Consumer Alert
The days are getting cooler — in fact, some parts of the U.S. have already seen snow. Experts report it’s going to be an expensive winter to heat your home, but there are things you can do now to cut your energy costs. 
- Do a home energy audit. It’ll tell you how efficient your heating system is and where your home is wasting energy. Your utility company may offer free or low-cost energy assessments, or refer you someone who does. You also can check with your state or local government energy or weatherization office for recommendations, or visit energysavers.gov for more resources.
- Seal air leaks around windows, doors, and places where pipes and wires come through walls. Check existing caulking and weatherstripping for gaps or cracks.
- Check ducts for holes and gaps where sections have separated and air may be leaking. You can seal some leaks yourself with mastic sealant or metal tape (don’t use duct tape).
- Bring your insulation up to DOE-recommended levels where your energy assessment shows it’s needed.
- Lower your thermostat before you go to bed or head out for the day, or get a programmable thermostat to do it automatically.
- Check filters to see if they need to be cleaned or replaced.
- Consider a budget-billing program. While you won’t pay less, your costs will be spread evenly over the year, protecting your budget from seasonal spikes. If you’re on a fixed income or have trouble paying your utility bills, contact your utility company. There may be energy assistance plans.
- Comparison shop. If you use heating oil, shop around to make sure you’re getting a good price. If you live where you can choose your natural gas provider, comparison shop for gas prices.
Learn more at consumer.ftc.gov/homes
Search Terms
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.