Posted by Maureen Lattimore on Jul 3, 2008 at 3:21 PM.

Due to the rapidly escalating costs of home heating fuels, you may be paying twice as much to heat your house as you did just a few years ago. You can cut your heating costs significantly by following these money-saving tips.
1. A bathroom fan is very helpful in removing moisture that causes mold & mildew but it should only be run during your shower and 1/2 hour following. Depending on the fan - it can suck all the heated or cooled air out of the average house in little more than an hour. Over the course of the winter, ventilation fans can increase your heating costs by a surprising amount. They are useful and necessary but please turn them off when not needed.
2. Turn back thermostats in those areas and close the doors for a painless reduction in heating costs. Be aware of wet walls – where plumbing pipes are – these rooms need to be heated during freezing temperatures or you’re pipes may freeze.
3. Turn down the heat and use space heaters to heat the room you spend time in.
4. Keep your furnace, heat pump, or other heating equipment in top operating condition. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of your furnace, AC & heat pumps. Poorly tuned units are inefficient and use more fuel. An annual maintenance agreement is well worth the money to ensure that your equipment is properly maintained and will last as long as possible.
5. Don't turn your thermostat up above the desired temperature. It won't heat up any more quickly and will make your furnace work harder. Also, while it makes sense to turn the heat back when you're sleeping or not at home, turning it down too low can actually cost you more because the contents of the house have to be re-heated in addition to the air. 68 to 70 degrees while you're home and awake and 60 to 65degrees while you're asleep or not at home are reasonable temperatures.
6. Consider a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temperature at pre-set times.
7. Check the temperature setting on your hot water heater. If you have a dishwasher, your water should be heated to 120%. Otherwise, it can be somewhat lower.
8. If your water heater is in an unheated space like an unfinished basement, wrap it in an insulation blanket available at hardware stores to prevent heat loss.
9. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. Most laundry soaps are now made wash in cold. Hot water is only needed for bacterial infections.
10. It's tempting to stand under a hot shower on a cold morning for as long as possible, but cutting your shower time in half can save up to 33% on your hot water heating costs.
11. Changing your faucets can be an expensive proposition but changing the aerators is not and can save you money on your water bills buy cutting you consumption and it really doesn’t feel that different.
12. Leaky faucets and running toilets are annoying but did you know that the cost of water is rising and those leaks are costing your family money? Save money and get those nagging leaks fixed.
13. In winter, open the blinds and curtains on the sunny side of the house (the south-facing side) when the sun is shining and close them as soon as the sun goes down to retain the solar heat. Close curtains on the shady side of the house (north-facing side). If you don't have curtains, consider installing some. Curtains made from heavy fabric with