Running a Money - Smart Household: Saving on Climate Control

Buy this book »

The weather outside may be frightful, but your utility bills don't have to be. Whether it's warming the house in winter or cooling it in summer, you can put to use the helpful tips on temperature control in this section.

Dressing for the weather

Your first reaction to uncomfortable temperatures may be to run for the thermostat. An easier and more energy-efficient way to deal with the extremes of heat and cold is to dress appropriately. Wear light-colored, lightweight, breathable natural fabrics in summer. Spend your day in a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. In the wintertime, wear woolen clothes or dress in layers, perhaps by adding a fleece vest. By trapping air between the layers, you're actually using your own body heat to keep warm. You'll also be amazed by what a difference a second warm pair of socks can make on a cold day.

Keeping your cool when the weather's not

If you can keep excess heat from entering your house in the first place, you've already won half the battle of trying to reduce your cooling bill. The primary source of heat inside a home during the hot summer months is sunlight absorbed through the roof, the walls, and the windows. Indoor appliances, especially in the kitchen and laundry room, give off heat, too.

Insulating yourself against the heat

If you want to drop your cooling — and heating — bills dramatically, add insulation to your home. First, insulate your attic floor. Then, when time and money allow, add insulation to your basement, exterior walls, floors, and crawl spaces (in that order). Insulation on the attic floor helps reduce the amount of heat absorbed through the roof and then through the ceiling of the house. Adequate ventilation under the eaves allows cooler air to enter and circulate. Install an exhaust fan in one of the attic windows (if you have them) to cut down on heat buildup under the roof. Even if you don't have a permanent exhaust fan installed in the upstairs window, you can set up a temporary box fan with the air flow pointed outward, to pull the hot air out of the house.

Shading your house from the sun

One of the coolest options of all is shade. Trees on the south side of the house are always a good investment, but if you're not planning to live in your home for a long period of time, you may not personally reap the shady benefits from planting a leafy friend. If your house isn't shaded by trees, install awnings over any windows that are exposed to direct sun during the day. Many awnings are removable and adjustable.

Filtering the sunshine: Covering your windows

Windows are a major source of unwanted heat during summer. Some easy ways to reduce the heat coming in through your windows include the following:

• Close the drapes during the hours of direct sunlight.
• Add reflective window tint to southern windows.
• Use bamboo window shades. By hanging old-fashioned bamboo shades on the outside of heat-producing windows, you create a bit of shade and a pocket of insulating air between the heat and the house. Bamboo shades are fairly inexpensive and are made to last in the elements for years. Look for them at garage sales. Shutters work well, too.
• Keep window coverings closed in unused rooms. If some bedrooms sit vacant all day, keep the curtains shut.
• Add reflective window curtain liners. Usually these liners have the reflective coating on only one side, so be sure to have the reflective side facing outward during the summer to keep the heat out of your house. Then during the winter, reverse them to reflect warmth back into the room.

Making efficient use of air conditioning and fans

An air conditioner can be the most expensive appliance in your home. Save a bit on the cost by implementing some of the following ideas:

• Turn up the thermostat a bit. If you normally have it set to 72 degrees during the summer, switch to 78 degrees. When it's 95 degrees in the shade outside, 78 degrees still feels comfortable and not too warm.
• Use fans to circulate air. Moving air feels several degrees cooler than still air. An overhead ceiling fan works well for cooling the whole room, but even a small box fan or oscillating fan keeps the air moving.
• At the end of the day, when the temperature outside cools down, turn off the air conditioning, open the windows, and place an outward-facing fan in a window to vent the hot air from the house. A vent fan in an upstairs window works best. Opening a downstairs window at the same time allows a full cross-breeze to develop throughout your home. The fan cools your house in a fraction of the time it takes to only open the windows and let the hot air sit in the house. Open the windows only if humidity is low, however. Otherwise, the air conditioner will have to work much harder to cool the humid air when you turn it back on.

Reducing the creation of inside heat

The first line of attack in reducing your cooling bills is to keep the heat outside your home, but reducing the heat you create inside your home is also important:

• Use your outdoor grill more often, to keep from heating up the kitchen.
• Use small appliances instead of the stove and oven for cooking. The microwave, slow cooker, electric skillet, and toaster oven give off less heat and are more energy efficient than the range.
• Dry clothes in the dryer on the no-heat setting. Add a clean, dry towel to the dryer load to help absorb extra moisture from your clothes.
• Hang your washed clothing on a clothesline in the backyard or on the porch. You can find retractable clotheslines that fit in almost any small space. Or simply put your clothes on hangers and hang them over the shower curtain rod or on a line in the laundry room.
• Use the no-heat drying cycle on the dishwasher. Don't open the door after the rinse cycle; you'll just add steam and more heat to the house.
• Take short showers to avoid a buildup of steam. Use the exhaust fans in the bathroom during the summer.
• Darker colors absorb more heat, so if the outside walls of your house are dark, consider painting the house a lighter color. Light-colored curtains reflect more heat back out of your house, too.

