Having a warm home is a big part of keeping everyone feeling comfortable. If you are cold, it is hard to feel relaxed. But staying warm is not cheap. The average family already spends 10% of its income on heating and that percentage is rising. However, there are plenty of things that you can do to keep the cost down. Including:
Shop around for the best price
Top of the list is using comparison sites and money-saving forums to find the best deal. Regardless of where you live you will be able to work out which providers offer the lowest prices. Provided you repeat the process once a year you should never end up paying more for your gas or electricity than you need to.
If you use heating oil, shop around for that too. Firms like Super Saver Oil move with the market. So, if the price of oil goes down so does the price of their products. Tracking the oil price will help you to spot those times when you can fill your tank and grab yourself a bargain. Many oil supplier also offers discounts to customers who wait until their tank is almost empty before filling up. Delivering larger quantities to each client means that their driver wastes less diesel and time driving between properties. Savings that they have decided to pass onto their customers.
Generate your heat efficiently
The more efficiently your boiler works the less fuel or power it will burn, which will save you money. Getting your boiler serviced regularly will help with this. It will also keep your family safer. Plus, a properly serviced boiler is far less likely to breakdown.
You may also want to think about which power or fuel sources you use when heating your home. If you have a contract that provides you with low-cost electricity at certain times of day, consider using that cheap power to heat your home. For example, instead of putting the central heating on in the morning, you could use a space heater in the bathroom and kitchen for an hour. Everyone can get ready for their day in relative comfort, then leave the house. At night you can have the central heating on to warm up all of the rooms you will be using.
Keep the heat in
Insulating your home and checking for draughts every year makes a huge difference. I was stunned to read that humanity wastes around 70% of the heat that they produce. Homeowners play a role in creating that staggering level of waste. If your home is not already insulated get it sorted and periodically review what you have already installed to see if you can improve things further.
Get into good habits
If your family is in the habit of leaving doors or windows open, work to get them to stop doing that. This article contains several persuasive arguments you can use to underline just how important making this relatively small change is.
The above are just a few suggestions. You will easily find more by speaking to friends and family.
