Now that December has come barreling upon us, I’m sure you’re probably starting to feel a bit of a chill… if not, then you’re probably feeling the burn on your wallet. Winter heating costs have been on the rise for the past few years, and this year is no exception.
Now, I know a thing or two about struggling to stay warm. I have been dubbed the “Ice Queen” by friends, due to the fact that my hands and feet maintain a negative temperature at all times. Once, after shaking my abnormally frozen hand, a stranger inquired if my heart was ice cold as well. Ouch. That was a burn.
The point is, we all need to stay warm and it would be nice if we didn’t have to spend all of our holiday spending money to pay our heating bills. It's tough enough out there already. There are tons of ways you can cut down on heating costs that don’t require you to burn your living room furniture or wear 50 layers of long underwear at all times.
Here are a few easy tips to help you stay warm:
- Heat Where You Live: Don’t crank the thermostat throughout your house if you’re spending the entire night in your bedroom watching the best that YouTube has to offer. Close off rooms not in use.
- Mind The Gaps: Walk around your place and carefully examine doors, windows, etc. and check for air flow. Sealing these with caulk or tape can prevent cold air from getting in and warm air from getting out.
- Stop The Fans: A bathroom or kitchen fan can easily suck all the warm air out of a room, so use sparingly or not at all. Extra credit: After cooking, leave the oven door after its been turned off for an added heat boost (make sure kids or pets are a safe distance away).
- Make A Clearing: Radiators, floor vents and baseboards that are blocked by furniture or rugs are less efficient in circulating air flow, which makes them work harder and costs you more money.
- Fight Window Pain: Heat loss from windows accounts for 1/3 of your heating bill, so insulate your windows by plugging up cracks with caulk, placing shrink plastic on inside panes and keep curtains and blinds closed at all times.
--Erin
The pictures are taken from photostreams 1 and 2 and used with the permission of a Creative Commons license.
You can now buy small fans to circulate air over your radiators to make them work more efficiently.
That could definitely increase the efficiency of your radiator. Thank for the suggestion!
Post new comment