To save money on heating and cooling, start with your current equipment, thermostat schedule, and home maintenance not a shopping list of expensive upgrades.
Simple changes can help reduce unnecessary energy use. Larger improvements may also be worthwhile, but their value depends on your home, climate, energy prices, and installation costs.
This guide explains ten practical steps to review, including renter-friendly options and important differences between heat pumps and other heating systems.
1. Understand Why Your Energy Bill Changed
A higher bill does not necessarily mean your heating or cooling equipment has become less efficient.
Compare recent bills with the same season in previous years. Look at:
- Energy used, such as electricity in kilowatt-hours or natural gas in therms.
- The rate charged for that energy.
- The number of days in the billing period.
- Fixed charges and other fees.
- Changes in weather, occupancy, or your daily schedule.
A colder winter or hotter summer can increase usage even if your habits stay the same. A rate increase can raise costs without any increase in consumption.
Where available, your utility’s usage history or weather-adjusted comparison can provide context. Treat comparisons between months cautiously when conditions differ.
Start here: Find out whether your latest increase came mainly from higher consumption, higher rates, or both.
2. Match Your Thermostat Schedule to Your Household
Review when people are home, asleep, or away. Your thermostat may still follow a schedule that no longer fits.
With suitable systems, reducing heating or cooling when it is not needed can save energy. Make modest changes that remain comfortable and appropriate for the building and everyone inside it.
Do not apply one temperature schedule to every home. Climate, humidity, health needs, pets, plumbing, and equipment type all matter.
Before programming setbacks, check your equipment and thermostat instructions.
Heat Pumps Need Particular Attention
Large heating setbacks can cause some heat-pump systems to use electric resistance backup heat during recovery. That can reduce the expected savings.
Use controls designed for your system and ask your installer about an appropriate schedule. A steadier setting or a compatible thermostat’s recovery controls may be preferable to large manual changes.
Start here: Identify your heating system before copying thermostat advice intended for a different type of equipment.
3. Use Your Existing Controls Before Buying a Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat can make scheduling easier, but it does not automatically lower your bill.
First, check whether your current thermostat already offers useful scheduling or control features. Correctly using equipment you own may be enough.
If you are considering an upgrade, compare:
- Compatibility with your heating and cooling system.
- Wiring and installation requirements.
- Support for heat-pump backup stages, if applicable.
- Whether you will use the scheduling or occupancy features.
- Any ongoing service costs.
Do not assume a thermostat designed for a conventional low-voltage system will work with electric baseboards or every ductless system.
If you rent, ask the property manager before replacing installed controls.
Start here: Review the manual for your current thermostat and correct an outdated schedule.
4. Check Filters and Follow the Maintenance Instructions
Filters and maintenance needs vary between furnaces, central air conditioners, heat pumps, and ductless systems.
Check the manufacturer’s instructions for inspection, cleaning, and replacement. Homes with pets, dust, or heavy equipment use may need more frequent attention.
When replacing a filter:
- Use the correct dimensions and a suitable filter type.
- Follow the airflow direction marked on the filter.
- Do not assume the most restrictive filter is appropriate for your system.
- Never operate equipment without a required filter.
Arrange professional service when recommended or when you notice performance problems. Refrigerant, electrical, and combustion work should be handled by appropriately qualified professionals.
For additional cooling guidance, see How to Save Money With Air Conditioning.
5. Keep Airflow Clear
Check whether furniture, rugs, or curtains block supply registers or return-air grilles.
Follow the manufacturer’s clearance requirements around indoor and outdoor equipment. Keep accessible areas free of leaves and other loose debris without opening equipment or reaching into moving parts.
Do not assume closing vents in unused rooms will save money. Restricting airflow can affect system performance; ask a qualified technician before trying to create zones in a system not designed for them.
If one room is consistently uncomfortable, investigate the cause rather than repeatedly changing the whole-house thermostat. Airflow, sunlight, insulation, and equipment problems can require different solutions.
Start here: Walk through your home and check for obvious blocked vents or returns.
6. Use Window Coverings to Manage Sunlight
Pay attention to which windows receive direct sun and when.
During warm weather, suitable blinds, shades, or curtains can help limit unwanted solar heat. During cool weather, useful sunlight may help warm a room; close coverings when appropriate afterward.
The result depends on window orientation, climate, glazing, and the covering itself.
Start with what you already own. Avoid assuming replacement windows or expensive coverings are the first necessary step.
Keep curtains clear of heaters, vents, and other equipment, following required clearances.
Start here: Adjust coverings on the windows that receive the strongest summer afternoon sun.
