Wirecutter - 10 tips to lower heat bills

Get into the habit of opening window treatments in the morning (especially where you receive direct sunlight) to let as much sun into your house as possible, says Jon Chase, editor of our smart-home coverage. When late afternoon rolls around, close curtains and shades to keep the heat in.

Kyle Fitzgerald

Applying weather stripping around old windows and door frames can improve your home’s insulation, but doing so can be expensive and time-consuming. For an easier way to insulate windows, we recommend double-celled blackout shades, but there are a few super-cheap shortcuts that can also get the job done.‌

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Staff writer and Bostonian Thom Dunn recommends the “classic New England move” of using a hair dryer to shrink plastic wrap over the gaps on your windows. Senior staff writer Rachel Wharton tucks folded towels or blankets along her windowsills and the bottoms of doors.

Jon notes that regularly removing dirt, dust, and grime from your window panes is an easy way to allow more light and heat into your home during the day. Another chore not to skip: removing your windows’ screens until spring; some evidence suggests that they block substantial amounts of passive solar heat from entering your home.

“If you already own smaller electric appliances like a toaster oven, air fryer, rice cooker, or an electric pressure cooker such as the Instant Pot, consider using them for certain tasks instead of your larger electric oven or electric range,” says Marilyn Ong, supervising editor for kitchen coverage. “For instance, reheating food in a toaster oven rather than your full oven saves you from preheating all that extra space. And pressure-cooking a stew for one hour in an Instant Pot uses less electricity than simmering something on the stove for hours.”

Michael Hession

“They work most efficiently when pointed at one or two people in a smaller area,” says Thom, who co-wrote our guide to the best space heaters. “Line up the space heater so it’s directly pointed at you and close doors to keep the warm air in.”

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Still, Thom advises against running a space heater for an entire day. It’s best not to use one for more than a few hours at a time in tandem with window insulation, solar heat, and extra layers of clothing.

“Water heaters are often set very high: 140 °F or sometimes much higher,” Jon explains. Keeping the temperature just above 120 °F still gives you “plenty of hot water,” he adds, “but you’ll save dramatically.” (Just don’t dip below 120 °F, or you run a slight risk of allowing the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease to fester.)

Making this switch can cut a load of laundry’s energy use in half. Cooler wash cycles are also almost always easier on your clothes. “Hot water in general can tackle really dirty clothing better than cold, but it can also degrade fabrics—performance fabrics in particular—over time,” explains Ingrid Skjong, supervising editor on our appliance team. “Cold can typically do the trick.”

Michael Murtaugh

If your home is heated through forced air, vacuum the intake register covers. These are usually located on the floor or along your baseboards and can get clogged with dust or pet hair over time. Improved airflow prevents warm air from getting trapped in the ventilation and preventing it from traveling to places where you actually need it. You can vacuum the intake register covers with a handheld vacuum or a hose attachment on a floor vacuum—whatever’s easiest for you.

Shivering in bed is a flat-out miserable experience, but brisker air (around 60 to 67 °F) actually helps lower your core (aka internal) temperature, which is part of the body’s natural sleep cycle. In fact, reducing the body’s core temperature has been shown to help you fall asleep faster.

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We advise that you use bedding rather than your thermostat to get comfy. Consider dressing your bed with an additional flat sheet, comforter, or blanket made of natural, breathable textiles, such as cotton, linen, or wool. If you suffer from cold feet at bedtime, wool or cotton socks are another great way to stay warm while actually reducing your core temperature.

Your parents were right (ugh), you should just put on a sweater—but keep it in a place where you’ll actually use it. Hoodies and sweatshirts that normally live in your dresser can be draped on your home-office chair or hung near your front door for when you come home. Blankets that have been sitting in a chest all summer can similarly be folded elegantly on your couch or in your favorite reading nook. Think of it as a way to literally embrace winter by wrapping yourself up in something extra cozy (instead of cranking up the heat).

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Wishing you savings and a bundled-up winter.