Winter Heating

If the weather is unusually cold or stays cold for a prolonged amount of time, your home heating bills can increase significantly. For example, it is less expensive to keep your home at 70 degrees if the outside temperature is 50 degrees, than if it were 30 degrees. Being energy-wise with your use of heat will help reduce winter energy bills. Your heating solution can be one of the most potent sources of savings in your home.

General Heating Tips

• Keep your thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature – 68 to 70 degrees is recommended. Every degree above 70 costs an additional 7 percent to 10 percent.  (Example: Keeping your home at 75 degrees could cost up to 47 percent more on the heating portion of your bill than keeping it at 70.)
  
  
• During winter months, Progress Energy recommends setting the temperature at 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
  
  
• Lower your thermostat at night or when you leave the house. 
  
  
• If you have a fireplace and aren't using it, make sure the flue is closed. Consider glass doors to help prevent heat loss when your heating system is on.
  
  
• Using a portable heater for "spot" heating lets you lower the temperature in the rest of the house. However, using it too much can be very costly! One 1500-watt resistance heater operating 24 hours a day for a month would cost more than $80.
  
  
• If you have a heat pump, adjust your thermostat in small increments to avoid the operation of the supplemental heat strip in your system. Energy consumption is much higher when the heat strip is in use. A steady setting on your heat pump thermostat produces constant comfort and minimizes the use of the less efficient resistance heat strip. 
  
  
• Don't block the outside unit. Never stack anything against the heat pump or drape anything over it. 
  
   
• Hose down the outside unit from time to time to remove dust, dirt, lint, leaves and grass clippings.   
  
  
• Be sure the filters in your heating system are clean. Dirty filters will increase heating costs.
  
  
• Caulk and weather-strip any leaky windows and doors. 
  
  
• Open drapes and shades on the sunny side of your house to help warm the home during the day. Close drapes and shades at night to cut heat loss. 
  
  
• Make sure drapes and furniture are not blocking air registers or returns.    
  
  
• Keep the fan on your central heating unit on "auto" position.  Leaving the fan on "on" can add $25 a month to your heating costs.
  
  
• Don't close off more than 10 percent of the unused rooms in your home. Your heat pump works best with free airflow throughout the house.