Traditionally, heating season starts in November and Monday, National Grid announced projected costs for their customers. Our Beth Croughan has more on what they said you can expect to pay.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- From the furnace, to the changes they've made to their thermostat and fireplace.

"I was able to get the more efficient furnace," said Tom Doody.

"We had a programmable thermostat put in," explained his wife Carole.

Thomas Doody and his wife, Carole, will save both money and energy this winter.

"I have a good amount of confidence that my therm usage is going to go down about 20 percent," he said.

The couple's home was chosen by National Grid as the setting to discuss heating costs and conservation efforts.

"They're currently taking the steps needed to make the best use of energy in heating their home," said National Grid Regional Executive Bill Flaherty.

During the heating season, Flaherty said its forecasted natural gas prices will be lower.

"The projected decrease is three percent this year," he explained.

According to National Grid, a typical homeowner would ordinarily use about 711 therms during a normal heating season. And this year, Flaherty said they will likely pay $21 less.

"It's dependent on three things: Market price, customer's own usage pattern and weather. So what we do is we normalize the usage, so we take our average customer in an average winter with average usage and that's how we kind of normalize things. But yes, that's correct, some will use more, some will use less. It will vary a little bit in the actual reduction," he explained.

And to help you use less, National Grid offers rebates and incentives to make the switch to more energy-efficient appliances. The Doody's received more than $400 when they installed their furnace.

Some other suggestions to lower energy costs include making sure your attics and walls are well-insulated and doors and windows well-sealed.

For more information, visit www.nationalgridus.com.