Cutting heating/hot water costs UPDATE- FOUND GAS LEAK!

[pocomom]

Looking for some thoughts on cutting heating bills. Each winter our heating bill becomes one of our most expensive bills. We pay about 600 every month during the cold weather. We have a large house, and use propane gas and baseboard heaters. (i know) the propane also does our hot water heater. We puchased small space heaters for the master bath and my husband's basement office in order to keep the thermastat down a little. We also replaced our front and back doors this winter, and we try to minimize using our garage door in the winter as our bedroom is above it. I wash our clothes in cold water.
I'm wondering where other's have found the most savings vs. cost outlay . Should we be thinking about biting the bullet and replacing our system? Has anyone done an on demand hot water system and do you really have enough hot water? I don't think adding ductwork is an option for us for heating. Has anyone switched off propane and what were your savings?

 

[HM]

What temp do you keep your hot water heat set on?


One idea to help with house heating is to use the sun to help. We open all window coverings in rooms where the sun is shining directly and close them in the rooms that the sun isn't facing to hold in the heat. This means shifting window coverings as the sun progresses throughout the day, but seems to help a bit. If it's cloudy, we live in a 'cave' with window coverings drawn closed and lights on in the rooms we're in.

Are there rooms you don't use at all? Can you turn down/off the heat in those rooms?

 

[tink_n_pooh]

We also have propane with base board heaters, it is actually rather efficient. What type of system would you replace it with? Have you talked to the propane company about locking in at a low rate? We have a pretty good size house and $600 gets us closer to 6 months for propane. We have propane heat, hot water and stove.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Is your heat multiple zone? Do you often use the dishwasher? Do you have programmable thermostats?

 

[NotUrsula]

Consider installing tankless water heaters for the kitchen and bathrooms. There is a rather substantial purchase and installation cost, but they allow you to keep the main water heater temp low. http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/tankless-or-demand-type-water-heaters

As to your garage, I suggest installing extra insulation on the garage ceiling to keep the heat/ac from your bedroom from leaking into the garage.

Do you use good programmable thermostats? They can make a lot of difference, because it's a no-brainer to use blankets and drop the house temp to 62 degrees while everyone is sleeping. Also, if you have to raise the temp to get the rooms with the longer ductwork access to a comfortable level, consider adding electric booster fans into the ductwork to help move the air more efficiently. (Oops -- just noticed that you don't HAVE ductwork. I tend to forget that some people don't.)

 

[jel0511]

Now, we have gas, so I'm no help with propane... We just had our hw water heater replaced and it's pretty cool. It's a 75 gallon tank, but it's rated to also provide heat though baseboard heaters if so equipped. The plumber explained that to use it as both, first there is a motor installed to circulate the HOT water along the baseboards, then a "mixer" would be installed so the water could then be cooled to be used for bathing, etc. I guess he was trying to get me to use it to heat our basement, but our basement already gets heat(and air) from our existing system, though vents cut into the existing duct work in the basement ceiling. That might be an option...... I chose not to go with a tankless system due to considerable up front costs and the yearly maintenance required to keep system operating......

 

[arthuruscg]

Check your attic insulation and add another layer running 90deg from the existing direction.

 

[JessM]

We have on demand hot water propane system and we have plenty of hot water. Too hot of water actually we have to be careful! We have a 1200 sq foot side of a duplex. We have 3 heating zones (zones 1 and 3 basement and upstairs never get turned on) and I think that definitely helps. We suck it up and leave the heat at 60. We use spaceheaters in whatever room we are hanging out in and draw all the window treatments. We only pay around $75 a month for propane (heat and hot water). I wash in cold unless its sheets and towels and it seems to help keep our bill down. Our system is newer (only 5 years old) and the house is only 6 years old that probably helps. Good luck : )

 

[Happyjen27]

Programmable thermostat, defiantely. And use it accurately. Play with how low you can keep your temps. I've got my Upstate NY house down to 65 during the day, and 62 at night.

