Some tips on keeping heating costs low

[mickeyfan2]

it shuts off at 69, but the house generally gets to 72 due to the temp of the water in the pipes.

We have baseboard hot water and do not experience this. Our system is designed to keep the temperature within 1/2 of a degree. Are you sure that you do not have your boiler set too high? We run 140 degree water in all the rooms except the underfloor in the tiles areas. There is is 90 degree water (don't want to burn the feet ) The boiler is much less efficient when run at a higher rate. We can turn the boiler up and down.

I also pre-bought my fuel in August at 208.9 Last week when they did my first delivery, my ticket said 2.679 so I'm glad I did!

This does seem really high.

I am guessing that you have propane heat. Do you own your tank? or do you have oil? We have a propane fired boiler and we own our tank. We bought our year propane in late July and paid $1.35/gallon. We expect to spend about $950 to heat our home (4000 sq feet) and have hot water for the year. We keep it at 70 when we are home, 67 at night and 65 otherwise.

 

[Muushka]

Don't dry your clothes in the dryer, hang them in the house. The moisture is much needed in the winter for health reasons and it makes the house feel warmer. AND you conserve energy by not using your dryer. I always mostly dry them in the air and then finish them off in the dryer to knock out the wrinkles.

Kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

[tinaluis]

I just got a Budget Plan "adjustment" from the gas company. My monthly payment has gone from $156 to $198 due to "the expected increase in the cost of natural gas" this coming heating season. Something is going to have to give and our budget is pretty tight so we don't have that much wiggle room. We do have oil filled electric heaters (with a safety feature that turns them off if the are tipped over) that we keep in the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs so we can turn the heat way down during the night in the rest of the house. I've told the crew that we may all be sleeping in one of the smaller bedrooms if prices really do go up by the 71% they've predicted. We'll adjust, but it's going to take a little getting used to.

 

[deide71]

I love the idea about drying the clothes in the open. Just wonder how you do it, where you hang them, what from, etc.?

 

[kpk89]

LOL I did that all last winter because our dryer broke!! Just used a drying rack, the shower curtain rod, where ever I could find. I definitely noticed that it helped the humidity, never thought about how it might help the heat though.

 

[ohiominnie]

Well....I'm waiting!! I just moved from Texas to the Chicago area so not only is this my first COLD winter ever in my life, it's going to be mighty expensive! I'd love to hear any tips...I'm thinking space heaters. I've never used one but the new ones look so safe compared to the old ones from my childhood. Anyone know if these work well and are fairly safe to have around (my kids are old enough to not worry - 9 and 11). Thanks op for this post!

I haven't read through all the posts, but I want to comment on this. We do have a small space heater we use in the bathroom (ceramic something or other) Just to heat up the small space for the 10 minutes you're in the shower. Nice to come out and have it toasty.

We also have a sun room that, while it has insulated windows and roof and floor, it is not connected to the duct work from the furnace. We found a oil radiant heater at Sam's Club for (I want to say) around $70-$80. It works AMAZINGLY well!! Even on low it will make the room TOASTY warm. They are safe to run also.

It looks something like this:

 

[ohiominnie]

Not a bad idea...maybe I'll lose a couple pounds....

But then you lose an insulating layer of fat!
No, I say eat lots of Twinkies, get blubber, stay warmer!!!

 

[ioneblair]

to make the bed toasty before getting in I do this.....(getting ready to buy more rice now).....

I put rice in an old sock or two and tie a knot in it, then I put the sock in the micro with a little water in a cup (side by side not the sock in the cup) and heat it for about 5 minutes or so (sometimes it will take about 10 minutes) until the sock it hot.....(I have a small micro so yours may heat up faster if it is bigger and more powerful), I put the sock in another sock or pillow case, or light towel, sometimes I just use it as is and toss it between the sheets....when I get in its nice and warm and I put it at the bottom of the bed to keep my feet warm also......

after sometime of use the rice may begin to toast and the sock will wear so I toss it and start another.....I use the water in the micro to keep it moist and heat better and the rice does not dry out as quickly.....

 

[disneymom3]

ioneblair--you sound like Laura and Mary days (except for the microwave part!! LOL! Oh, and they would have eaten that rice!) That heating the bed idea is like the heating irons they used to use in the bed. My dad carried a hot baked potato in his coat pockets to school. Kept his hands warm on the way there and then he ate them for lunch.

I am making fairly heavy weight curtains for our living room that faces north. We have lived in this house for 4 years and I haven't managed to come up with curtains but this year I decided I needed them to keep out the cold air and keep that expensive heat in!

