Tips for cutting winter heat costs

Sweater weather is near and winter lurks just around the corner. Will your house be ready to weather the chill?

Now is the time to begin assessing the investments you may need to make to ensure that you will be warm this winter and experience lower energy costs over time.

"The average U.S. household will spend about $990 for winter heating costs this year," said Allyson Schmutter, spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy. "There's an incentive to make changes that are easy and realistic," she said.

Sealing air leaks and improving insulation can save as much as 20 percent on heating bills, for example.

Homeowners don't need to spend a ton of cash to make some very simple improvements, according to Mark Tyrol, owner of Massachusetts-based Battic Door Energy Conservation Products. The key is to find and seal off "overlooked openings," Tyrol said.

Not all experts agree on some of the common-wisdom fixes.

"There's a lot of miscommunication" about the efficiency of replacement windows and attic fans, said Troy Tanner, owner of the Home Energy Detective, a home-energy auditing company in Manassas, Va.

For example, "never install an attic fan," said Tanner. "They cause all kinds of problems." If you already have one in your house, Tanner believes you should "turn it off. That's the best thing you can do."

Here are some other tips on how you can winterize your home:

Seal ducts. Along with installing energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, homeowners can save as much as 20 percent by correctly sealing the air shafts between walls and floors that distribute air, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Tips for cutting winter heat costs