It may seem ghetto, but I put plastic on my bedroom windows because they are single pane and awful. I don't do this throughout the house, just in my room. The kids' rooms have updated windows.

Buy/make energy saver drapes. I use a sewing machine to line draperies, or buy them pre-lined. It's amazing how cold it is between the drapes and the windows and I'm sure I'm keeping out some drafts. This also cuts cooling costs in the summertime because it keeps the sun out.

The space heaters might be working against you and costing you more, electrical heat is pricey.

Use a timer for your showers. I've never done this, but I've read it on the eco-friendly websites and it seems like a good idea. Maybe less for me, but will be great when my littles become teenagers.

 

[MomToOne]

What temp do you keep the thermostat set at when you are home?

I've dropped down a degree a year - started at 72, now our standard is 67. That's the lowest I will probably go. We have an old house, and just add sweaters, sweats and/or throw blankets to stay warm when we are stationary watching TV, etc. When we are up and active, 67 is fine. I shut the furnace off completely when we are not home and at night (but live in a climate where that doesn't threaten any pipes or other damage). I like to sleep cold LOL

 

[Bete]

You can have blown in insulation to your exterior walls. If you have a basement and it's an unfinished basement get the ceiling insulated. I agree with another poster to insulate your garage ceiling. Wrap your hot water heater and your hot water pipes where you can reach them.

There are kits for windows that can help cover them and add another layer against wind drafts and so forth.

You definitely need to dial down the thermostat. If no one is home you should have the temperature way down.

Wear warmer clothes around the house and even layer yourself to keep warmer. You can use blankets for sitting almost anywhere.

Learn to take cooler showers and also shorter showers.

Be careful to not leave doors open too long. Be quick with your groceries and so forth.

Drink hot drinks like tea or cocoa; somehow this always make one warmer.

 

[leebee]

We live in Maine near Bangor, and have OIL heat/hot water for our 100 year old home. We do the following:
Thermostat never goes above 58 degrees when we are home. We each have a fleecy throw ($5 from Walmart) for staying warm. We also wear sweat pants/shirts while sitting around in the evening.

We have mostly leaky, single pane old windows so we make sure they are all locked, then use clay-like window pane sealant to plug leaky spots or to touch up the glazing.

We use plastic "shrink-wrap" on the old windows.

I bought fleece fabric when it was on sale and made window coverings. It was significantly cheaper than buying thermal curtains.

Thermostat on the water heater is turned down.

We laid rolled insulation in the attic. We also put pipe insulation on exposed pipes that carry hot water to the radiators (the pipes in the basement rafters... Cannot access the ones in the walls.)

We put plastic V-channel around the doorframes to ensure a good seal.

That's about it. We burn about 100 gallons of oil a month from mid-December to mid-April, or about $350-$400 a month. Sure am glad warm weather is almost here!

 

[gorkt]

A lot of great idea here! I live in New England and I echo a lot of these, including the programmable thermostat. A few years ago I also did a "draft" test, where I went around to all the windows and checked for drafts. I had my husband caulk around the windows and I got one of those foam things to seal under the door. It did actually make a big difference. I keep the heat at about 65 in the winter during the day and 60-62 at night.

 

[teCh0010]

Air leaks are probably most of your costs. I would get a blower door energy audit, and buy the Doug Rye DVDs on air infiltration.

