Cost-Effective Ways to Keep Your Home Warm This Winter

We’ve got some easy cost-effective ways to keep your home warm this winter. Keeping your house warm in the winter can get pretty expensive pretty fast. Heating bills can rise sharply during the winter months, especially if you live somewhere with very cold winters. Nobody likes a cold house or big heating bills, which is why most of us cringe while we crank the heater up a few notches during the cold winter season.

Here’s the good news: Keeping your house warm during the winter doesn’t have to hurt your wallet. There are plenty of small things you can do to keep your home nice and toasty during the winter for little or no cost. If you’re looking to save some money this holiday season without turning your home into an icebox, here are some cost-effective ways to keep your home warm this winter.

Use Insulation

The smallest change that will make the biggest difference is to make sure your house is well insulated. Though it can be pretty expensive to install, it will be well worth the investment, as it will lower your heating costs for years to come. The most important areas of your house to insulate are:

• • Attic. Over a quarter of all heat that leaves your house does so through the roof. If you make sure your attic is well insulated, you’ve already solved most of the problem and are well on your way to keeping your home warm for years to come.

• Windows. Before winter arrives, you’ll want to make sure all of your windows seal tightly and have caulking around all edges. This will keep cold air and moisture out of your house. Installing window tinting on your window panes will help with the energy efficiency of your heater by reducing the amount of heat that escapes through them.

• Floor. Using thick rugs, cover any large areas of your floor that don’t have carpet on them. This will act as insulation for these areas and protect them (and your feet) from the cold.

• Water tanks and pipes. Installing insulation on your water tanks and pipes is a great idea for a few reasons. First and foremost, it will help to keep them from freezing and bursting. Second, it will help to keep your water warmer, longer, which will reduce heating costs.

• Garage. Garage doors are thin, and garages are very large. This makes them very susceptible to turning into giant refrigerators that can lower the overall temperature of your house. Garage insulation is relatively cheap and will make a big difference when it comes to keeping your house warm.

Take Advantage of Free Heat

• If you can, keep the door open while you shower so the warm mist can escape into surrounding rooms. The downside of this is it does reduce your privacy, which you will need to consider before you choose this option.
• After you use the oven, leave the door open so the heat from the oven will warm the kitchen. If you do this, be careful that no people or pets get too close to the door to prevent burns.
• Keep blankets, jackets and loved ones close by so you can snuggle up whenever you need some extra warmth.
• Open the curtains to any windows that are exposed to direct sunlight. After the sun passes the window, be sure to close the curtains again so the warm air stays in and the cold air stays out.

Keep It Closed

The principle behind a warm house is that the warm air stays in and the cold air stays out. That said, you want to minimize the number of areas that allow warm air to escape and cold air to enter.

• Unused doors. Keep all doors to unpopular sections of the house closed to avoid warm air heating up parts of the house that you never use.

• Unused vents. Like unused doors, you’ll want to keep vents located in remote areas of the house closed, so all of the warm air is used efficiently in places of the home that need the most warmth.

• Chimney. If you have a chimney, make sure the chute is closed to prevent drafts of cold air from flowing into your home.

• Entryways. This is a pretty obvious one, but if you’re trying to reduce the amount of heat you’ll need to keep your home warm, you’ll want to reduce the amount of time your entryway doors are open. Keeping a door open for even 30 seconds can make a huge difference in the temperature of your home.

With just a few simple tips and tricks, your home will be warm all winter long without breaking the bank. What your favorite cost-effective ways to weather proof your home?