How to Lower Your Heating Bill: 25 Tricks From a Furnace Man

Your gas bill isn't high because winter is cold. It's high because the heat you paid for is leaking out through gaps, vents and habits nobody told you about. Here are 25 heating bill tricks, and the first 10 are free. I'm Gus Hollis. I fixed furnaces, boilers and pipes for forty-one winters in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. You don't pay for the heat you keep. You pay for the heat that gets away, so this one is 25 things you can do yourself, or ask for help with, before the cold really sets in. 25. Run the ceiling fan backward, and slow - free 24. Let the sun in, then close it out - free 23. Get the furniture off the heat - free 22. Close the fireplace damper - free 21. Find the leaks with a damp hand - free (a dollar bill) 20. Shut off the bath and kitchen fans - free 19. Close the door, not the register - free 18. Turn the water heater down - free, and about $36 to $61 a year back 17. Read your own meter - free 16. Turn it down, but know your floor - free 15. Stop the gap under the door - about $15 14. Weatherstrip the door frame - about $7 to $15 13. Rope caulk the old windows - about $8 to $10 12. Plastic on the worst windows - about $10 to $15 11. Seal the outlets on outside walls - a couple of dollars a pack 10. Close up the attic hatch - about $50 to $80 9. Bleed the radiators - about $3 8. Look at the furnace filter every month - about $4 7. A thermostat that remembers for you - about $50 6. The yearly check on the furnace or boiler - about $150 to $200 5. Seal the ducts you can reach - about $4 4. The cold band in the cellar - about $8 3. Seal the attic, then insulate it - a few hundred dollars to air-seal; get a quote for insulation 2. Let somebody look at your house for you - about $200 to $700 for an energy audit 1. Take the help you already paid for - LIHEAP and weatherization help, often worth hundreds Nobody's cheating you: the gas company sells you therms, and it's on you to keep them in the house. Most of these take an afternoon, and none of them touch the gas line, the meter, or anything that needs a licensed tech. Chapters 0:00 25 tricks, 10 of them free 1:22 25. Run the ceiling fan backward, and slow 2:01 24. Let the sun in, then close it out 2:32 23. Get the furniture off the heat 3:17 22. Close the fireplace damper 4:00 21. Find the leaks with a damp hand 4:41 20. Shut off the bath and kitchen fans 5:06 19. Close the door, not the register 5:57 18. Turn the water heater down 6:42 17. Read your own meter 7:25 16. Turn it down, but know your floor 8:43 Off the list: Where your money goes 9:22 15. Stop the gap under the door 9:51 14. Weatherstrip the door frame 10:20 13. Rope caulk the old windows 10:56 12. Plastic on the worst windows 11:32 11. Seal the outlets on outside walls 12:19 10. Close up the attic hatch 13:01 9. Bleed the radiators 13:50 8. Look at the furnace filter every month 14:30 Off the list: The dangerous ways people save 16:34 7. A thermostat that remembers for you 17:26 6. The yearly check on the furnace or boiler 18:10 5. Seal the ducts you can reach 19:03 4. The cold band in the cellar 19:42 3. Seal the attic, then insulate it 20:58 2. Let somebody look at your house for you 21:56 1. Take the help you already paid for 23:07 Keep the heat you paid for Tell me what you heat with and where you live. Oil, gas, propane, wood? June reads them to me at supper. I read every one. If this saved you a dollar, subscribe and I'll have the next one ready, 10 Hidden Killers in Old Houses. #heatingbill #homemaintenance #savemoney #winterprep #oldhouse #energysaving