10 Free (or Nearly Free) Ways to Save Money on Heat and Hot Water

Updated January 25, 2023

We’ve added guidance for people worried about their gas appliances.

Rose Maura Lorre

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Chances are you’re spending more to heat your home this winter, which means, you may also be looking for ways to save on your utility bills.

While smart bulbs, low-flow showerheads, smart thermostats, and other energy-saving devices help reduce your utility bills, tweaking some of your daily habits can lower them from a few bucks a month to as much as a few hundred dollars a year, often with little to no upfront investment. You’ve probably been nagged by a loved one to turn off the lights when you leave a room, but here, Wirecutter experts offer several other pain-free (and often cost-free) suggestions that take the sting out of your monthly bills.

Don’t leave your windows untouched! A Department of Energy study found that “75% of residential window coverings remain in the same position every day,” representing missed opportunities to conserve home heating and take advantage of heat from the sun. Get into the habit of opening window treatments in the morning (especially where you receive direct sunlight) to let as much sun into your house as possible, says Jon Chase, editor of our smart-home coverage. When late afternoon rolls around, close curtains and shades to keep the heat in.

Regularly removing dirt, dust, and grime from your windowpanes is an easy way to allow in more light (and thus more heat) during the day.

Applying weather stripping around old windows and door frames can improve your home’s insulation, but doing so can be expensive and time-consuming (although if you decide to DIY it we recommend using Frost King's 0.25-inch Silicone Weatherseal which is relatively affordable). For an even easier way to insulate windows, we recommend double-celled blackout shades but there are a few super-cheap shortcuts that can also get the job done. Staff writer and Bostonian Thom Dunn recommends the “classic New England move” of using a hair dryer to shrink plastic wrap over the gaps on your windows. Senior staff writer Rachel Wharton tucks folded towels or blankets along windowsills and the bottoms of doors.

Who forgets to wash their windows as part of their housecleaning routine? (Most people, quite possibly.) Jon notes that regularly removing dirt, dust, and grime from your windowpanes is an easy way to allow more light (and thus more heat) into your home during the day. Another seasonal chore not to skip: removing your windows’ screens until spring; some evidence suggests that they block substantial amounts of passive solar heat from entering your home.

“If you already own smaller electric appliances like a toaster oven, air fryer, rice cooker, or an electric pressure cooker such as the Instant Pot, consider using them for certain tasks instead of your larger electric oven or electric range,” says Marilyn Ong, supervising editor for kitchen coverage. “For instance, reheating food in a toaster oven rather than your full oven saves you from preheating all that extra space. And pressure-cooking a stew for one hour in an Instant Pot uses less electricity than simmering something on the stove for hours.” (The energy savings compared with gas ranges or ovens is harder to measure, since the relative costs of the two energy sources can vary from region to region.) The Department of Energy reports that convection ovens and toasters use “one-third to one-half as much energy as a full-sized [electric] oven,” and it recommends “using the microwave oven when possible,” as well as using an electric kettle to heat water, which is faster and more energy efficient than your giant water heater.

Something to note about your gas appliances: The Consumer Product Safety Commission stated in January 2023 that it is planning to strengthen voluntary safety standards on new gas stoves. So in addition to potentially saving money on gas, using countertop appliances you already own instead of your gas oven may have added health and safety benefits.

The infrared technology in space heaters is designed to heat people and objects, not space, so they’re best used as a spot treatment for situations like warding off a chill in a drafty home office.

“They work most efficiently when pointed at one or two people in a smaller area,” says Thom, who co-wrote our guide to the best space heaters. “Line up the space heater so it’s directly pointed at you and close doors to keep the warm air in.”

Still, Thom advises against running a space heater for an entire day due to the cost: the nonprofit utility service Silicon Valley Power has estimated that running one just during work hours can add $30 to $40 (PDF) to your monthly electric bill. It’s best not to use one for more than a few hours at a time in tandem with window insulation, solar heat, and extra layers of clothing. And if you really feel you need one to warm up a large space for a long time, consider an oil-filled radiator heater, which warms the room with a gradual radiant heat that will stick around even after you turn the heater off. Thom also notes that many space heaters today are equipped with timers so they shut off automatically, which can save you money and, much more importantly, keep you safe.

The next time you’re near your water heater, take two minutes to check, and consider resetting, the temperature. “Water heaters are often set very high: 140 °F or sometimes much higher,” Jon explains. “Then a mixer lowers the water temperature before it’s sent to your various fixtures. Anything 120 °F or higher can scald.” (Water for a bath is typically around 100 °F.) You can cut out the middleman, so to speak, by manually lowering the temperature yourself. Keeping the temperature just above 120 °F still gives you “plenty of hot water,” he adds, “but you’ll save dramatically.” Don’t dip below 120 °F, or you run a slight risk of allowing the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease to fester.

This one adjustment can save a household more than $400 annually on the cost of heating water for everyday use, according to the Department of Energy, plus another $36 to $61 annually in “standby heat losses,” which is heat that is lost from a water tank heating system that is not in use. “This is actually a double play," John says. "You’re saving by not having to heat water stored in your hot-water tank, which saves as much as $30 a month for every 10 degrees you lower the water temp. But then you also get to add in the savings from not heating up the water used by all your fixtures and appliances: the dishwasher and laundry and of course tubs and showers.” (The Department of Energy has a short, helpful video that walks you through changing the temperature on your water heater step-by-step and points out a few health concerns, like respiratory or immune-system problems, that might make it more advisable for some households to keep the temperature at 140 °F.)

Making the switch from hot water to warm or cold on your washing machine can cut a load of laundry’s energy use in half, according to the Department of Energy. Cooler wash cycles are also almost always easier on your clothes. “Hot water in general can tackle really dirty clothing better than cold, but it can also degrade fabrics—performance fabrics in particular—over time,” explains Ingrid Skjong, supervising editor on our appliance team. “Cold can typically do the trick.”

If your home is heated through forced air, make sure to vacuum the intake register covers. These are usually located on the floor or along your baseboards and can get clogged with dust or pet hair over time. Improved airflow prevents warm air from getting trapped in the ventilation and preventing it from traveling to places where you actually need it. You can vacuum the intake register covers with a handheld vacuum or a hose attachment on a floor vacuum—whatever’s easiest for you.

Shivering in bed is a flat-out miserable experience, but brisker air (around 60 to 67 °F) actually helps lower your core (aka internal) temperature, which is part of the body’s natural sleep cycle. In fact, reducing the body’s core temperature has been shown to help you fall asleep faster. If you have forced air, lowering the thermostat by 7 to 10 degrees from its normal setting for 8 hours every night shaves about 10% off your heating bill, according to the Department of Energy. (But if you have electric baseboard heating, steam heat, radiant heating, or a heat pump, the feds note that setting the thermostat back likely won’t result in savings.)

Regardless of what kind of heating you have, we advise that you use bedding rather than your thermostat to get comfy. Consider dressing your bed with an additional flat sheet, comforter, or blanket made of natural, breathable textiles, such as cotton, linen, or wool. If you suffer from cold feet at bedtime, wool or cotton socks are another great way to stay warm while actually reducing your core temperature; they bring blood flow (in other words, heat) to your skin’s surface, drawing it away from your core.

Your mom was right, you should just put on a sweater—but keep it in a place where you’ll actually use it. Hoodies and sweatshirts that normally live in your dresser can be draped on your home-office chair or hung near your front door for when you come home. Blankets that have been sitting in a chest all summer can similarly be folded elegantly on your couch or in your favorite reading nook. Think of it as a way to literally embrace winter by wrapping yourself up in something extra cozy.

This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Annemarie Conte.

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