What can I do indoors to save in the winter?

  • Get that heating and air-conditioning tech back to the house for a winter heating inspection and tune-up to save on your winter bills. (Before it gets cold)
  • Change filters regularly
  • Eliminate drafts and seal air leaks around windows, doors and other openings with caulk and weather-stripping. Don’t forget places where cables and wires come through walls. 
  • Keep doors and windows closed.
  • Insulated curtains can go a long way toward keeping the warm air in and the cold air out.
  • Take down holiday lights indoors and outdoors. As tempting as it might be to extend the holiday season, there is no need to extend the higher electric bill that might come with all the electric-powered decor.
  • Turn down the thermostat
    • You can save about 3 percent on your energy bill for every degree you drop the temperature. Putting on a sweater and slippers or wool socks might allow you to lower your thermostat temperature.
    • Avoid drastically adjusting the thermostat setting. Many people think raising the thermostat to 85 degrees will heat the room more quickly. That’s not true. 
    • In winter, set your thermostat between 65 and 68 degrees when at home and 60 to 65 degrees when away.
  • Let the sun in
    • In the winter, open the shades on south-facing windows to let sunlight warm your house and take advantage of solar heat gain.
    • At night, closing blinds and curtains can help keep the cold air out
  • Switch ceiling fan direction
    • Change the direction of your ceiling fans so that they turn clockwise. This pulls cool air toward the ceiling, which in turn pushes the warm air that collects near the ceiling back toward the floor.
  • Use space heaters selectively — heat only the room you are in.
  • Limit the use of exhaust fans. They suck out all the indoor air your heater has worked so hard to heat.
  • Avoid using large appliances like ovens, washing machines, dryers, etc. particularly during the early morning and evening, to conserve energy.
    • Use the slow cooker. Tasty slow-cooker meals will help you save energy.
    • Every time the oven door is opened, the temperature inside is reduced by as much as 25 degrees, delaying the progress of your dish and, more importantly, costing you additional money.
    • If you need to check the progress of a delicious pie, use the oven light.
  • Improve fireplace efficiency 
    • Close the chimney flue when the fireplace isn’t used because it lets hot, humid air seep down into the home.
    • Upgrade your fireplace to an energy-efficient model or close it off except for special occasions
    • Traditional wood-burning fireplaces can emit little or no warmth into a room and send your home’s warm air up the chimney. Wood-burning fires also can create particles that pollute the air indoors and outdoors, and could poison the house with carbon monoxide. That doesn’t mean you have to close your fireplace up forever, though. Instead, try improving the efficiency and safety of your beloved hearth: 
      • Close the fireplace damper when you’re not burning wood. This will cut down on the loss of warm room air through the chimney. 
      • Cover the front of the fireplace with tempered glass doors, which seal the fireplace opening and prevent air in the room from escaping through it. Fireplace inserts are another option for converting fireplaces into efficient heating systems. 
      • Use artificial logs, which reduce pollutant emissions by almost 80 percent. 
      • Replace wood with electric “logs” that you can insert into the fireplace, or plug in an electric fireplace instead of burning wood.
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