Renters cannot rip out drafty windows or add insulation, but they can still cut their winter heating bills with a handful of simple, low-cost moves inside their own four walls.
Quick Take
- Housing experts say renters can save money without landlord approval by adjusting habits, not structures.
- Lowering the thermostat and avoiding heat in empty rooms top the list of easy fixes.
- Sealing windows and doors matters because a big share of heating energy escapes through them.
- Window heat pumps offer a renter-friendly supplement, but only if the tenant pays for electricity, not the landlord.
What Housing And Energy Experts Recommend
Nicholas Rajkovich, an architecture professor at the University at Buffalo, says tenants face real limits. They usually cannot change insulation, windows, or a building’s core design. But he says there “certainly are things that you can try to do inside an apartment or a house that you’re renting”. That distinction matters. The advice below works regardless of whether a landlord ever lifts a finger.
Ian Shapiro, a mechanical engineering professor at Syracuse University, points to the simplest lever of all: the thermostat. “To save energy, turn the thermostat down,” he says, adding that “setting the temperature lower will save energy”. Pairing a lower setting with an extra sweater or blanket costs nothing. Rajkovich calls these habits “very inexpensive ways to save some money,” and he is right that they require no permission slip from a landlord.
Sealing Drafts Without Touching The Building
Windows deserve attention first. The reporting notes that roughly 30 percent of a home’s heating and cooling energy escapes through windows. That is a huge leak for something a renter can address with cheap weatherstripping, draft snakes, or clear plastic film kits sold at any hardware store. None of these fixes require a lease amendment. They just require a Saturday afternoon and a tube of caulk.
Checking door seals matters just as much. Cold air sneaking under an exterior or hallway door can undo hours of careful thermostat discipline. Renters should also close vents and doors in rooms they rarely use, directing warmth toward the spaces where they actually spend their time. It is a basic redistribution trick, and it costs nothing beyond remembering to shut a door.
Why Window Heat Pumps Need A Math Check First
A window heat pump offers a tempting upgrade because it moves existing heat rather than generating new heat from scratch, making it more efficient than a standard space heater. It can warm a single room in winter and cool it in summer. That dual purpose makes it attractive to renters who want one device instead of two.
The catch is billing. In many apartments, tenants pay their own electricity while the landlord covers central heat supplied through a boiler or shared system. Running an electric heat pump in that setup can mean paying twice: once through rent that covers the landlord’s heating bill, and again through a higher personal electric bill. Renters should check their lease and utility setup before buying one.
What The Broader Research Says About Real-World Savings
Independent building-science studies back the basic logic of turning down the heat, though the actual payoff varies by building. A Canadian test-home study found thermostat setbacks cut heating energy by about 13 percent, while a university dormitory field study measured savings closer to 5 to 8 percent once real occupants were involved. One affordable-housing study even found residents kept their apartments near 70 to 71 degrees regardless of money-saving defaults built into their thermostats.
The gap between lab predictions and lived results is not a strike against the advice. It is a reminder that habits, building age, and how tightly a unit is sealed all shape the final number on a utility bill. Renters following expert tips should expect real but modest savings, not a dramatic drop, especially in older or poorly sealed buildings where the envelope itself remains out of their control.
With energy prices on the rise, heating your home might be more expensive this winter season—especially for renters who can’t readily make big changes to their home to better prepare for the cold. https://t.co/S0HIcyIxP3
— TIME (@TIME) November 9, 2026
None of this erases the structural reality facing renters every winter. They cannot reinsulate a wall or replace a drafty window pane. But stacking small, free, and low-cost habits, lower thermostat settings, sealed drafts, closed doors in empty rooms, and a careful look at who pays for what, still adds up. For renters tired of handing landlords and utility companies more money than necessary, that control is worth claiming.
Sources:
time.com, ui.adsabs.harvard.edu, nyserda.ny.gov
