Interesting Ways to Keep the Cost of Your Heating under Control

In the current economic climate every penny, or cent, counts. The key to keeping control of the finances as a home owner is attention to detail. Every little change you make adds up to help you to save money.

Diversify your heating sources

As you have probably noticed, the cost of power and fuel fluctuates. Tracking these changes and swapping to the cheapest fuel source can save you a significant amount of money.

For example, the cost of electric and gas have climbed steadily over the past few years, but the cost of home heating oil has fallen drastically. As a result, those people that have been able to switch to using oil for their heating and hot water have saved a lot of money.

Invest in a smart technology

It is also a good idea to consider having a smart meter installed. Some of these meters allow you to monitor how much electric you are using live. If you see a spike, you can go off and find out who has left the light on.

For some families, a smart home system with a smart thermometer will also help them to keep their heating bills down. When your home is empty, there is no need to keep it warm. It can be handy to be able to turn your heating off when you know you are stuck in traffic or have to work late, at short notice.

Sign up for cheap power deals

These days, many electricity firms offer consumers the chance to sign up for night and day deals. The idea is to encourage people to use their appliances more during quite times to take some of the pressure off the power network. If you sign up for these deals during certain times of the day and night, you get access to cheap electric. You can reduce your bills considerably by only using power hungry appliances like washing machines, irons and dishwashers on during the low-cost hours.

If you do not like the sounds of that sort of arrangement, it is still worth shopping around for the best deal. These days it is easy to use a comparison website to find the best price, and switch supplier. You can do the same if you use heating oil or kerosene, but you will normally have to ring around or ask for quotes instead. Sometimes you can club together with others in your area to buy your fuel as a collective, which opens up the opportunity for you to negotiate a better price.

Double-seal your windows in the winter

During the winter months, most of us do not open the windows much. If that is the case in your home, it is worth using sealant film to prevent heat from leaving your home via the glass. The window cannot be used without removing the film, but if there are windows that you do not open in the winter that is not a problem. You can see how easy it is to install this film by watching this video. It is an easy job that most people can do themselves.