During the winter, most of a home's energy costs go to heating.  The most basic tip for saving on heating costs is, to paraphrase Jimmy Carter, "Wear a sweater folks." Of course, there is a lot more you can do around the home to minimize the energy you need to stay comfortable during the cold winter besides simply bundling up.  There are three home improvement steps you can take to insure your home is being heated efficiently.

Step one: Insulate your home completely
R19 level insulation is the most effective.  Walls, floors, ceilings, and heating ducts should all be insulated.  Heating ducts that run through cold basements or unheated attics are the most important to insulate.  Insulation is becoming more and more eco-friendly, and there are now plenty of eco-friendly insulation options to choose from. 

Step two: Seal all holes an leaks
Uset weather stripping,  insulation, spray foam, caulk, or rigid foam board to seal all types of holes and leaks.  The parts of your home that are not heated, such as the attic, garage, or basement, should be completely sealed off from the parts of the house that are heated.  Also check the areas where pipes, wires, and vents enter the home, along with windows and doors.  You can even use foam gaskets to stop leaks around electrical outlets.  

Step three: Make sure your heating system is at full capacity
Maintenance of your furnace is important to ensure it runs as efficiently as possible: replace its filter during the fall, and tape around the filter to make sure no air can leak around it.  Keep the furnace clean, lubricated, and properly adjusted. New furnaces run much more efficiently, so consider purchasing a new one if your furnace is older than 15 years.  Check  for and seal any visible seams along the ducts using shiny UL-181 labeled foil tape.  There are often gaps where ducts meet the drywall, which can be accessed by removing the duct registers and should be covered with tape.

There also tons of little energy saving tips you can follow to save even more energy.
    -Turn your thermostat down to 55 when you are going to be gone for a long period of time or are sleeping.  A programmable thermostat can be set to do this for you automatically.
    -If certain rooms do not need heat, close them off from the rest of the house.
    -If you have a fireplace, turn down the heat when it is in use, and be sure to close the damper in the fireplace if it is not in use.
    -Open drapes during the early part of the day to take advantage of passive-solar heating, and keep windows closed and shuttered to conserve heat when it gets coler.
    -Using electric blankets at night can eliminate the need to use the heat at night.
    -If you are going to be in just one room for a long time, turn off the central heating and use an efficient space heater, like this one from Changeforgreen.com, instead.

Making just a few of these changes can result in big savings of energy, which is good for environment and good for your pocketbook too.  The fall is a great time to tackle any improvements you might have to make.  Follow these tips and you can save  as much as you would if you wore a parka all winter long.