Help for High Heating Bills

Heating a home during the winter can take a huge chunk of your household budget. Households that heat with natural gas are expected to spend about $900 this winter, according to the Alliance to Save Energy. Those who use heating oil will spend about $1,700 and people with electric heat will spend about $960.

For many people already struggling in this economy, high heating bills could send them over the edge financially. But there is help available through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which is a federally funded program that provides subsidies to low-income households who need help paying for heating costs.

The program looks at your gross household income to determine eligibility. For instance, a one-person household with an income of $18,200 or less would qualify, as would a two-person household with income of $24,500 or less.

You can also check with state and local agencies in your area to see if they offer assistance with heating bills. If you don’t qualify for help through an energy assistance program, there are other steps you can take to cut energy bills:
—Buy a programmable thermostat so that it automatically lowers the heat at night or when you are away from home for long periods of time. With the right settings you could save about $180 a year.
—Use caulking, sealant, and weather stripping to plug up leaks around windows and doors. If necessary, add extra insulation.
—Check your furnace filters regularly and replace them a minimum of every three months.
—Have your heating and cooling system tuned up each year to make sure it is running properly.

Open your curtains during the day to let in sunlight and warm up your place. Also, fireplaces lose a lot of heat so close the dampers when they’re not being used.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.