Energy Efficiency: Cut Your Heating Bill this Winter

The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that natural gas prices will increase more than 11 percent above those from last winter. People who use propane for heat will probably find prices increasing by 15 percent or more.

Here are some tips from the California Energy Commission:

Use this checklist of simple ways to make your home more comfortable and keep those escalating energy bills at bay.

Check for leaks

Weatherstripping and caulking is probably the least expensive, simplest, most effective way to cut down on energy waste in the winter. Improperly sealed homes can waste 10 to 15 percent of the homeowner's heating dollars. Take these steps:

    --  Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts. Add weather-
      stripping, and caulk any holes you see that allow heat to escape. Make
      sure doors seal properly. If your windows leak really badly, consider
      replacing them with newer, more efficient ones. Keep in mind, however,
      that replacing windows can be expensive. But new windows also provide
      other benefits, such as improved appearance and comfort.

  --  Every duct, wire or pipe that penetrates the wall or ceiling or floor
      has the potential to waste energy. Plumbing vents can be especially
      bad, since they begin below the floor and go all the way through the
      roof. Seal each penetration with caulking or weather-stripping.

  --  Electric wall plugs and switches can allow in cold air. Purchase
      simple-to-install, pre-cut foam gaskets that fit behind the switch
      plate and effectively prevent leaks.

  --  Don't forget to close the damper on your fireplace. Of course the
      damper needs to be open if a fire is burning; but if the damper is
      open when you're not using the fireplace, your chimney functions as a
      large open window that draws warm air out of the room and creates a
      draft. Close that damper -- it's an effective energy-saving tip that
      costs you nothing!  If your fireplace has glass doors, make sure those
      are closed as well.

  --  Examine your house's heating ducts for leaks. Think of your ductwork
      as huge hoses; only instead of bringing water into your house, they
      deliver hot air in winter and cool air in summer. Mostly out of sight,
      ducts can leak excessively without you knowing it. Leaky ducts can
      make rooms hard to heat and can cause your heater to operate more than
      it needs to.  In addition, leaks can suck pollutants into the ductwork
      from the places where the ducts are located.

      Over time, ducts can become torn, or crushed or flattened. Old duct
      tape -- the worse thing to use to seal ductwork, by the way -- will
      dry up and fall away, allowing junctions and splices to open, spilling
      heated air into your attic or under the house. It's wasteful. Ducts
      should not be sealed with cloth tape that uses rubber-based adhesive.
      Instead, seal them with mastic, metallic tape, plastic tape, cloth
      tape with butyl adhesive, or with aerosol sealant injected into the
      ducts. Ducts should be sealed by a trained contractor who has the
      proper equipment to diagnostically measure the leakage. Contact your
      utility to find contractors in your area that have been properly
      trained.

      The effort can be worth it. According to field research performed by
      the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and other researchers, you
      can save 10 percent or more of your heating or cooling bill by getting
      your ducts sealed.

Check your insulation

Insulate your attic. In an older home, that can be the most cost-efficient way to cut home heating costs. Before energy efficiency standards, homes were often built with little or no insulation. As a result, large amounts of heat can be lost through walls, floors and -- since heat rises -- especially ceilings.

Check your heating system

  --  Get a routine maintenance and inspection of your heating system each
      autumn to make sure it is in good working order.

  --  Replace your heater's air filter monthly. Your heating system will
      work less hard, use less energy and last longer as a result. Most
      homeowners can replace filters and do such simple tasks as cleaning
      and removing dust from vents or along baseboard heaters.

  --  If your heating system is old, you might consider updating it. A
      pre-1977 gas furnace is probably only operating at 50 percent to
      60 percent efficiency today. That means only half of the fuel used by
      the furnace actually reaches your home as heat. Modern gas furnaces,
      on the other hand, achieve efficiency ratings as high as 97 percent.
      By replacing an old heating system with one of the most efficient
      models, you can cut your natural gas use nearly in half!

      If you rely on electricity to heat your home, heat pumps offer the
      most efficiency. A heat pump can cut your electricity use for heating
      by as much as 30 to 40 percent.

  --  Use your setback thermostat. California houses built today must have
      them -- if you have an older home, consider installing one. A setback
      thermostat allows you to automatically turn down the heat when you're
      away at work or when you're sleeping at night, and then boost the
      temperature to a comfortable level when you need it. Remember -- it
      takes less energy to warm a cool home than to maintain a warm
      temperature all day long. Properly using your setback thermostat could
      cut your heating costs from 20 to 75 percent.

      Setback thermostats also overcome the urge some people have to simply
      turn the heater on "high" to heat a room more quickly. Doing so
      doesn't cause the house to warm up faster, and all too often the house
      gets too warm before you remember to manually adjust the thermostat
      again.

  --  Reverse the switch on your ceiling fans so they blow upward, toward
      the ceiling. Ceiling fans are a great idea in the summer, when air
      blowing downward can improve circulation and make a room feel four
      degrees cooler. A cooling draft is a poor idea when it's cold,
      however. By reversing the fan's direction, the blades move air upward
      in winter. This is especially valuable in high ceiling rooms, where
      heat that naturally rises is forced back down into the room.

And, while you're at the store . . .

With shorter days, you'll be using electric lights more often. Buy a few compact fluorescent light bulbs to replace your familiar old incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescents have greatly improved. Although they cost more than incandescents to begin with, they use only one-quarter the energy and last as much as 15 times longer. Put them in locations where you have the light on often, and you'll recoup the up-front expense more quickly. It's another way to help take the sting out of this winter's higher energy bills.