As temperatures fall, don’t let your heating bill get the best of you. Here are some ways to reduce your heating costs*:
- Set the thermostat to 68 degrees F or lower; if you currently set it higher, you can save about 5-10% for each degree lower that you set it
- Wear a sweater, sweatshirt, and socks/slippers; use extra blankets at night. I often come across people in the desert who are wearing shorts and a t-shirt and have the heater turned up to 72, 74, or higher.
- If you have wood, tile, concrete, marble, or other cold floor, use a rug where your feet normally rest or tread
- Avoid using portable/electric heaters; usually it is much more expensive to heat with electric than with gas.
- Recognize that most gas fireplaces are primarily for ambiance and provide very little heat beyond 10 or 12 feet away; gas fireplaces can be big energy users as most of the heat goes up the chimney, using more gas than a 5-ton central furnace and costing upwards of $0.50-$0.80/hr.
- Open drapes, blinds, et cetera, on sunny days and close them when the sun is no longer shining through them.
- Coordinate baking, laundry, and other heat-generating activities when heating is desired inside the home.
- Insulate the hot water pipe from the water heater into the house.
- Schedule a free Home Energy Survey to learn how best to heat (and cool) your home by calling 1-800-278-8585 (SCE or SoCal Gas customers).
- Make your home as energy efficient (as well as comfortable and healthy) as possible, so excessive cold air doesn’t infiltrate into your home; take advantage of generous utility rebates by participating in Energy Upgrade California.
Often people think that portable electric heaters, because of their relatively small size, are more efficient to use than heating the whole home. Consider the following scenario:
- Electric portable heater using 1,500 watts at $0.20/kwh would cost $0.30/hr; heating a 100 sq ft bedroom, for 8 hours/day and running 80-90% of the time, would cost between $46-$52/month.
- A 3-ton central furnace using 36,000 BTU/hr at $0.80/therm would cost $0.29/hr; heating an entire 1,500 sq ft home, for 8 hours/day and only running 30-40% of the time (i.e., thermostat at 68 degrees F), would cost between $20-$28/month.
- Additionally, most homes that have electric and gas service pay more for electricity and less for gas in the winter.
If electric is your only choice, here is a list of heating options, arranged from least expensive to most expensive:
- Extra layers of clothes, blankets $0
- Wood in fireplace $ cost of wood (check with your local forest department; in some areas you can gather as much dead/fallen wood as you can haul for the cost of a day use pass)
- Pellet stove (super efficient!) $ cost of fuel
- Electric blanket on low ~50-100 watts/hr
- Warm mist humidifier ~100-250 watts/hr
- Portable heater with thermostat ~1,500 watts/hr
- Bake bread in oven (Caution: do not use oven as primary heat source) ~3,000 watts/hr
- Forced air furnace ~5,000-7,500 watts/hr
- Heat pump (5 ton) ~5,500 watts/hr
- Resistance heating (ceiling or baseboards) ~3,000-7,000 watts/hr (per room)
*Disclaimers: Individual results may vary based on your particular costs of gas versus electric energy. If you require temperatures at a certain level due to health issues, you may be eligible for a medical baseline allowance. Contact your heating utility for more information (visit SoCal Gas or SCE for program eligibility). If you are income-qualified, there may be some assistance available to pay high bills and make your home more energy efficient; visit Bill Assistance with SoCal Gas, SCE’s Income Qualified, and/or California’s LIHEAP pages for more information.
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