HOUSTON — Heating a house isn’t cheap. For every degree above 68 that you set your heater, it increases your heating cost from 3% to 5%.
We recruited Scott Burns from Reliant Energy. He’s the Vice President of Innovation and has some tips to help keep heating costs down. Burns said it’s a good idea to practice what’s known as ‘window management.’
“At night we recommend closing your blinds, closing your curtains to really prevent that cold air from coming in through those windows,” Burns said. “During the day open the blinds and let the radiant sun come in and let that warm your home naturally as opposed to letting the heater do all the work.”
Burns also recommended rolling towels and blankets to block the draft coming from windows or under doors. Don’t forget to switch your ceiling fan to the clockwise position so the warm air is pushed back down and helps heat up the house.
Another suggestion is to use plastic wrap or bubble wrap.
“Bubble wrap actually serves as an insulator,” Burns said. “It’s pretty common in the Northeast to hear people actually tape up plastic on the inside of their windows during wintertime. So if we have bubble wrap or any type of plastic, we can create an air barrier between the outside window and the inside of the house that creates just a little more insulation in order to prevent that cold air from coming in.”
Another tip, once you have finished using the oven, turn it off but leave the door open. That extra heat won’t go to waste as the oven cools down.