7. Use Fans Where They Improve Comfort
A ceiling or portable fan can make an occupied space feel cooler through air movement. It does not lower the room’s air temperature the way an air conditioner does.
If a fan lets you remain comfortable with less air conditioning, it may help reduce cooling costs. Running it alongside an unchanged cooling routine adds electricity use.
Turn off comfort fans when nobody benefits from them, unless they serve a separate ventilation purpose.
Do not treat fans as a replacement for adequate cooling during dangerous heat. Keep settings appropriate for everyone in the household.
See ENERGY STAR’s ceiling-fan usage tips for more information.
8. Address Drafts Without Blocking Necessary Ventilation
Look for worn weatherstripping, gaps around exterior doors, and other obvious sources of unwanted air leakage.
Suitable repairs may improve comfort and reduce the need to compensate with the thermostat. Renters can report damaged seals and ask which removable measures are permitted.
Do not block intentional vents, combustion-air openings, exhaust outlets, or required drainage paths.
Air sealing can affect ventilation and fuel-burning appliance safety. Major work should account for the home as a whole, including indoor air quality and combustion requirements.
A professional assessment can help identify appropriate improvements before you spend money sealing or insulating areas at random.
Start here: Document an obvious draft and determine whether it needs a simple permitted repair or professional investigation.
9. Prioritize Larger Improvements With an Assessment
If your home remains uncomfortable or expensive to heat and cool, consider a home energy assessment.
An assessment can help identify issues such as air leakage, insulation gaps, or other performance problems. Ask what testing and recommendations are included.
Before approving work, compare:
- The problem the project is intended to solve.
- The complete installed cost.
- The basis for projected energy savings.
- Comfort or maintenance benefits.
- Any related ventilation or moisture work.
- Available alternatives.
For equipment replacement, get appropriately detailed quotes and ask how the contractor determines the correct capacity. A larger system is not automatically a better choice.
Heat pumps can provide efficient heating and cooling, but the financial result depends on the proposed system, your existing equipment, local rates, and installation conditions.
Learn more from the Department of Energy’s heat-pump overview.
10. Compare Costs Before Paying for an Upgrade
Use realistic estimates instead of assuming a product will pay for itself.
A simple screening calculation is:
Simple payback period = net upfront cost ÷ estimated annual savings.
For example, a hypothetical improvement costing $600 and saving $100 per year has a six-year simple payback.
That calculation does not include financing, maintenance, changing energy prices, or the value of comfort. It is a starting point rather than a guaranteed return.
When equipment already needs replacing, compare the additional cost of a more efficient option with the savings over a suitable baseline replacement—not automatically with the full purchase price.
Ask your utility or state energy office about current assessments, rebates, or assistance. Verify eligibility and any preapproval requirements before buying. Do not count an incentive until you have confirmed it applies.
Renter-Friendly Ways to Start
If you rent, focus on changes within your control and report maintenance problems promptly.
- Use permitted thermostat settings appropriate for your system.
- Keep vents and returns clear.
- Adjust existing window coverings.
- Use fans when they help occupied rooms feel comfortable.
- Report damaged seals, leaks, and equipment problems.
- Ask who is responsible for filter care and maintenance.
Get permission before replacing thermostats, applying materials to windows, or altering the property.
Our guide to saving money on rent explains how to compare housing costs beyond the advertised rent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best thermostat temperature for saving money?
There is no single setting suitable for every household and system. Choose safe, comfortable settings and check equipment guidance before scheduling changes, particularly with heat pumps.
Should I turn the thermostat much lower to cool my home faster?
Do not assume a more extreme setting speeds up cooling. System behavior varies, and an unnecessarily low target can lead to overcooling. Set the temperature you actually want and investigate equipment that is not performing normally.
Will a smart thermostat fix an expensive heating bill?
Not by itself. It may improve scheduling, but it cannot repair faulty equipment, replace missing insulation, or guarantee savings when your existing routine is already efficient.
Should I use a space heater instead of central heating?
Do not assume it is cheaper. Compare the heater’s electricity use with the heating it actually replaces. A space heater can increase total costs if the central system continues running unchanged. Follow all manufacturer safety instructions.
How will I know whether a change helped?
Track consumption and costs over time, accounting for billing days, weather, occupancy, and rate changes. One lower bill does not prove that a single change caused the reduction.
Start With Maintenance and One Practical Change
Review your bill, identify your equipment, and choose one appropriate improvement. Correct an outdated schedule, clear a blocked return, or arrange overdue maintenance before making a major purchase.
Then track the result and use what you learn to choose the next step.
Explore our Home & Housing section or read 10 Ways to Lower Your Household Bills for more ways to review recurring expenses.