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The Most Beautiful Way To Save Money While Heating Your House

Posted by Sean | Posted under Energy, Frugality | November 5, 2008

reflective
Creative Commons License photo credit: NCinDC

Sometimes, a tip makes it into a lot of “Top Ten Tips” lists, but never gets featured in a post of its own.

Today, I want to pay tribute to my #1 heating tip: open the blinds to your windows.

To one group of people, it sounds obvious.

To another group of people, it sounds trivial.

I think there is more to it than meets the eye. Unfortunately, I have not seen estimates of how much money this can save per month. What I have seen are estimates of adding 3 to 7 degrees F. In months where it is only mildly chilly, 3 to 7 extra degrees can be the whole difference!

You may be thinking… I’m no hermit. I open windows. What’s this guy talking about?

I’m talking about being in the mindset of maximizing sunlight. It is one thing to say around noon-ish, hey it is a nice day, maybe I should open more windows. It is quite another to “turn on” the sun-producing windows first thing in the morning and let the heat build up during the day.

For techies like myself, it is easy to see every problem in terms of flipping a switch. Mindlessly wait until cold and flip the switch on the thermostat. For people like us, maybe it helps to think of the window blinds as a really cool electronic appliance.

I’ve been getting better at this and it makes a difference. Sometimes we overshoot and get too much heat by the afternoon. But when we get it right it gives us a head start on night time heating.

Try it.

Besides, how many frugal tips can brighten your mood as much as this one?

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2 Comments so far
  1. Dawn November 5, 2008 11:03 am

    You are right about it brightening your mood! Truth is, we all need regular amounts of sunlight and when you live in a state of ice and cold like I do, sun is even more welcome - so not only is it frugal, but good for your health.

  2. Mary@SimplyForties November 14, 2008 9:26 am

    This is such a great tip, which, unfortunately, doesn’t work for me. My house was built for the hot climate in which I live I have deep covered porches all around, which provide great, cooling shade in the summer. They also provide great shade in the winter when I would prefer to have the sun streaming in. At least winter is short here!