ORLANDO, FL (Ivanhoe Newswire) — It’s cold outside, but inflation is burning up utility bills. Heating bills this winter might reach a ten-year high. Experts from the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association say your utility bill may increase by as much as 17 percent.
There are ways to lower your costs. First, turn down your thermostat. You can save as much as five percent by turning your thermostat down just one degree. Experts at energy.gov suggests that 68 degrees is the perfect room temperature while you're awake at home but recommends lowering it while you're asleep or away.
Turning down your water heater’s temperature from 140 to 120 degrees can also save you up to 11 percent in water heating costs and 33 percent if you cut showers in half.
It may seem counterintuitive but running your ceiling fan clockwise will push the warm air that’s collected near the ceiling back into the room and can also save you up to 15 percent on heating costs.
The department of energy reports that replacing a dirty air filter with a clean one can reduce your system's energy usage by up to 15%. It's possible to save 150 dollars a year if you replace your filter at least every three months.
Some other things to do are close vents in rooms that are rarely used, don’t turn on your bathroom fan after a hot shower, and use your oven more.
If you have an old system, it could cost you a lot more to heat your home. Older low-efficiency systems tend to run at only 56 to 70 percent efficiency, while newer high-efficiency heating systems can run from 90 to 98.5 percent.
