Real-world examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs

Everyday examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs fast

Before we talk about buying anything new, let’s start with habits and tiny tweaks. Some of the best examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs are changes you can make in a single afternoon.

Thermostat tweaks: a small change with big impact

One classic example of saving on heating is simply adjusting your thermostat. It sounds boring, but it works. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that turning your thermostat back 7–10°F for 8 hours a day can save up to about 10% a year on heating and cooling costs (energy.gov).

Here’s how that looks in real life:

• During the day, when everyone’s at work or school, set the thermostat lower—say from 72°F down to 65°F.
• At night, many people sleep comfortably at 62–66°F with a warm blanket.
• Use a programmable or smart thermostat so you’re not constantly fiddling with the settings.

A great real example: a family in a typical 1,800-square-foot home in the Midwest dropped their daytime setting by 3°F and nighttime by 5°F. They didn’t touch anything else. Their winter gas bill went down about 8% compared with the previous year, even with similar temperatures outside.

This is one of the best examples of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs because it doesn’t require tools, just a bit of adjustment and maybe a sweater.

Block drafts: cheap materials, noticeable savings

If your home feels chilly even with the heat on, you might not need more heat—you might need less leaking.

Common examples include:

• Cold air sneaking in under doors
• Drafts around old windows
• Gaps where pipes or cables go through walls

Simple ways to tackle this:

• Use adhesive weatherstripping around doors and windows.
• Add a door sweep to the bottom of exterior doors.
• Use draft stoppers (or even a rolled-up towel) along leaky door bottoms.
• Seal gaps around pipes and cables with caulk or spray foam.

A real example of this in action: a renter in a drafty older apartment used peel-and-stick weatherstripping, a \(10 door sweep, and two fabric draft stoppers. The total cost was under \)40. Her next two winter bills were about \(20–\)25 lower per month compared with the previous year. Not life-changing, but that’s an easy payback.

When people ask for examples of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs, draft blocking is always near the top of the list. It’s cheap, fast, and you feel the difference the same day.

Using your home’s layout: examples include doors, curtains, and rugs

You can also reduce heating costs just by using your space more intentionally. These examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs don’t require a contractor—just a bit of strategy.

Close off rooms you don’t really use

If you’re heating rooms that nobody uses, you’re basically burning money for empty space.

Examples include:

• A guest room used only a few times a year
• A storage room or rarely used home office
• A formal dining room that’s more museum than mealtime

Practical steps:

• Keep doors to unused rooms mostly closed.
• If your heating system allows it and your HVAC pro says it’s okay, gently reduce airflow to those rooms (for example, partially closing vents). Don’t shut too many vents, though—it can create pressure issues in some systems.

One real example: a couple in a three-bedroom house closed the door and partially closed the vent to their rarely used guest room. The rest of the home felt warmer at the same thermostat setting, and they were able to lower the thermostat by 1–2°F without feeling colder.

Use curtains and blinds like insulation

Windows are often the coldest surfaces in a room. You can’t always replace them, but you can use what you already have more effectively.

Some of the best examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs with windows include:

• Opening south-facing curtains during sunny winter days to let in free heat.
• Closing curtains and blinds as soon as the sun goes down to keep that heat inside.
• Using thicker, insulated curtains in especially drafty rooms.

Think of your curtains as a soft, movable blanket for your windows. A family in New England added heavy, lined curtains to their oldest, draftiest windows and made a habit of closing them at sunset. They measured about a 3–4°F difference near the windows at night, which made the room feel cozier without turning up the thermostat.

Put down rugs on bare floors

Bare hardwood or tile floors can feel icy in winter, especially over unheated spaces like garages or crawlspaces.

A simple example of improving comfort: placing area rugs in spots where you sit or stand the most—by the couch, under the dining table, and beside the bed.

This doesn’t change your heating system directly, but it changes how your body feels. If your feet are warmer, you’re less tempted to crank up the heat. For many people, this is one of those quiet examples of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs that doesn’t show up as a gadget purchase but still helps.

