The electric bills are always higher during those cold winter months, but we’ve got some free to low-cost tips that you can use to help cut energy use and save money:

• Switch out your incandescent light bulbs for fluorescent ones. Fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy!
• Lower your thermostat a couple degrees. Heating your home is the biggest user of energy during the winter, and for every degree you lower for an 8-hour period, you can save between 1 and 2% on your heating bill.
• Weather strip your doors and windows, especially in the basement and attic. This can cut heat loss in half!
• Make sure you repair any cracks or holes in your roof, walls or windows to keep heat from escaping. 
• Open your shades to let in some of the natural light, and prune any bushes or plants that might block the sunshine. 
• Close off your attic, basement and spare bedrooms: only heat the rooms you use. 
• Wrap your heating ducts with duct tape. The added insulation is a great energy saver!
• Don't open the oven to check food too while it's cooking unnecessarily. You lose between 20 and 50 percent heat every time you do this, and you slow down the cooking process.
• Water heating is the second largest energy user in your home, so set the thermostat to 120 degrees and take 5 minute showers instead of baths. Baths use twice as much hot water. 
• Invest in an electric blanket. It will cost much less than heating your bedroom!
• Wear warmer clothing and extra layers. If your house is warm enough that you can walk around in shorts and t-shirts, then you are definitely wasting energy. 
• You want to keep your windows closed, but make sure you ‘air out’ out your house every once in a while to keep any toxins from building up. 
• Keep your appliances clean. The cleaner they are, the more efficiently they run. 
• Unplug electric devices and chargers when they’re not in use. Even if your appliances are off, the chargers can still be pulling energy from the wall.
• If you’ve got a fireplace, keep the damper closed unless a fire is burning. This will help up to 8 percent of your furnace-heated air from escaping through your chimney.

Check Out this short video on how to save some money with awnings...kind of interesting