By Birney Summers

One way to heat less is to avoid heating rooms that are not being used. If you have a spare bed room that is only used for storage you can shut off the heat going to that room and close the door.

You may be able to reduce the heat in some rooms that are used only for short periods of time. Try closing the louvers on the warm air outlet to reduce the amount of heat that you let into the room.

Another way to heat less is to turn the thermostat down when no one is home. If your house is empty during the work or school day, turn the thermostat down 10 or more degrees so you heat less. If you go visit the grand kids on the weekend turn the thermostat down so you heat less.

Here is where you can save with a better thermostat.

Replace your old fashion thermostat with a new digital thermostat. By using a digital thermostat, you can program it to preheat the house. When you know that he house will be warm when you get home you are more likely to turn in way down when you leave. Set your thermostat to warm up you house ready to welcome you home. A good programmable thermostat can be bought for under $100. The $20 on sale basic model I bought a works just fine.

In our house, the thermostat is set at 68 during the day and 62 at night. That is cooler than some folks like, but we like it that way. Using a programmable thermostat makes setting the temperature down at night easy and you do not have to worry about forgetting. Set it to turn the heat down about an hour before bedtime. We program ours to start warming the house up an hour before we get up in the morning.

Remember heat less by keeping the thermostat low. Turn it down when no one is home. Turn it way down when your mother in law visits. To get the feel of being there turn it down during TV football games. Turn it down and buy a new sweater with the money you save.

It is cheaper to use an extra quilt or an electric blanket and turn the thermostat down even more at bedtime. I sleep better when it is cool in the house.

Remember heat less and save more.

Click here for more money saving information. I am a, Baby Boom Vintage, Energy Conservation Engineer. My mission is to help folks save money on their energy bills. The more than 137 FREE articles that I have written teach folks how to save money on their utility bills. Click here for an index of ways you can save money by saving energy. For more information on saving your energy money, visit the Energy Boomer blog at http://energyboomer.com