Top Ten Ways to Save Money on Your Heating Bill (December 2, 2001):

1) Wear warm clothes and set your thermostat as low as comfortable in the winter. Each degree you raise the temperature, your fuel bill can climb as much as 3%.

2) Clean or replace furnace filters once a month or as needed. Using a high efficiency filter will do a better job of cleaning the air, and if you have allergies, the filter will help get rid of the fine particles that irritate your allergies.

3) Clean warm air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators. Make sure they are not blocked by furniture, carpet, or drapes and that the heat moves freely into the room. By doing both steps 2 and 3 you can improve furnace efficiency up to 10%.

4) Use kitchen, bath and other ventilation fans wisely. In just one hour these fans can pull out a house full of warm air.

5) Keep humidity levels between 30% and 60%. Keeping humidity levels in this range will make the house feel warmer and help prevent colds and allergies caused by dry air.

6) On sunny days keep the curtains and shades open on the south side your house. Let the sunlight enter to warm the room. Close them at night and on cloudy days.

7) Close any unoccupied rooms and don't heat them (if there is plumbing in the room that can freeze, heat them just enough to prevent the pipes from freezing).

8) Install a set back thermostat and get a 7 day 4 times/day timer. Lower your heat to 62 at night, 68 when you are at home and 60 to 62 when no one is at home. You can cut heating bills by up to 20% just by using a set back thermostat and not messing with the temperature.

9) Caulk and weather strip where the siding meets the trim around windows and doors. Keep storm windows closed and repaired.

10) Make sure you have enough insulation in your attic. Heat rises and goes right through the ceiling and out the roof. If you have plenty of insulation in the attic then do walls and replacement windows.