 

[pocomom]

We normally keep the heat at 64-65, and our water heater is turned down because of scalding risks anyway for the kids. Our boiler and hot water heater are pretty old and inefficient, and they have been through a few floods as well, so I'm sure that is the bulk of our problem. The space heaters are a compromise that keeps dh from turning the thermostat up, so I think it works for us overall. He likes the bathroom warm when he gets up, and will turn up the heat if he is too cool while working in the basement. It has made very little difference in our electric bill and they are only on when needed. I bought a programmable thermastat but I haven't used it yet. I thought it would be easier to self install... guess I should get on that.
I may have to look into the the plastic - at least in the less obvious windows. I did put up insulated curtains downstairs, I notice a huge difference in the summer with it not heating up down there. Insulation the garage and attic crawl space is probably another big area, we can make a difference. There is none between the garage and our room. Not even sure how that was legal to build like that. I've never actually been up into the attic space to see what is going on up there.
We do have one small room we can shut off, guest room that gets very little use in the winter. I am not familiar enough with baseboard to know if you can do it that way or not, but it does tend to be a cold room, so perhaps just keeping the door shut would make a difference.
I was thinking of doing some tree planting to help long term as well. Our lot was clear cut and is one of the highest points on top of the mountain here, so it gets very cold and windy.
Figured if I start making a to do list now I might be ready to see the bills next winter

 

[pocomom]

We live in Maine near Bangor, and have OIL heat/hot water for our 100 year old home. We do the following:


We laid rolled insulation in the attic. We also put pipe insulation on exposed pipes that carry hot water to the radiators (the pipes in the basement rafters... Cannot access the ones in the walls.)

QUOTE]

Why didn't I think of that before- our pipes run all the way through the cold basement before coming upstairs, I've got the ceiling in the basement pulled down right now, because I was fixing a leak from the upstairs bathroom pipes. Thank you!

 

[Darcy03231]

We replaced our furnace and hot water heater with energy efficient ones and our gas bill went down by 1/3. Once we replaced all of our windows it went down again and now we're paying about half of what we were before we replaced everything.

Prior to doing the work we put more insulation in the attic and put plastic over the windows in the winter. While it did help, it didn't cut the costs as much as replacing the furnace, hot water heater and windows did. When we had the window replaced the contractor found that there was no insulation at all around the windows.

 

[leebee]

We replaced our furnace and hot water heater with energy efficient ones and our gas bill went down by 1/3. Once we replaced all of our windows it went down again and now we're paying about half of what we were before we replaced everything.

Prior to doing the work we put more insulation in the attic and put plastic over the windows in the winter. While it did help, it didn't cut the costs as much as replacing the furnace, hot water heater and windows did. When we had the window replaced the contractor found that there was no insulation at all around the windows.

Unfortunately, we do not have the cash flow or credit to replacr the furnace, water heater, and windows, so we do what we can with what we can afford. DH is thinking of trying to replace windows this summer, one at a time, but he really has NO idea of what he is doing!

 

[Darcy03231]

Unfortunately, we do not have the cash flow or credit to replacr the furnace, water heater, and windows, so we do what we can with what we can afford. DH is thinking of trying to replace windows this summer, one at a time, but he really has NO idea of what he is doing!

When we replaced the windows we replaced them with new construction windows (frames and all) because the frames on our windows had started to rot. If we had just done replacement windows we never would have found out that there was no insulation around the windows. Before replacing them when the wind blew really hard you could see our curtains move.

 

[3boymthr]

Definitely insulate the pipes! Saved us a ton of money and it's a very inexpensive fix that you can do yourself. When DH did our house he bought the preformed insulation at Home Depot and used cheap zip ties to attach them to the pipes. I think the total cost was less than $100 for our basement - we have a 1,200 SF house. Our basement is heated but we keep the heat at 50 and it goes on maybe two or three times a year if the temp outside drops down to zero or below.

Also, make sure your system is cleaned and efficiency tested every year. This will make sure that even if it's not as energy efficient as a newer system it will be running at ITS peak efficiency. DH cleans our system every fall.

We have switched away not from propane but from oil to wood pellets as our primary heating source. We still heat our hot water with oil. Our oil cost has gone to about $500/yr as opposed to $3000/yr. Our cost for the pellets this year was $600. We kept the oil heat in place as a back up and do use it when we are traveling, only going to be home to be in bed, or if we run out of pellets, and at the fringes of the heating season (May and September) when the heat runs for maybe an hour or two a day in the middle of the night.