15 Smart Ways to Save Energy With Your Heater

Every winter, I watch my heating bill climb and wonder where all that money goes. You might feel the same — cranking up the thermostat feels like throwing cash out the window. But small changes in how you run your heater can cut costs without leaving you shivering. This guide covers 15 practical ways to keep your home warm while using less energy. By the end, you’ll know exactly which adjustments give you the biggest savings.

Most people don’t realize their heater works harder than it needs to. A dirty filter, a poorly set thermostat, or heat escaping through a drafty window — each one adds up. I’ll walk you through each fix, from free changes to small investments that pay for themselves within a season.

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One tool that makes energy savings easier is a smart space heater. The DREO space heater, for example, comes with a precise thermostat that lets you set temperatures in 1°F increments from 41 to 95°F. Its ECO mode adjusts power based on the room’s needs, so you’re not wasting electricity keeping an empty bedroom at 72°F. Plus, the 12-hour timer lets you schedule heat only when you’re actually in the room.

Stop Heating the Whole Neighborhood

Zone heating is the single biggest energy saver most people ignore. Why warm three empty bedrooms when you only use the living room for four hours after work? A portable heater in the room you occupy lets you turn down the central thermostat by 5-7°F. For every degree you lower it over an 8-hour period, you save about 1% on your heating bill. That’s 7% per day just for adjusting one dial.

Pair zone heating with a programmable or smart thermostat. Set the central system to 60°F when you leave for work and 68°F for the hours you’re home. If you have a heat pump, avoid dramatic setbacks — heat pumps work best with gradual changes. For gas or electric resistance furnaces, drop it low and let it recover fast.

One caveat: zone heating only works if you actually spend time in one room. If your family spreads across the whole house, keep the central heat on and use space heaters in unoccupied zones to maintain minimum temps (avoid pipes freezing). The DREO’s 12-hour timer helps here — set it to run only during the 3 hours you’re in the home office, then turn off automatically.

Your Thermostat is Probably Lying to You

Thermostats measure air temperature where they sit, not where you sit. If yours is on a wall near a drafty window, it reads colder than the rest of the house and runs the furnace longer than needed. If it’s above a heat register or in direct sunlight, it thinks the room is warmer than reality and shuts off early, leaving other rooms cold.

Check your thermostat’s location. Move a wireless sensor to the room you use most. Many smart thermostats come with remote sensors so you can average readings from multiple rooms. A simple trick: place a small thermometer near your couch and compare it to the thermostat reading. If they differ by more than 2°F, you have a problem. Relocating the thermostat — or adding a sensor — can cut energy use by 5-10% without changing your behavior.

Another hidden issue: dead batteries. Some digital thermostats lose calibration when batteries run low. Replace them annually. And if you still have a mercury or bimetallic thermostat, replace it. These old models drift by 3-5°F over time. A modern programmable model pays for itself in one winter.

Maintenance That Actually Matters

Dirty filters are the number one reason heaters waste energy. A clogged filter restricts airflow, so the fan works harder and the heating element or burner runs longer to deliver the same warmth. Clean or replace your filter every 30-60 days during heating season. A clean filter can reduce energy consumption by up to 15%. Mark it on your calendar — first day of the month, every month.

Seal air leaks around windows and doors. The average home loses 25-30% of its heat through gaps. A $10 tube of caulk and some weatherstripping cut that loss dramatically. Pay special attention to the attic hatch, basement rim joists, and electrical outlets on exterior walls. Use a candle on a windy day — where the flame flickers, you have a leak.

Annual professional inspection matters too. For furnaces, a technician checks heat exchanger cracks, burner efficiency, and gas pressure. For heat pumps, they clean coils and check refrigerant levels. A neglected system can lose 5% efficiency per year. Schedule a tune-up each fall.

Smart Gadgets That Earn Their Keep

Beyond the thermostat, a few devices deliver real returns. Smart vents that open and close based on room temperature let you push heat where it’s needed and block it from empty rooms. They work best with zoned systems or forced air. Expect to save 10-15% on heating with a full set installed.

Smart plugs with energy monitoring tell you exactly how much your space heater uses. Set a schedule: heater off during work hours, on 15 minutes before you arrive. Some models even track runtime, so you see the savings in real-time.

The DREO space heater includes an ECO mode that I mentioned earlier — it uses an NTC chip to hold the room within 1°F of your target, avoiding the on-off cycling that wastes power. Its brushless DC motor also runs at 34dB, quiet enough for a bedroom. The remote control and child lock make it easy to use without getting up. Is it perfect? The remote range could be better (about 20 feet), but for a desk or nightstand heater, it’s fine.

Comparison: How to Choose Your Temperature Control Strategy

All three strategies work. The best one depends on your schedule. If you’re home all day, manual adjustments work fine. If you leave for work, a programmable thermostat helps you set your heater to save energy without thinking about it. If you want room-by-room control, the smart thermostat plus a portable heater like the DREO gives the highest savings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does lowering the thermostat at night really save money?

Yes. Every degree you drop the thermostat for 8 hours saves about 1% on your heating bill. If you lower it from 68°F to 60°F for 8 hours, that’s roughly 8% savings. Your home doesn’t lose heat faster at night — it simply takes less energy to maintain the lower temperature. The furnace has to warm everything back up in the morning, but that recovery uses less energy than keeping it warm all night.

Should I turn off the heater when I leave for work?

If you’ll be gone more than 4 hours, yes. The savings from letting the house cool down outweigh the energy needed to reheat it. Just don’t let indoor temperatures drop below 50-55°F if you live in a cold climate — frozen pipes are expensive. Set a programmable thermostat to 55°F while you’re away and back to 68°F half an hour before you return.

Is it cheaper to keep the heater on low all day or turn it on and off?

Turn it off or way down. The idea that constant low heat uses less energy than reheating from cold is a myth. Heat loss depends on the temperature difference between inside and outside. The colder your house, the slower it loses heat. So letting it drop saves energy. Turning it back on uses a burst of energy, but that burst is smaller than the savings from the hours it was off. This does not apply to heat pumps — they are more efficient maintaining a steady temperature, so a moderate setback (3-4°F) works best for them.

Do space heaters save energy compared to central heating?

Only if you heat one room and turn down the central system. Running a 1500W space heater costs about 18 cents per hour (at average US electricity rates). If you use it for 4 hours a day in your home office while keeping the furnace off, you’ll spend roughly $22 per month on heat instead of $60+ for the whole house. But if you run a space heater in a room while the furnace heats the rest of the house, you’re doubling your energy use. The trick is to use them as a substitute, not a supplement.

What’s the best temperature for energy savings?

68°F when you’re awake and active, 60-65°F when you’re asleep or away. That’s the range recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy. Each degree above 68°F adds 3-5% to your heating bill. If 68°F feels too cold, wear a sweater and use a small space heater in the room you’re in. The DREO’s 1°F increments let you fine-tune — you might find 69°F feels fine but 70°F is wasteful.

Actions you can take right now

• Lower your thermostat by 1°F tonight. Takes 5 seconds, saves 1% on your bill.
• Clean or replace your furnace filter this weekend. You’ll see a difference in airflow immediately.
• Seal one drafty door with weatherstripping. Costs under $10 and stops cold air from creeping in.
• Set a programmable heater schedule so you never heat an empty house. Most models pay for themselves in one season.
• Use a portable space heater in the room you occupy and drop the central thermostat by 5°F. That’s 5% savings per day minimum.
• Check your thermostat batteries. Low batteries cause calibration drift and wasted energy.
• Request a furnace or heat pump tune-up before next month. A clean system uses less fuel and lasts years longer.