C.D. Branch · Beat the Freeze
Calculators The book Free tips
Free heating cost calculators

What is your heat really costing you?

Plug in your own prices and see the answer instantly. No signup, no catch. These use the formulas from Beat the Freeze by C.D. Branch.

Run the numbers See the book

Which fuel gives you the cheapest heat?

Every fuel is sold in a different unit. This turns each one into the same yardstick, cost per million BTUs of heat that actually reaches your rooms, so you can compare them fairly. Change any price or efficiency; untick fuels you don't care about.

Not sure how much heat you use? The book puts a typical single-family home in a cold climate at 50 to 70 MMBtu over a five-month winter.

Cost per million BTUs of delivered heat, cheapest first

Formula: (price per unit × units per MMBtu) ÷ efficiency. A heat pump's efficiency is its COP (2.5 means 250%).

Now you know the number. The book shows you how to shrink it.

See Beat the Freeze
The book

Beat the Freeze

How to Outsmart the Utility Company, Slash Heating Bills, and Stay Warm on Any Budget

Stop paying more than you have to just to stay warm.

Families kept warm through hard winters for generations on simple, low-cost habits. Beat the Freeze pairs those habits with modern building science, so you know what's worth doing, what to skip, and what's unsafe.

Behind on the bill? Know your rights before the shutoff notice comes. The State-by-State Utility Protection & Assistance Directory lists every state's regulator and its cold-weather shutoff rule, plus how to find the assistance programs where you live.

Safety comes first. Plenty of online "winter hacks" are dangerous. This book is just as clear about what not to do.

Renter or owner, apartment or old farmhouse, whatever you heat with: you can start tonight. No special skills, no expensive tools. More than 120 tips in all.

Get the book on Amazon

Your savings depend on your home, your climate and your heating system. Small, smart changes add up.