Living in Minnesota, we can experience extremely cold weather. Monthly heating costs can be debilitating to your budget. Due to the rapidly ever-rising cost of fuels you may be paying twice as much to heat your home as you did just a few years ago. We have listed a few money-saving tips you can apply in your home.

1. Do an energy audit of your house, identifying areas where heated air is leaking out. Check around doors, windows, fireplaces, and other areas that may feel drafty. Use caulk, weather stripping, door sweeps, plastic, and other appropriate means to close off these leaks. If your house is poorly insulated, adding insulation will pay for itself in reduced heating cost.

2. Don’t heat areas of your house you don’t use regularly, such as guest rooms. Close heating vents or turn back thermostats in those areas and close doors.

3. Turn down the heat and use space heaters in the room you spend time in.

4. Keep your furnance, heat pump or other heating equipment in top operating condition. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of your furnace or heat pump. Poorly tuned units are inefficient and use more fuel. An annual maintenance agreement is well worth the money to ensure that your equipment is properly maintained and will last as long as possible. Superior provides free estimates on both residential and commercial maintenance contracts.

5. Consider a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temperature at pre-set times.

6. Don’t turn your thermostat up above the desired temperature. It won’t heat up any faster and will make your furnace work harder. While it makes sense to turn the heat back when you’re sleeping or not at home, turning it down too low can actually cost you more because the contents of the home have to be reheated in addition to the air. 68 to 70 degrees while you’re home and awake and 60 to 65 degrees while you’re asleep or not at home are reasonable temperatures.

7. By using a humidifier, you can set your thermostat lower by 2 to 6 degrees. Humid air feels warmer than dry air. Increasing the humidity in your home also helps you resist winter colds and moisturizes dry skin. Humidity in the air will also help protect the wood flooring and other furniture in your home from splitting or cracking.

8. If your water heater is in an unheated space like an unfinished basement, wrap it in an insulation blanket available at hardware stores to prevent heat loss.

9. Check the temperature setting on your hot water heater. If you have a dishwasher, your water should be heated to 120 degrees. Otherwise, it can be somewhat lower.

10. Wash clothes in cold or warm water whenever possible. Wash large loads instead of several small loads.

11. Cut your shower time in half. You can save up to 33% on your hot water heating costs. Fix leaky faucets. Install low flow showerheads.

12. Use your window shades and drapes to maximize the heat in your home. Keep shades closed at night to conserve heat. Open shades on sunny windows to take advantage of passive solar heating.

13. Don’t overuse kitchen or bathroom ventilation fans. Turn them off as soon as they have done their job, or put them on timers to limit their operation to 15 minutes or less. A fan can draw out an entire houseful of heated air in about an hour.

14. When shopping for new appliances always look for Energy Star products. Energy Star products are certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use less energy than other products. Energy Star products cost less to operate and help protect the environment.

15. Makre sure air registers are not blocked by furniture, drapes or other household items.

16. Use ceiling fans to gently push the warm air back down from the ceiling and help it circulate.

17. If your attic is accessible, rolling out another layer of insulation is an easy weekend project.