Simple Fixes Save You Money On Electric Bill

With another cold wave upon us, many residents concerned about the weather’s impact on January electric bills.

Volunteer Energy Vice-President David Murphy said homeowners should maximize warmth during the day by opening their blinds. Murphy said solar infiltration through glass can naturally heat the space inside a home.

“Opening the blinds actually does improve the heating inside of the home during the day,” Murphy said.” And so that is one thing that I, residential customer can do in order to assist their heat pump or gas heating from having to run as much and that would lower the cost of the energy bill.”

Murphy said the best practice for heating is to “keep your thermostat set as low as possible while maintaining comfort.” Murphy said people often forget to turn the thermostat down when they leave the house.

“When you’re away, obviously you can lower the set point to a place where you know it may not be comfortable like sixty-two degrees perhaps,” Murphy said. “But If you’re gonna be there that’s plenty enough to keep pipes from freezing inside the house and when you get back home you can raise the temperature back up.”

Murphy said he does not recommend setting the thermostat above 70 degrees. Murphy said the cost of doing so is not worth the trouble. In addition to adjusting your HVAC system, Murphy said lowering the set point on your water heater. Murphy said you can lower your water degree from 110 degrees to 105 degrees and you will not notice a difference.

“During this period of record-setting cold temperatures, you might have to sacrifice a little comfort,” Murphy said. “But these steps go a long way in saving you money at the end of the month.”

Murphy said many people believe unplugging appliances when not in use can save energy. Murphy said the energy savings would be negligible.

“On your microwave for example, most microwaves will have an LCD screen that has a clock on it that shows the time of day,” Murphy said. “And so While the microwave is not consuming electricity for the purpose of heating food, it is consuming electricity through the display on the LCD.”

Murphy said for those who want to be prepared, make sure you weather strip. Murphy said places to weather strip are behind cabinets, windows, and doors.

“Wherever you have a gap, that allows the transfer of air from the exterior of the facility to the interior of the facility, is a waste of energy,” Murphy said. “And it causes your HVAC unit to have to run more frequently and more periods of time.”