
• Keep vents and doors closed to guest rooms, or rooms that are not used often. This will keep the unused rooms from being heated, by decreasing the overall square footage of your house, and ultimately your bill.
  
• Make an effort to seal any drafty windows or doors.
  

Each ambient degree lower on your thermostat will save you about 1% of your total bill. There is a common myth that it takes more energy to reheat a room if it has cooled down, because the furnace has to work harder. I have found this to be untrue. Use these tips to help find that perfect point where frugal meets comfort.

For someone like me who is not used to seeing snow, please comment if there is anything I missed.