Thrifty Retirement - Easy Savings on Winter Energy Costs

As the winter season closes in on us, we all begin to think about the cost of winter energy bills. If you are lucky enough to live in a location that's warm year round, you probably welcome the relief from high air conditioning bills. But for those of us who have four seasons, winter poses the heaviest burden of energy use and the highest utility bills. You can ease the pressure of those bills, especially in today's uncertain economy, by using cheap and simple measures to reduce energy use and save money.

The easiest energy-saving thing to do must be to replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, compact fluorescent lighting, in as many places as possible. During shorter winter days, you probably have lights on for more hours, and energy savings can be substantial. Start with the lights that you use most often and for the longest periods. It's best to install CFLs where they will be on for at least 15 minutes at a time, so a closet, hallway, or stairway where the light is turned on and off after just a few seconds is not necessarily a good place for a CFL. Although it uses less energy, each on-and-off click shortens the overall life of the bulb, and your savings might be minimal.

Turn down the temperature on your water heater to 110 or 120 degrees to save money and use less energy. In retirement, most of us have only two living in our household, so you're not likely to run out of hot water. And while you're there, insulate your water heater. You can buy precut blanket-style insulation made especially for a water heater to make installation easy. Slip-on insulation for hot water pipes can save energy too.

Replace your furnace filters at the beginning of the heating season, and check for dust accumulation in the middle of the season, as well. If you have a permanent type of filter, be sure to clean it thoroughly. Also make sure the humidifier on your furnace is working properly. Air that is more humid feels warmer than dry air of the same temperature, making your home more comfortable. Check the humidifier water pad and replace it if it is caked with lime and scale.

Turn your furnace thermostat down a couple degrees in winter and up a couple degrees in summer. The rule of thumb is that you save about 5% of your retirement dollars on heating bills for each degree of adjustment. Wear an extra layer of clothing, like a sweater or long-sleeved shirt, if you get chilly, or use a small space heater to warm the room in which you spend most of your time.

Take advantage of free heat and humidity for your dry winter air by opening your dishwasher and allowing dishes to air dry. As you open the door, the moist steamy air rolls out and both warms and humidifies your home. Now that's thrifty retirement! You save the energy that would have been used to dry the dishes, and you warm your home while saving money. If you have an electric clothes dryer, you might be able to vent it indoors in the winter, taking advantage of that warmth and humidity, as well. Gas dryers should always be vented outdoors.

Check doors and windows for drafts. If cold air comes in under doors, purchase and install weather stripping that is designed for doorsills. Alternatively, you can roll up a small rug to place in front of it or buy a decorative "door snake" to block the draft. For windows, the clear plastic shrink-to-fit kits you install yourself are amazingly effective at saving energy and saving money. The kits come with double-stick tape to apply around the window. You cut the plastic film to size and stick it to the tape, sealing all edges. Finally, use a hair dryer to shrink the film and render it virtually invisible. In the spring, the tape and film are easily peeled off, leaving no residue. For windows that you never open, or that are in rooms you seldom use, you might want to leave the film on all year.

These tips on reducing winter energy use cost little or nothing, but they can add up to major savings on your winter energy bills. In our thrifty retirement, we can use the knowledge we have gained along the way to reduce our utility bills, save money, and make our lives warmer.

Copyright 2009 Linda Manley

Autor: Linda Manley

Linda Manley, a retired university research director, writes website articles on topics that interest her, such as retiring in warm places, staying fit and healthy, and saving money while doing both. You can find more of her articles at http://www.GreatRetirementPlaces.com.

Added: December 20, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/