How to lower your heating bill this winter: 15 ways, from free to weekend projects

The short answer: to lower your heating bill, start with changes that cost nothing, then move to small weekend projects. Heating is often a household's biggest winter energy cost.

• Free tonight: lower the thermostat at night and when you're out, and close curtains at night
• Under $50: weather strip doors ($10 to $30 per door) and caulk window trim
• Replace your furnace filter ($5 to $40, about 5 minutes)
• Make it predictable with budget billing, and find help programs if you need them
• Next step: Plan it with the Bill Tracker Spreadsheet ($4.99).

If you want to know how to lower your heating bill, start with the changes that cost nothing, then move to small weekend projects. Heating is often the biggest energy cost a household has in winter, and the federal Energy Information Administration publishes a Winter Fuels Outlook each fall because those costs move so much from year to year. Below are 15 ways to bring the bill down, sorted from free to a few weekends, plus how to track whether they worked.

Free changes you can make tonight

1. Lower the thermostat at night and when you're out. The Department of Energy's winter savings tips say turning it back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours a day can save as much as 10% a year on heating bills.
2. Bundle up first. Sweaters, socks, slippers and a throw on the couch let you stay comfortable a few degrees cooler.
3. Open curtains on sunny days, close them at night. Free solar heat by day and an extra layer against cold glass at night.
4. Close doors to rooms you don't use, like guest rooms and storage rooms, so you're heating fewer spaces.
5. Move furniture off vents and radiators so warm air can circulate. A room planner helps you find a layout that keeps vents clear.
6. Run ceiling fans clockwise on low to push warm air down from the ceiling, if your fans have a reverse switch.

Cheap fixes under $50

Drafts are the classic heating leak. ENERGY STAR's seal and insulate guide estimates that homeowners can save up to 10% on total annual energy bills by sealing and insulating, starting with weather stripping and caulk.

7. Weather strip doors. Self-adhesive foam strips and a door sweep stop the gap you can feel on a windy day.
8. Caulk window trim where you see gaps or feel cold air.
9. Add foam gaskets behind outlet and switch covers on outside walls.
10. Use draft stoppers at the bottom of doors to unheated spaces.
11. Replace your furnace filter. A clogged filter makes the system work harder. Check it monthly in winter.

Weekend projects that pay off

12. Install window insulation film on drafty or single-pane windows. It's clear and comes off in spring.
13. Seal the attic hatch with weather stripping and a foam cover, since warm air rises right out of it.
14. Schedule a furnace tune-up before the coldest weeks. A system that runs well uses less fuel.
15. Lower the water heater temperature to around 120 degrees, which many manufacturers suggest. Water heating is a year-round cost that also climbs in winter.

If you rent, the free changes and draft stoppers still work. Ask your landlord about weather stripping, caulk and the furnace filter, since those are often their job.

Make the bill predictable

Lowering the total is one goal. Making it predictable is another. Ask your utility about budget billing, which spreads your yearly cost across 12 equal payments, so January doesn't arrive as a surprise. It doesn't reduce what you pay, but it makes a monthly budget far easier to keep.

You can also treat winter heating like any other irregular cost: add a little to a sinking fund in the summer months, when bills are low, and draw from it in January and February. Our sinking funds guide shows how to size one.

If you need help paying for heat

If the bill is already more than you can cover, call your utility before it's past due and ask about payment plans and hardship programs. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, helps eligible households with home energy costs. Many states also have winter shutoff protections.

Track the results month by month

You won't know which changes worked unless you compare. Each month, write down the usage (therms, gallons or kilowatt-hours), not just the dollar amount, and compare with the same month last year. Weather changes, so usage is the fairer comparison.

• The Bill Tracker Spreadsheet ($4.99) lists every bill with its amount and due date and flags what's due soon, so your heating bill sits next to everything else.
• The Printable Bill Tracker ($3.49) does the same on paper, if you'd rather check boxes on the fridge.
• The Home Maintenance Log ($5.99) keeps track of filter changes and furnace tune-ups, so you know when each one is due.

How much can these changes save?

It depends on your home, your climate and your fuel. A drafty older house with a thermostat set at 72 degrees all day has far more to gain than a newer, well-sealed home that's already set back at night. That's why tracking matters more than any estimate on a blog. Start with the free changes for one full billing cycle, then add one cheap fix at a time, so you can see which ones actually moved your usage.

Heating savings checklist

• Thermostat setback schedule set
• Curtains open by day, closed by night
• Unused rooms closed off
• Doors weather stripped and swept
• Window gaps caulked
• Furnace filter checked this month
• Budget billing requested
• This month's usage logged

For the rest of your monthly bills, our guide to lowering monthly bills walks through phone, internet, insurance and subscriptions, and how to organize bills helps you keep every due date in one place. Before winter, the home maintenance checklist covers the furnace and drafts, and our home organization guides have more.