Go ahead. You can do it. When nobody's looking, lower the temperature on your thermostat by 1 degree. When you want to give your home heating system a break, this is one of these simplest adjustments you can make.

And shhhh: the best time to do this is right before bedtime, when everyone presumably will be wrapped in a warm blanket anyway.

Modify the Temperature

If you can keep this one adjustment intact for eight hours, and make this adjustment consistently, you can save about 1 percent on your heating bill over the course of a year. One degree roughly equals a savings of about 1 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. This may not sound like a lot, but you can easily compound the savings. If you can consistently turn down your thermostat by 10 degrees for at least eight hours at a time – such as when everybody is at work or at school during the day – you can save about 10 percent a year on your heating bill.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

Now you're getting somewhere, and now you're not far away from making this one little tweak a permanent reality in your home in the form of a programmable thermostat, which allows you to set the temperature in your home ahead of time. But not to worry: if someone's schedule changes and they prefer not to hole up at home under a mountain of blankets, you can override the programmable thermostat setting with a few touches of the program button. It's that easy.

Other Easy Changes

If modifying the temperature in your home to give your heating system a break sounds like basic common sense, you're going to absolutely love the other ideas Experts In Your Home has to help you reduce your heating bills and still remain warm – beyond the most basic advice of all: put on a sweater and a pair of thermal socks. Most of our ideas require a little time, and all require a little effort. But they all will add up to real energy savings. They include:

• Identify and then plug the air leaks in your home, especially around windows and doors. Don't worry about making “a mess” with caulk – a little practice on a piece of poster board can supply a real shot of encouragement. Besides, caulk cleans up nicely with paper towels, provided that you get to it before it dries.
   
• Install insulation to prevent the heat that you're paying for from escaping from your home. Like caulk, batts and rolls of insulation can be simple and fun to put into place.
   
• Reverse your ceiling fans (if you haven't done so already) so that they run in a clockwise direction and push down all the heat that naturally rises to the ceiling. (Ceiling fans should run in a counterclockwise direction in the summer to create a wind-chill effect.)
   
• Clean your warm-air registers with a vacuum attachment and, while you're there, make sure that they're not blocked by furniture, window treatments or other obstructions.
   
• Keep the window treatments on your south-facing windows openduring the day to let the sunlight in and closed at night to keep the chill out.
   
• Consider installing a tankless water heater, which will put hot water where you need it while eliminating “travel” and unnecessary heating times.

They're not “adjustments,” per se, but it bears repeating that two of the simplest steps you can take to give your heating system a break, keep your furnace running smoothly and ensure that your energy bills remain manageable is to check your furnace filter once a month – and replace it if you can no longer see through it while holding it up to a light – and schedule an annual furnace maintenance check with Experts In Your Home. 

Do you know what to do if your heating system breaks? Download the free eBook below to learn the questions you should ask!