Smart heating strategies: examples of using heat only where you need it

Heating the whole home evenly doesn’t always make sense. Sometimes, targeted heat wins.

Use space heaters wisely (not as the main system)

Space heaters can be either a money-saver or a money-waster, depending on how you use them.

Examples of smart use:

• Turning down your central heat a few degrees and using an efficient electric space heater in the room you actually occupy in the evening.
• Using a space heater in a home office during work hours while the rest of the house stays cooler.

Real example: a remote worker in Colorado lowered her central thermostat from 70°F to 64°F during the day and used a small, modern ceramic space heater in her office. Because she only heated a 120-square-foot room instead of the whole house, her overall electricity and gas use dropped. Her winter bills went down about 12% over the season.

Important: follow safety guidelines. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and organizations like the National Fire Protection Association emphasize keeping space heaters at least 3 feet away from anything that can burn and never leaving them unattended.

Use ceiling fans on low, in reverse

Many people think of ceiling fans as a summer thing, but they can help in winter too.

Most ceiling fans have a reverse setting. In winter, set the fan to spin on low in the direction that gently pulls air up (usually clockwise when viewed from below). This pushes warm air that’s trapped near the ceiling down along the walls.

One example of this in practice: a homeowner with high ceilings noticed that the upper part of the room was toasty while the sofa area felt chilly. After reversing the ceiling fan and running it on low, the temperature difference between floor and ceiling shrank, and they could lower the thermostat by 1–2°F without losing comfort.

Again, this is a subtle one, but it fits nicely into real examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs that cost almost nothing to try.

Low-cost upgrades: examples include filters, insulation, and smart controls

Once you’ve squeezed the easy wins from habits and layout, you can move into low-cost upgrades that pay off over several winters.

Replace or clean furnace filters regularly

A dirty filter makes your heating system work harder. That means more energy for the same amount of heat.

Examples of good filter habits:

• Checking your filter every month during heavy-use seasons.
• Replacing standard 1-inch filters every 1–3 months, or as recommended.
• Marking filter changes on a calendar or phone reminder.

A homeowner who went from “whenever I remember” filter changes to a regular 60-day schedule saw their gas furnace run more quietly and cycle less often. Over the season, their gas usage dropped slightly—nothing dramatic, but it also reduced wear on the equipment.

The U.S. Department of Energy recommends regular filter maintenance as a simple way to improve efficiency and indoor air quality (energy.gov). This is a textbook example of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs that also helps your system last longer.

Add insulation in key spots

Insulation can sound like a big project, but you don’t always need to redo the whole house. Sometimes, targeted improvements are enough.

Examples include:

• Adding insulation to an accessible attic.
• Insulating an uninsulated basement ceiling or crawlspace.
• Wrapping hot water pipes in unheated areas.

The U.S. Department of Energy provides guidance on recommended insulation levels by region (energy.gov). In many U.S. climates, adding attic insulation to reach recommended levels can significantly cut heating costs.

A real example: a homeowner in the Midwest increased attic insulation from about R-13 to R-38 using blown-in cellulose. Their heating bills dropped by about 15–20% the following winter, and the house felt less drafty. This is a bigger step than weatherstripping, but still one of the best examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs over the long term.

Consider a smart thermostat for better scheduling

If your schedule is predictable, a basic programmable thermostat is fine. If your life is more chaotic, a smart thermostat can help you avoid heating an empty home.

Examples of useful smart thermostat features:

• Learning your schedule and adjusting automatically.
• Geofencing—turning the heat down when you leave and back up as you return.
• Remote control from your phone if you forget to turn it down.

Many utilities in the U.S. now offer rebates for smart thermostats because they help reduce energy demand. A busy family that installed a smart thermostat and used its auto-away feature found that their home wasn’t being heated for hours when nobody was there. Over the season, they saw around 8–10% lower heating costs.

This is one of the more modern examples of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs that fits well with 2024–2025 trends in home energy management.

