Many houses have heaters, fireplaces, woodstoves or a combination of all three, yet are still uncomfortably cold inside. Aren’t we smart enough to keep ourselves warm? Even beavers build their dens to stay incredibly toasty and dry, so what’s going on with us? You may have taken one look at your heating bill over the last few months and wondered the same thing.

Spring is finally here and we can use this time to prepare and remodel for next winter. Here are some ways to manage staying warm, saving money and being green (besides wearing that green thrift store sweater you bought for St. Patrick's Day).
Image: Flickr/Creative Commons

A good place to start is to search for potential rebates for upgrading to more efficient appliances in your abode. Energy Star has a “Heating & Cooling” page where you can type in your zip code and find special offers and rebates from Energy Star Partners. The U.S. Department of Energy also offers Weatherization Assistance that enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient.

Each of our EcoMetro cities has a different program with information that you can use regardless of where you dwell. In Portland, Energy Trust offers a free home energy audit, and their website hosts many kinds of discounts and cash back for appliance upgrades. Searching on Seattle’s official city site, I found a complete Home Energy Audit you can reference and print out. Programs listed here at the California Bay Area’s Spare the Air offer rebates to change out your old wood stove entirely.

If you have a wood stove or fireplace, check out cleaner burning logs such as Java-Logs or Duraflame. Burning wood adds particle pollution and, in some parts of the United States, smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces is the largest source of outdoor air pollution from residential sources.

An alternative to burning firewood is to burn wood pellets, which are made from recycled wood and other lumber byproducts that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. Wood pellets have a much lower moisture level and burn very hot, producing more heat than normal wood. Pellets also contain no creosote producing material and are considered carbon neutral. They are much more convenient to store than gigantic chunks of wood that spill bark all over your floor and invite spiders. Pellets are also easy to use, and brands like Nature's Heat Pellets are also pretty easy to find at your local hardware or gardening stores (search our directory with those keywords). If you are interested in converting to a wood pellet burning stove, read all about them and search for a retailer here at the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association.

You can also easily convert your existing fireplace to use pellets. I found a company that makes a wood pellet basket that fits most fireplaces. Just scoop some clean-burning wood pellets into The Pelleteer and check out the cool green flames*!

*Flames from wood pellets are not actually green, and are not cool but actually quite hot.