Heating Costs

[cparkly]

We bought a new (2 years old) house last summer. The house is well insulated. The windows are double-hung, but very large.

The heating is oil heated hot water baseboard heat. We planned on having a chimney and woodstove put in the summer, but that has not worked out, financially. The cost of heating with oil is ridiculous, and it bothers our conscience.

We turn the heat down to 55 at night and keep it no higher that 68 during the day. DS and I wear slippers and layers if needed.

What do you do to reduce heating costs? I would love to hear your frugal, green, child-friendly ideas.

[ChetMC]

What We Did

Our old house was significantly warmer on one side and colder on the other. To some extent, we lived in the warm part in the winter and the cold part in the summer.

I also heated the bathroom by letting the water in the tub cool before we let it down the drain. It was a big, old cast iron tub and it did a good job of heating the bathroom.

When windows weren't getting direct sun I also kept the blinds closed.

[SleeplessMommy]

1) get an energy audit - with special attention to air sealing, for example band joist in the basement and the area between the attic floor and the house. check attic insulation levels.

2) have the boiler serviced and get the % combustion efficiency printout. if the oil burner is older and only 50% efficiency, there is a huge payoff with replacement. not so much with a 90% efficient boiler. check insulation on the basement part of the pipes. (with caution - there is asbestos on some older pipes.)

3) insulating drapes or cordless cellular shades can decrease heat loss.

4) check weatherstripping of doors.

check here for state/local/fed tax breaks and incentives:
http://www.dsireusa.org/