$$$-Heat-$$$

Hey folks,
Today's lesson is about heat. Today is a pretty chilly one here in Wisconsin and before you know it, it's gonna be winter. Today I'll give you some quick tips to winterize you home to save on your heating bill.

Cover your windows with plastic.
By plastic I mean the special window plastic you can get at Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Kmart, or pretty much any store. This stuff seems a little pricey at first but it will most definitely save you in the long run. When installed correctly and after you blow dry them you can barely notice that they're even there. But remember, if you have blinds, be sure to decide before you put on the plastic whether you want the blinds up or down all winter. Here's a little bonus tip: if you leave the blinds up the sun can help heat the house.

Don't heat unused rooms.
When you turn on the heat in your home shut all the doors to the rooms that are seldom used. For college students this might include your roommate's bedroom who went home for winter break. For everyone else, this could be walk in closets and the like. If your home is heated by forced air close the vents or cover them up with a blanket or towel. If your home is heated with water pipes or electrical heating units DO NOT cover them. That would be a fire hazard; you want to be warm, but not that warm.
If the doors in your home have a large space between the floor and the bottom of the door go out and buy some door sweeps to block the draft. Or, to save money attach (tape, staple etc) some old sweater, blanket, or towel to the bottom of the door to block the draft.

Turn down the heat when you leave for an extended period of time.
Now you have to be careful with this one. When you leave for the weekend don't shut off the heat completely because you will use more energy to completely reheat your home. Also, if you have water pipes they'll freeze and that's not a good thing. I would say turn down the heat about 10 degrees F.

And whatever you do please do not leave the lights on hoping they will help heat up your home because that's just plain silly.
Remember: TURN OUT THE LIGHTS.