Ellex
Pittsburgh, PA
Unfortunately, it often takes spending money to save money. One of my first major purchases after buying a home was a new furnace, which cut down my gas bill by at least a third. I have also had Energy Star windows installed, which have, so far, helped to keep the house cool during warm weather. I'm eager to see what kind of difference they make to my heating bill.
Surprisingly, the programmable thermostat which the previous owners of my house had installed turned out to be one of the prime culprits for wasting energy. I was advised by the extremely reputable company that sold and installed my new furnace that since I worked a "9 to 5" job, I would be best served by a simple thermostat that allowed me to turn the heat down in the morning when I left for work, and turn it back up when I came home in the evening. They were correct - within a month of replacing the fancy programmable thermostat, my heating bills had dropped by a significant amount.
But one of the simplest and most effective ways I have found to conserve energy and keep my heating bill down is to put on a sweater when I get chilly. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's guaranteed to work every single time.