Americans are very fortunate as they benefit from cheap electricity and fuel
Remember it is not only saving money but is also saving the planet.
As it is starting to get cold, I thought I would help you with a few ideas to keep the heating bills low.
- If you have a fireplace, use it.
- Make sure to set your timers on for your heating- usually an hour in the morning and a couple hours in the night. Don't heat the house when no one is home!
- Dress in layers, it is winter time! This means wearing sweaters inside, tights/thermals under clothes, thick socks and fuzzy slippers. Also why not cuddle on the couch with a blanket.
- Drink warm liquids like tea, coffee and of course hot cocoa!
- Have hot meals!
- Don't heat rooms you aren't using. Close off doors to them and turn the radiators down.
- Close your curtains to stop heat escaping.
- Don't block your radiators with furniture, it keeps the rooms from heating up.
- Put a sheet of aluminium foil behind the radiators, it reflects the heat into the room instead of in the wall.
- Open the internal doors to sunny rooms during the day and close off at night.
- Plastic up windows to reduce drafts or hang blankets. You do need to allow air to circulate, it will help reduce mold.
- Use a hot water bottle to heat up your bed.
Also here are some tips to keep your other utility bills down:
- Turn off electric items at the socket.
- Turn off the transformers, they use a huge amount of energy.
- Turn off the computers when you are finished with them.
- Don't run the washer/dryer at night when it is more expensive.
- Only boil the amount of water you need.
- You can also get a monitor from most utility companies to see when you use the most.
- Use energy saving light bulbs.
- Dry your clothes on a clothesline and in the winter on the radiators or clothing trees.
- Wash clothes on the lowest setting.
Make sure you put your utility bills in both names because you will
not be able to make changes or or correct your utility bills if your
name is not on the account.
Also sometimes you may need to prove your residency and utility bills can be used to do this.
Shop around for your utilities, a good website to find the best deal is Which?