Warming the house

It never seems to fail: Opposites attract. Some people love the brisk air and like to see their breath in the house. "It's so invigorating!" Meanwhile, their partners sit huddled with four blankets and a down parka near a roaring fire. "Brrrr . . . turn up the heat!" Well, you can both be happy and still save money on your heating bills by following the hints in this section.

Staying warm without turning up the heat

The simplest way to save money on heating is to turn down your furnace a couple degrees. During the winter months, if you usually keep your thermostat set at 72 degrees, turn it down to 70. If you're used to 70-degree temperatures, turn the thermostat down to 68. Lower the temperature of your thermostat even further at night for when you're sleeping. Toss on an extra blanket if you're still a bit chilled. To keep your furnace running efficiently, have it inspected regularly and change the filters monthly during heavy use.

Consider these other ways to stay warm without running up your heating bill:

• If you heat with a wood-burning stove or fireplace insert, make friends with a builder. Builders often pay people to haul away the scraps of lumber around construction sites " they can be a great source for free firewood if you don't mind a bit of work to collect it yourself.
• Close off the vents and doors in rooms that aren't in use for long periods of time.
• A ceiling fan set to push air down into the room keeps the warm air circulating to the lower regions of the house.
• Add some steam to the air of your house. Higher humidity keeps the air warmer. Let steamy air from the bathroom escape into the rest of the house after a shower. Boil water on the stovetop. Keep a kettle or pan full of water on top of your wood-burning stove or radiator.

Insulating against drafts

New houses are often built with energy-efficient features such as thermal-paned windows, well-insulated walls, and energy-efficient water heaters and furnaces. If you aren't in the process of having a new house built with all the energy-efficient bells and whistles, consider using some of the following ideas to increase the benefits of your home's current heating system.

• Add a layer of air between your windows and the great outdoors (the air insulates much better than the window glass alone). If you have storm windows, use them. You can also buy special sheets of plastic to stretch across the inside of your window frames.
• Use heavy curtains in the winter, or buy reflective curtain liners.
• After dark, hang blankets or quilts in front of the windows for added insulation. Install a decorative towel bar or curtain rod over your existing window treatment and simply fold a blanket or quilt over it.
• Open your curtains during daylight hours, especially on southern windows, for a bit of passive solar heating.
• Use weatherstripping or caulk around doorways and window frames. We've heard an estimate that, when all the various cracks and spots that lose heat in the average house are added together, they would equal a 2- or 3-foot square hole in the outside wall of your house.
• Use a draft stopper at the bottom of outside doors. You can make one yourself, buy one inexpensively, or even just roll up a bathroom towel and place it along the bottom of the door.
• Fill electric switch plates on outside walls with plastic foam, or purchase plastic insulation that's already cut to size and made for this purpose.
• Close the flue on your fireplace when you're not using it. Leaving a fireplace flue open is like having a vacuum hose hooked to your living room, sucking all the warm air right up the chimney.

Cozying up

Even if you're trying to save money on heating costs, you don't need to sit and shiver when the weather cools. Consider these simple ideas for staying cozy and warm this winter.

• Use a hot water bottle in bed. You can even use a 2-liter bottle filled with warm (never hot!) water; just tape the lid shut to prevent leaks.
• Use cotton flannel sheets during the winter.
• Keep a blanket or two as throws on the couch for snuggling when it's cold. Instead of running to the thermostat, grab a blanket.
• Happiness is a warm friend. Snuggle up on the couch and read a good book with your kids, your spouse, the dog, or a warm kitten. Sharing body heat really does keep you warmer.

This article was authored by Ted Benna, Stephen R. Bucci, James P. Caher, John M. Caher, N. Brian Caverly, Peter Economy, Jack Hungelmann, John E. Lucas, Sarah Glendon Lyons, Margaret A. Munro, Brenda Watson Newmann, Mary Reed, Jordan S. Simon, Kathleen Sindell, Deborah Taylor-Hough, John Ventura.