Battening Down the Hatches

The frost on my lawn this morning came as a bit of a wake-up call.  Winter will be upon us before we know it, so now is the time to start thinking about how to keep warm without going (completely) broke.

While winter in Montana (or anywhere North of the Mason-Dixon) can be fun, paying big power bills is not.  Below are 5 free and painless ways (and one very cheap bonus tip!) to shave a little off your power bill.

1. Get an energy audit.  Call Northwestern Energy at (888) 467-2669 to schedule a free energy audit of your home.  A technician from Northwestern Energy will come to your home, thoroughly assess your energy usage and advise you as to how to save on your power bill.  You may also qualify for free materials such as water heater wraps, pipe insulation and compact florescent lightbulbs to help improve your home's energy efficiency.  (If you're not in Montana, just place a call to your local power company.  They will surely be able to help you.)
2. Turn your water heater down to the WARM setting when you don't need immediate hot water (such as when everyone is sleeping or when no one is at home).  Just remember to turn it back up about an hour before you do need hot water, or this will cease to be a painless tip...
3. Set your furnace at 5 degrees lower than your normal daytime setting at night or when no one is at home.  If you're too chilly at night, pull on some socks and throw an extra blanket on the bed.  (Don't set your furnace below 55 degrees, though, or you run the risk of frozen pipes.)
4. Open the curtains on your south-facing windows to take advantage of passive solar energy to help warm your house during the day.
5. Make a draft dodger.  Sew fabric from an old pair of jeans into a tube that is long enough to cover the gap at the bottom of your door.  Sew up one end and fill the tube with anything "weighty" you have on hand (sand, kitty litter, aquarium gravel, even rice and beans will work.)  Sew up open end and place in front of closed door to help keep the cold air out and the warm air in.

Bonus tip: (This last tip is technically not free, but it is really cheap and painless.)  Changing the filter on your furnace will improve the efficiency of your furnace -- and furnace filters cost about $1.50 for the 30-day variety.

Keep warm, everybody!