Heating bills take in a grand portion of your monthly salary alongside electricity, phone and grocery bills. Apart from creating holes in one’s wallet, a heavy heating bill also indicates heavy consumption of energy. However one cannot be expected to survive the chill winter without a space heating system. It has become an essential means for survival through the chilly winter. Furthermore, not everyone can afford to pay through their noses for heating. Although it may not be possible to completely get rid of heating bills from reaching your doorstep, with some effective planning, you can reduce the bulk from the numbers that appear on your heating bill.

The following are a few methods one can adopt to cut down the expenses spent on heating a household:

1. Go green! You can conserve a lot of heat energy by turning down the temperature of the thermostat. Just improvise on ways to keep yourself warm. Wear extra layers of clothing, sweaters and thermal garments.

2. Organize your family activities. Instead of heating up every room in the house throughout the day, how about spending some prime time together in the living room for a couple of hours before you hit the sack in individual rooms. Also remember the human body produces heat. Thus the more people, the warmer.

3. Insulate the structure. Thermally insulated homes reduce the cost of heating considerably. Fiberglass or foam insulating layers can be used in sandwich walls. You might have to spend a little cash for construction, but the method is long lasting and proves to be ultimately a more economical option.

4. Seal openings like doors and windows to prevent cold drafts. Line your doors and windows with felt or rubber weather stripping.

5. Use thick upholstery and window draping of dark colors and materials that absorb heat. You can also give more layers to your curtains. Heavy pleats increase thermal insulation. This is the best time to pull out those fancy synthetic drapes you purchased but couldn’t suffer through the summer.

6. Keep yourself warm through your diet. But do watch the fat intake. Alcoholic beverages and spirits do a fantastic job of keeping one warm but again, don’t overdo it!

7. Taping a plastic sheet over your window panes can increase insulation without cutting your view.

8. Take time to check your building for air leaks and get them repaired. There are many companies that offer the service of locating such air leaks and sealing them. Again, the payment for repairs won’t be as expensive as a long term heating bill.

9. If you have an attic room in your house, make sure it is well insulated. This is one space that tends to be ignored with respect to such issues. This is one major inlet of cold air which is heavy and tends to settle down onto lower levels.

10. Coat your roof with insulating material. Such materials are available in the form of sheets that can be spread out and applied onto your roof using bituminous adhesive which proves to be a good absorbent of heat. Take care to make sure your roof isn’t made of thermally reflective materials.

11. Having a fireplace in your home does not necessarily mean it takes a load off your heating bill. Fireplaces are known to burn up a lot of energy. Moreover, fireplaces create warm air inside the house which rises and escapes out. This loss of air is replaced by heavier cold air from the outside.

12. Don’t be a couch potato. Engage yourself in rigorous activities. Exercising, dancing, cooking or any regular household chores will keep your body busy enough to produce heat.
Always remember to turn off gadgets and appliances when not in use. This can save enormous amounts of energy and create a balance between your heating and electricity bills.