Things you can do to lower your heating bill

Start with easy fixes and work up to more difficult or expensive ones. Focus on home heating because that uses about half of the energy in most homes. New tax credits will be available for certain home-energy improvements made on or after Jan. 1, 2006.

Easy no- or low-cost fixes

With $40 in supplies and a little effort, you could see noticeable savings in your home-heating bill with these tips:

×Turn down the thermostat at night or when you're not at home. A 1-degree decrease shaves 2 percent off your bill.

×Check your furnace filter. If it's reusable, run it through the dishwasher to clean it. If it's disposable, buy a new one. Check it every month or two during cold months.

×Check for air leaks inside the house by holding a lit incense stick near doors, windows, baseboards, outlets and other fixtures, fireplace dampers and chimneys, attic and crawl-space doors and hatches, and anywhere else outside air might come in.

×Use weather-stripping and door sweeps.

×Install outlet seals. These foamy inserts fit snugly inside the faceplates of light switches and outlets.

×Make sure the fireplace damper is closed and not cracked.

×Insulate windows with plastic storm-window kits.

×Insulate pipes around the water heater. Wrap hot- and cold-water pipes with premolded sleeves. If your water heater feels warm, insulate it with a wrap.

×Check with your utility for free products or rebates that could help make your home more energy-efficient.

Moderate investments of time or money

×Seal ducts. Do it yourself for about $50 or hire someone and pay more. Apply mastic, a brush-on sealer, to duct seams to seal in heat.

×Add insulation. But if you already have adequate insulation, adding more probably isn't a good investment.

×Get a programmable thermostat. These can shave 10 to 20 percent from heating bills. They are available for baseboard heaters.

×Schedule a furnace tuneup. Utility officials recommend one every year or two for gas and oil furnaces.

×Consider storm windows or insulated drapes or blinds.

Big investments, long-term payoffs

×Add wall insulation. This is expensive, but the walls are the largest outside surface area of the home.

×Upgrade windows. This makes the most sense if you plan to upgrade your windows for other reasons — aesthetics or noise-insulating value, for example.

×Consider a furnace upgrade. If your furnace is older than 10 to 15 years or your boiler is older than 20 years, a new heating system will be more efficient.

×When a major appliance dies, look for the federal Energy Star rating in choosing a replacement.

Resources

Try a do-it-yourself home-energy audit. Many local utility companies offer them online.

U.S. government Web sites

• The U.S. Department of Energy's extensive Home Energy Saver site shows you potential savings based on your ZIP code: hes.lbl.gov.

• An energy audit through the federal Energy Star Web site tells whether your energy use is above average:

• "A Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy" offers saving tips: www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/

Puget Sound Energy

Consumer resources and online energy audit: www.pse.com/yourhome/waystosave/index.html

Energy-efficiency hotline: 800-562-1482

Seattle City Light

• Consumer resources and online energy audit: www.seattle.gov/light/conserve/resident/

• Useful and detailed home-energy audit guide that you can print: www.seattle.gov/light/printdocs/DoItYourselfHome.PDF

Conservation help line: 206-684-3800

Snohomish County

PUD's consumer resources:

www.snopud.com/?p=1791

Energy hotline: 425-783-1700

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, Snohomish County PUD and the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit organization with a focus on efficient use of resources

Reporting by Jolayne Houtz, Seattle Times staff reporter

Illustrations by Michele Lee McMullen, Times news artist