Lifestyle habits: examples include clothing, cooking, and humidity

Some of the simplest examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs come down to how you live in the space.

Dress for the season indoors

This sounds obvious, but it’s powerful: if you’re wearing a T-shirt and bare feet in January, you’re probably running the heat higher than you need.

Examples of warmer indoor choices:

• Cozy socks or slippers instead of bare feet on cold floors.
• A light sweater or fleece instead of just a T-shirt.
• A throw blanket on the couch for TV time.

People often find that once they dress a bit warmer, they can lower the thermostat by 2–3°F without feeling colder. Over a whole winter, that can translate into noticeable savings.

Use cooking and bathing heat to your advantage

You’re already paying for the energy to cook and shower—might as well get a bit of free heat out of it.

Examples include:

• After baking, leaving the oven door open a crack while it cools (if it’s safe and you don’t have small kids or pets nearby).
• Leaving the bathroom door open after a hot shower so the warm, moist air drifts into nearby rooms.

You should still use exhaust fans when needed for moisture control and indoor air quality, especially in tightly sealed homes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has guidance on ventilation and indoor air quality (epa.gov). But in many older, leakier homes, using that leftover warmth can make nearby rooms feel more comfortable.

Maintain healthy humidity levels

Dry winter air makes your skin crack, your throat scratchy, and your home feel colder than it actually is. Air with a bit more moisture feels warmer at the same temperature.

Examples of humidity strategies:

• Using a whole-home or portable humidifier to keep indoor humidity in a comfortable range, often around 30–50%.
• Not overdoing it—too much humidity can cause condensation and mold.

At a comfortable humidity level, many people can lower the thermostat a degree or two and still feel fine. Health-focused organizations like Mayo Clinic discuss ideal indoor humidity ranges for comfort and health (mayoclinic.org).

This is another quiet example of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs: you’re not directly lowering energy use, but you’re improving comfort so you can use less heat.

Putting it together: choose the examples that fit your life

You don’t need to use every strategy here. Think of these examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs as a menu, not a to-do list.

If you want fast, low-effort wins, start with:

• Thermostat adjustments
• Blocking drafts
• Smarter use of curtains and doors

If you’re ready to invest a bit more time or money, consider:

• Attic insulation upgrades
• A smart thermostat
• Regular HVAC maintenance and filter changes

And don’t underestimate the lifestyle side: warmer clothes, rugs, and better humidity are all examples of real, human-friendly ways to feel cozier without constantly bumping up the thermostat.

Over time, combining several of these examples of examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs can easily shave 10–30% off your winter heating bills, depending on your starting point and climate.

The key is to start small, notice what works in your home, and build from there.

FAQ: Simple ways to reduce heating costs

Q: What are some quick examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs this week?
A: Easy examples include lowering your thermostat a few degrees, sealing drafts around doors and windows with weatherstripping, closing curtains at night, wearing warmer clothing indoors, and using a programmable thermostat to avoid heating an empty home.

Q: Can you give an example of a low-cost upgrade that really pays off?
A: A classic example of a low-cost upgrade is adding weatherstripping and a door sweep to a drafty exterior door. For under $40 in materials, many homeowners notice immediate comfort improvements and modest but real reductions in their heating bills.

Q: Are space heaters a good example of saving on heating costs?
A: They can be, if used correctly. Using a small, efficient space heater in the room you actually occupy—while turning down the central heat a few degrees—can save money. Using multiple space heaters to warm the whole home instead of a central system usually costs more.

Q: What examples include both comfort and health benefits?
A: Maintaining a clean furnace filter, managing indoor humidity to comfortable levels, and sealing drafts are examples that can improve both comfort and indoor air quality. Following guidance from sources like the EPA and Mayo Clinic helps balance energy savings with health.

Q: Is upgrading insulation really one of the best examples of long-term savings?
A: Yes. Adding attic insulation to meet recommended levels for your region is often cited by energy agencies as one of the best examples of simple ways to reduce heating costs over many years. It can also make your home more comfortable by reducing drafts and cold spots.