Conserving Heating Fuels

The upcoming winter promises to be a painful one for millions of consumers across the country. Dramatically higher prices for winter heating fuels threaten the pocketbooks of many consumers and could deliver a multi-billion dollar blow to the nation’s economy. Even in warm-weather parts of the country, rising fuel prices will have an impact on consumers by driving up the cost of electricity and natural gas used for hot water and other purposes.

The most effective way to reduce the impact of this winter’s heating fuel crisis is to move as quickly as possible to reduce our consumption of energy.

Two easy ways you can save money and heating fuel are:

  • Installing a low-flow showerhead (many of which can be purchased for less than $20) can save money in just one year – and guarantee additional cost savings in future years.

  • Reducing household drafts – which can be done with the investment of a few hours and a few dollars for supplies – can cut heating energy use by as much as 5 to 30 percent. See the Department of Energy's Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audits.

[Thanks to PIRG for this advice.]