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Heating bills may be cheaper for some this year, but they won’t be going back to pre-pandemic levels. Find out how to keep costs down.
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Thanks to falling natural gas prices, some homeowners will see heating bills that are around $160 lower than last winter.
While that’s great news, most experts don’t believe bills are going to fall to pre-pandemic levels. And Americans have been struggling with high heating costs, with an estimated 8 million people requiring government help during the prior winter and an estimated $20 billion in overdue utility bills compared with $12 billion prior to COVID-19.
Whether you’re worried about how you’re going to pay the bills or are just interested in keeping a little extra money in your checking account, these simple tips can help you to keep your heating expenses as affordable as possible. You can do more obvious things like turning your thermostat down, but here are a few tips you may not necessarily have considered. They could help you keep a little more money for yourself and lessen the impact of winter cold on your personal finances.
1. Change your air filters
If your air filters in your heating unit are dirty, your unit is going to have to work a lot harder to heat your home. Fortunately, this is a quick and simple fix that can reduce your heating bills by 5% to 15%.
You should easily be able to change the filters yourself if you can find where in your home they’re located (they’re usually in the walls or in the heating unit itself) and check the size. Hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s carry most standard sizes, and filters usually just pull in and out of a slot, so you won’t need special tools to complete the chore.
2. Use a humidifier
Water tends to hold in heat, and moist air can feel warmer than if you are living in dry air. As a result, adding some humidity to your home using a humidifier can allow you to lower your thermostat while still feeling comfortable.
If you keep the humidity to around 25% to 40%, you can typically drop your thermostat by a few degrees without noticing the temperature change too much. Each degree you can drop your thermostat can result in around a 4% reduction in your heating bill, which is a pretty significant savings.
3. Sign up for budget billing
Most utility providers offer the chance to average out your costs rather than having to pay a lot more during the winter months.
Typically, utility companies look at your past use to estimate total average costs during the year and divide that amount up so you pay around the same each month instead of getting hit with huge bills during the season when you’re using more energy.
Say, for example, you were spending $125 a month for four months in the summer, $95 a month for two months in the spring and fall and $400 a month for six months in the winter. Your utility provider could instead charge you about $258 every month. This way, you can fit a set bill cost into your monthly budget.
While this wouldn’t ultimately lower your total bills over time, it would help if you’re struggling with the cost being different from one month or season to the next.
It’s worth making an effort to try to keep heating costs down this year, so give it a try. And if you really are concerned about paying to heat your home, reach out to your utility provider today to find out about programs you could sign up for that could offer assistance.
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