 

[cra-z-4-dizney]

Thanks for the great ideas guys...keep them coming!!!

 

[Meezers]

It doesn't really get cold here...but every $ counts in my world. I live on the 3rd floor and don't even have to turn on my heat....I think the people below me have their thermostat turned up to tropical rain forest!

That said...I am getting another kitten....I wonder if that will work for anyone else?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

we looked into a contract, but you had to agree to that price for 12 months. It jsut didn't seem to make sense. You're gambling that prices will stay that high, or so it seemed to us, and the contract price wasn't very good.

 

[mickeyfan2]

They also make a inside dryer vent that will return the heat and humidity into the house. This maybe another option. I don't have one so I cannot comment on how well they work. We have baseboard hot water heat and the house is never dry.

 

[mudnuri]

We have baseboard hot water and do not experience this. Our system is designed to keep the temperature within 1/2 of a degree. Are you sure that you do not have your boiler set too high? We run 140 degree water in all the rooms except the underfloor in the tiles areas. There is is 90 degree water (don't want to burn the feet ) The boiler is much less efficient when run at a higher rate. We can turn the boiler up and down.

actually when I called my furnace guy, he said the furnace will shut off at what ever its set at- say 70 for instance, but the hot water stays in the pipes, this is why the temperature continues to rise 1-3 degree's. With Forced Hot Air, once the furnace shuts off, the hot air does too which is why I've never experienced it before

This does seem really high.

I am guessing that you have propane heat. Do you own your tank? or do you have oil? We have a propane fired boiler and we own our tank. We bought our year propane in late July and paid $1.35/gallon. We expect to spend about $950 to heat our home (4000 sq feet) and have hot water for the year. We keep it at 70 when we are home, 67 at night and 65 otherwise.

Nope, it's oil. And i'm in Vermont. They are expecting oil to go nicely above 3.00 per gallon before the winter even arrives. As a side note, last years pre-buys were below 1.50 a gallon, to show you the difference already.

Brandy

 

[mudnuri]

we looked into a contract, but you had to agree to that price for 12 months. It jsut didn't seem to make sense. You're gambling that prices will stay that high, or so it seemed to us, and the contract price wasn't very good.

well you can look at this both ways. There really is now way that oil prices are going to come down.

I just had 176 gallons of oil delivered. I paid 2.089 with a pre-buy...so it cost me 367.66. The "cash" price on day of delivery was 2.68- or 471.00

I saved 100 bucks on one delivery...1/2 a tank....to me a contract is worth it

Brandy

 

[MickeyBabe]

I love the idea about drying the clothes in the open. Just wonder how you do it, where you hang them, what from, etc.?

I "fluff" them first in the dryer for about 3 minutes, then hang them on hangers and.....

Well, use your treadmill, weight rack and exercise bike!

It will also add to that extra layer of...er...um... insulation.

 

[yoopermom]

Maybe because we live in the *really* cold UP of MI, but I'm amazed at how warm some people keep their houses! My MIL whines if FIL sets theirs below 68! We finally saved and scrimped for new windows and siding, so ours isn't drafty anymore, but we still don't go over 64 or so when we're home and active, and 60 at night. Yes, it's chilly, but layers, layers, layers! On a reallllly cold winter afternoon we'll go to the mall, the library, the Y--anyplace someone else is paying for the heat!

Oh, and we have plenty of hounds, so there's a reason they call it a two (or three) hound dog night

Terri

 

[hsmamato2]

good wool socks for bedtime! we have a woodstove, but my bedroom is the coldest room in the house...I like the drying rack idea- wood heat gets dry- without the wood heat we keep our temp at 58 at night-brrr- thus the socks(and jammys)

 

[molly2004]

Another thing I just found out. Make sure that your furnace and radiators are regularly bled as recommended. In other words, keep them all well-maintained. We always thought the radiators in some of our rooms just plain didn't work. Then a plumber suggested that we bleed the lines. Not sure if that'll solve the problem, but we're keeping our fingers crossed!

 

[becky7953]

I feel for everyone! I can't imagine the rise in trying to squeeze the extra money out of our budget (ie cancelling netflix, cable, DSL etc) We have geothermal heating (all electric) Our electric bill runs $150 to $175 a month for everything no heating bill. It costs more to repair a geothermal unit but it has saved us so much so far, it is worth it.

So I am sending pixie dust to everyone, I hope the gas price go too high