Dear experts:

I am a first-time home owner. Sorry if this is a stupid question. But this is the only way I know to find the answer.

I have a question regarding saving gas for my furnace. Is there any way to decrease the gas consumption for my furnace? I heard from friends like putting plastic window kit to reduce the heat lose. Does it really work? Also, I am also told to use some magnetic board to block the vent outlet in the rooms that seldom used. But recently one expert told me that this will result in the banging noise after the fan shut off. What is true? How can I decrease my winter gas bill?:confused:

Thank you in advance for all your answer and help!

Adding shrinkwarp windows kits to your windows does help by creating a thermal barrier, like a think thermpane window. You can do a normal window for about $3, bigger kits for multiple windows. Night set back thermostat will save on fuel by lowering the temp once you fall asleep and then heating back up automatically before you rise. Also, reset your current thermostat from FAN AUTO to FAN ON. This allows the fan to run 24/7 and you'd think that it would cost more but it is barely neglegible but does make the home feel more comfortable at a slightly lower temp than you are used to. The "experts" argue all the time about covering registers, a lot really depends on how large you home is and how large the heating system. Furnaces are not deisgned differently for a 2000 s/f home than a 2100 or a 1900 s/f home. There is a little "play" in the determinations of how many BTUs are needed so you can safely close down one or even two rooms. If you do cover both the supply and the cold air return duct. The biggest energy savings in a home in the winter is to waer more clothes and lower your stat to 70 or bleow 24/7.

Adding plastic to windows with the kits available do work but new windows are better.

The best way to save gas is to turn the thermostat down.

Have the heating system professionally checked to be sure it is operating at maximum efficiency.

Add a humidifier this will allow a more comfortable lower temperature setting.

Do not block any vents unless you know exactly what they do. Gas burning equipment requires combustion air from the outside. You do not want to close those vents if you have them.

Keep your furnace filter clean or replace it when dirty.

Your home requires so many BTU to heat your home. Any time you decrease the BTU output you decrease the furnace output but it will use less gas.

Add insulation in attic and other areas of the house. Caulk and seal all leaks around windows and doors.

These are just a few items you can do. You can also do a Google search under energy savings for more info.

Sorry to say but high gas bills are here to stay and they are going to get worse in the near future. Batton down the hatches cause when this economy decides to turn it will get really nasty real quick.

Hi, Ballengerb1 and hvac1000:

Thank you for the great advices. I will follow them this weekend and try to save some money.

There is one more little question. When you said lower the temperature setting, how low can I set the t-stat to avoid any harm to the house? It seems to me that I turn on the heat for the house not for myself now :(

Again thank you for the help!

You can safely run a stat at 50 degrees without harm to the fixtures. Really old homes or poorly insulated homes with pipes in the outside walls, 50 would be too low. Most folks prefer between 68 and 72 for their comfort but adding a humdifier can make 68 feel as nice as 72.

Most furnaces won`t work when tstat is set on fan only,, this allows only the fan to run, but with no heat,, so I guess it will save your gas bill

Wmproop, someone has misinformed you or you misread my statement. That fan/auto and fan/on switch only control the fan and have nothing to due with the call for heat starting the furnace. It will fire up an operate correctly in either fan setting. Fan/on the fan runs 24/7 but uses just a small amount more elecricity than the fan/auto setting. The fan /auto setting will start and stop the fan 20-40x per day. Each time the fan starts from a dead stop it uses about as much power as it would running continuously for 20 minutes.