Practical ways to cut winter heating costs

Where should you start?

Find out where heat is escaping before spending money. A home energy assessment by a qualified advisor typically includes a blower-door test, which depressurizes the house and shows leaks. Many provincial and utility programs have supported assessments in the past, so check what is offered now. If you want a do-it-yourself start, a cold, windy day and a lit stick of incense near suspected leaks will reveal draughts.

Also look at last winter's bills to learn how much of the cost is heating. The method is in what drives Alberta heating bills.

What are the cheap fixes?

• Weatherstrip and caulk. Seal around exterior doors, window frames, electrical outlets on exterior walls and the attic hatch. Foam gaskets behind outlet covers are cheap and effective.
• Close the fireplace damper when not in use, and check that the damper actually seals.
• Replace the furnace filter on schedule so the blower works freely.
• Bleed radiators if you have hot-water heating, and keep furniture and drapes off the emitters.
• Use window coverings smartly. Open south-facing curtains on sunny days and close them at dusk.

Unlike a new furnace, these cost hours rather than days of wages, and they apply in any house.

Which bigger projects pay off?

Attic insulation is often the best value because heat rises and attics in older houses can be thin. Rim joists and basement walls are the next common gaps. Windows get the most attention but are often the slowest payback, since replacement is costly compared with sealing and storm panels.

Equipment matters too. A furnace past its design life wastes fuel; see typical heating system lifespans and furnace replacement costs. Consider whether a heat pump could carry part of the load, using the heat pump vs furnace comparison.

Costs and rebates vary by region and change often. Get written quotes and confirm current programs with the Government of Canada energy-efficiency pages, your provincial ministry and your utility before committing.

How do you use the thermostat well?

Set the house a few degrees lower overnight and while you are out. Avoid big swings, because recovery from a deep set-back wastes part of the savings. Wear a sweater first; a drop of one or two degrees is rarely noticed. The details are in the guide to smart thermostat savings.

Keep interior doors open so heat circulates, and close vents in unused rooms only if your system tolerates the extra pressure. In forced-air homes, shutting too many registers can strain the blower.

One more option comes from the other end of the problem: reduce what the house needs. The homes at Drake Landing needed little heat because of tight construction and good insulation, and that low demand let solar heat do nearly all of the work during the system's best years.

How do you check that the changes worked?

Compare gas or electricity use, not dollars, between similar winter months. Weather swings make raw comparisons misleading, so use heating degree days if your utility lists them. Divide monthly use by degree days to get a figure that should fall after real improvements.

Keep notes on which changes you made, and repeat the draught check on a windy day to confirm that leaks are gone. If use does not fall after the cheap fixes, a professional assessment will find what you missed. Dollars matter in the end, but use is the cleaner signal because rates change from month to month.

A final habit worth building is a yearly review each fall, using the winter home energy checklist as the agenda.

Quick answers