good tips for reducing your bill this winter

As winter approaches, here are some tips for heating yourself at a lower cost, despite inflation, conflicts and other supply difficulties.

In this second half of November, temperatures will drop below zero, for the first time this fall, in Alsace. The opportunity to take stock of the possibilities of paying less for your heating.

The simplest device requires no action. This is the energy check, implemented by the State in 2018. If you qualify, you don't need to do anything. From the moment you have completed your tax return, the administration knows if you are a beneficiary and sends you the check directly, as has 25% of the population.

Ce boost can go from 48 to 277 euros will help you to pay their gas, electricity, wood or fuel bills. uFor example, a single person can receive up to 194 euros, a couple, up to 240 euros and a household of three people, up to 277 euros.

If you forget, you must request this assistance on the site checkenergie.gouv.fr. It can be cashed until March 31, 2025.

Ordering with several people from the same company allows you to negotiate advantageous prices. Delivery is then also cheaper and can even be free.

With local suppliers, the average price per stere of wood (1 stere = 1m3) is between 45 and 120 euros, depending on the quality of the wood and the delivery distance. A supplier near Strasbourg explains that a pallet of 1.5 cubic meters of logs costs 189 euros for him, and delivery costs between 10 and 40 euros. If customers take four, the pallet drops to 183 euros and delivery is free.

For 15 kilo bags of pellets, which cost between 5 and 6 euros, you can, by ordering four pallets, save up to 20 euros per pallet.

Platforms (many on the Internet) are another way to save money. They search for suppliers for you, compare their prices and, by grouping orders, also try to obtain the best prices thanks to the mass effect. Some promise savings of up to 30%.

You have to dare to negotiate prices and come together to save money. Regarding fuel oil, prices fluctuate unpredictably, due to geopolitical events, so you have to follow the markets to buy at the best time. For those who heat with wood, you should know that one meter logs are less expensive than 33 cm logs, ready to put in the stove. But then you have to saw them yourself.

Reducing your energy bill can also be done by only heating the interiors to 19 degrees, as recommended in “Articles R.241-25 to R.241-29 of the Energy Code which establish the obligation to limit the heating temperature in buildings. Thus, article R.241-26 specifies in particular that in premises used for residential, educational, office or public use and in all other premises, with the exception of those indicated in articles R. .241-28 and R.241-29, the upper heating temperature limits are set on average at 19°C ” according to the website ecologie.gouv.fr

You should also remember not to heat the windows wide open, but still ventilate regularly, even in winter.