With climate change, every winter seems to get colder, and oil and fuel bills seem to get higher. Unless your income is steadily increasing, you're probably hoping to find some way to lower your heating costs, without having to suffer from unreasonably cold temperatures inside your home. Here are some tips that will help you save money on your oil and fuel bills.

1. Consider ambient heating.

If you're doing any flooring renovations in your home in the near future, consider having under-floor heating installed. Under-floor heating consists of coils that are placed underneath the floorboards or tiles in your home. The under floor system can be made up of a dry system or a wet system.

• Dry System: A dry under floor system is comprised of coils that run electrical current.
• Wet System: A wet under floor system is made of coiled tubing that runs heated water under the floor.

Choosing the system that is right for your home will depend on your existing HVAC system. Ambient heating like this will help to keep your family's body temperature higher, enabling you to keep your thermostat setting lower.

2. Negotiate a lower rate.

Talk to a heating oil provider like Small & Sons Oil Dist Co. about getting a lower rate. The heating oil industry is highly competitive, and sales representatives have a lot of leeway to offer you a better rate in exchange for your customer loyalty. As a bargaining chip, offer to sign a two-year contract instead of the standard one-year contract. You'll make out two times. First, you'll get the discount for this year. Second, if rates go up again next year, which they usually do, you'll already be locked in at the lower rate.

3. Baby Step a Lower Setting

Sometimes a comfortable temperature is relative to what you've gotten used to. Try lowering the setting on your thermostat by one degree every few days. Your family will probably never notice the one-degree temperature change if you do it gradually. Over the timespan of a few weeks, your whole family could be quite comfortable in a five-degrees cooler environment without ever noticing. You'll notice it, though, when your next fuel bill comes in surprisingly lower.

These are three easy ways to realize savings on your oil and fuel bills this winter. Even if you only implement two out of the three tips, you'll enjoy more savings than you ever thought possible.