As I sit here this morning working on blog posts, I am hearing the furnace running and wondering what those bills will cost this year. We got down to 34 yesterday outside here recently. We are seeing more and more 30’s and 40’s. at night. I am thankful that we changed the air filter to get ready.
Last week on our TV news channel, National Grid said their customers would see about a 20% drop this coming winter in their heating bills for people who heat with natural gas. Wow! That was a surprise! There are two utility companies in our western NY area. National Grid is one and NYSEG is the other.
We have NYSEG. I kept waiting to hear the same information from our company. They finally said that they expected heating costs to go down by 18%.
Yesterday, we got this surprise. The PSC( the NYS agency which regulates our utility companies) approved a rate increase for NYSEG: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/ny-news/2023/10/13/nyseg-rge-electric-gas-utility-rate-hikes-approved-what-it-means/71152431007/ .Our governor is saying that the company was asking for double this amount so she is happy with the increase. Huh?
So this rate increase takes effect in November. Interesting timing!
Plus with two wars now escalating, I believe we will see everything go up especially if the U.S. gets involved. This is the first time in all of my years that I believe that war will be coming to our country. I pray not but all the signs are there. With the middle east at war, we will most likely see oil prices escalate which will send the heating bills much higher. So I think we are in for really high bills this winter if you heat with natural gas, oil, or propane. We need to drill and open the pipelines here. But I won’t hold my breath for that to happen!
These are the things that we have done or are doing to keep our heat bill down:
- Lowered our thermostat to 64 at night
- Caulked windows where it needed it
- Replaced weather stripping at the bottom of doors where needed
- Get window kits and a door kit to help keep the cold out
- Stocked on filters for the winter and will change them once a month
- Reversed our ceiling fans to go clockwise for the winter
- Put two warm blankets on every bed in the house so that 64 is comfortable at night
- Keep warm throws or blankets where you sit during the day
- Put cloth snakes at the bottom of outside doors
- Stocked up on warm sweaters to wear in the house
- We will be opening our oven after we roast anything to let the heat seep into the kitchen
- We only open window shades and blinds on the sunny windows. We close them when the sun is off of them.
- No air vents are blocked
- We cleaned the air vents and cold air returns
- We keep our gas tankless hot water heater at 120 degrees
- Only use your oven or range top if absolutely necessary. Use other small appliances when you can
- Insulate the hot water pipes in the basement
- Close all heating vents in the basement
- If you need some new insulation do it. It will save you a lot of money on your heat bill
I hope my list will give you some ideas to get ready. If I have missed something, feel free to add to it in the comments.
4 replies on “My Heat Has Been Running A Lot Today. Are You Ready for The Winter?”
Hi Precious, we started our heat the week before last also. We do a lot of the same things you do to keep our bill down. I know you don’t use an electric blanket, but we do. Mostly just use to warm up the bed and turn it off when we get in. Our laundry room is on the first floor, so on laundry days, I try to do multiple loads and try not to let the dryer cool down between loads. Hubby ordered new filters last week also.
Hi Chris,
We used to use an electric blanket but it no longer fits because of our new adjustable beds. I gave it to my son. We like the new blankets. You are doing well but I knew you would! W can’t wait to meet you and your Hubby.
We did not turn on heat yet. I’m just a little warmer than your area but not by much. We are getting down to the 40s overnight but our home is well insulated and stays around 64-67 due to the day Temps and cooking dinner. It’ll happen soon enough though!
(When we did our replacement windows my husband did all 23 himself – old home- for two reasons. One he is detail oriented and wanted to do things right including adding insulation around every window and two to save money. He found that there was almost no insulation in the walls around the windows and he fixed that!).
We are in the cleaning out the garden, detaching the hoses etc part of fall.
Biggest deal at the grocery store this week was I did not shop. I saved at least $100 because I can’t get out of any store spending less than that. We are eating from our fridge and freezers this week. I do need fresh fruits but we are doing OK.
You have accomplished a lot on your winterizing list! Time for a rest.
Hi Jackeey49,
You are lucky that you don’t have to turn the heat on yet. Hubby is always cold.
Nice job on those windows!
Our gardens are done and hoses are off.
Kudos for no grocery shopping!
Thanks for sharing.