met council’s helpful tips
save money on heating this winter Not every landlord covers the cost of heating, and utilities can be expensive. Follow these helpful tips on how to keep your winter heating bill low. Fans Ceiling fans can cool your rooms in the summer, but can also push warm air trapped near the ceiling back into the living space. Switching the blade rotation to clockwise will recycle the warm air in your home and cutting your heating costs as much as 10%. Thermostat For every degree you lower the thermostat during heating season, you’ll save between 1 and 3% of your heating bill. Consider installing a programmable thermostat that you can program to tun down the heat when you are not home. Furnace It’s important to replace or clean furnace filters once a month during the heating season. Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase energy demand. Weatherization grants Low-income households can qualify for an average of $6,500 worth of weatherization improvements (including energy efficient windows and doors, insulation, roofing, water heaters (including solar water heaters) and alternative energy technologies, like solar power, geothermal heating and cooling, biomass stoves, small wind turbines and fuel cells) to their homes through government programs administered by each state. Look into tax credits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. curtains Keep your curtains open during day light hours when the sun’s heat will warm your house, and close them when the sun sets. The curtains will help keep heat inside of your apartment. If you can, install curtains made of heavy fabric, which are more insulating and can block drafts.
space heaters If you spend most of your time in one room, there is no need to heat your entire home. Many space heaters and heat lamps are easily portable so you can move it from room to room with you. UNPLUG If you are using a space heater, don’t forget to unplug it when it’s not in use. Even when electronics are turned off they can still draw power. Consider plugging your space heater and other electronics into a power strip, by shutting off the power strip when your electronics are not in use you can save electricity. Light bulbs With fewer daylight hours the lights in your home will be on more often. Install low-energy light bulbs such as LEDs or CFLs which use 50-80% less energy than regular incandescent bulbs. Not only do CFLs and LEDs use less energy, they last 10 times longer than florescent and incandescent bulbs.
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