Winter is coming and the bills are increasing. So how we can deal with that? Read about how I keep my heating bills low during winter.
Summer is by far my favorite season. The days are longer, the clothes are lighter and the vibes are more positive. Another thing I love about it is that I pay much lower electricity bills.
However, in the colder months, home heating plays a big role in cost increases. Luckily, I have managed to take some measures so I can keep the situation under control.
In this post, I will be sharing my tips on how I keep my heating bills low during winter. Things like quality windows, energy-efficient AC, insulation, etc. can do wonders to spare you high monthly expenses. More on that in the following lines, enjoy!
How I Keep My Heating Bills Low During Winter?
1. Building construction
One of the things that matter is the material used for constructing the building. There are many types of construction materials but bricks remain one of the best. When I was choosing my apartment this was one of the main conditions for buying it. Brick buildings retain heat for longer than those built with other materials such as wood, steel, etc. This quality helped a lot in reducing the bills in winter, especially when combined with the following points. Read more about brick constructions here.
2. Windows
The second important thing is having high-quality windows. Of course, it’s not light on the budget, but it will save you money in the long term. The class of the window frames determines how insulated and soundproof they will be. I trusted the brand “REHAU” and I am happy with my choice. The total cost for all the windows in my small apartment was approximately $1500. You can read more why quality of windows matters here.
3. Internal wall insulation
After the internal insulation was done and the windows replaced, we felt a drastic temperature difference. The warmness was staying in the apartment and it wasn’t cold anymore. From that day forward not only it was more comfortable living in the apartment, but also the energy bills were lower.
4. Energy efficient ACs
Of course, it is not possible to get through winter only with insulation and good windows. That’s why the next thing I did was to look for the best form of heating. I could have put a firewood stove, but wood heating is expensive, more tedious, and dirty. The building where I live also didn’t have gas pipes, so gas heating was out of the question. In the end, I opted for energy-saving air conditioners which I am very happy with. My average cost of electricity during the winter months is about $50.
5. Curtains
And last but not least are the thermal curtains. They are like another border between the apartment and the window. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, using curtains with thermal lining can reduce heat loss by up to 25 percent. I have such curtains, internal insulation, and good windows. This way my air conditioners hardly work in winter and easily maintain a temperature of 24 degrees. That’s how I manage to pay low energy bills during the cold months.
Read more about black out curtains
It is possible to reduce my heating bills even more. If I do external insulation in addition to the internal it will keep the heat inside my home more efficiently. Another thing is the floor, the tiles I chose are 60×120. It’s usually not cold even when you’re walking barefoot, but if I had put in a stylish parquet floor it would have kept the heat in more.
Additional tips
- Maintain the heat in the room at a certain temperature – Don’t turn air conditioners on and off constantly. Set them to the right temperature for you and let them run. When the temperature reaches the degrees you want, the air conditioners will just go into temperature maintenance mode and that’s how they’ll be most economical.
- Electricity is cheaper at night – If you want to further reduce your electric bills, you can use the nightly rates by using a washer, dryer , dishwasher, etc.
- Don’t forget to turn off the lights – Turn off TVs, lights, chargers, etc. when not in use. This will also reduce your costs by even a little
- Invest in electricity-saving appliances – Buy energy-saving appliances like a water heater, refrigerator, etc. My water heater is a “smart water heater” with 2 tanks and has an “eco” mode.
