If your bank account is still feeling the bite of last winter’s electric bills, now is the time to take steps that can make a difference this winter.
The amount of your electric bill is directly related to the amount of electricity you use: Use more, pay more; use less, pay less. For most of us, staying warm in winter means using more—and ultimately paying more. San Patricio Electric Cooperative offers these 10 ways you can conserve energy and gain some control over winter electric bills.
1. Tune up your furnace. Call a professional HVAC technician to inspect and repair your system and change its filters.
2. Add insulation. Especially if your home is older, the attic insulation might have fallen out of place and even diminished over the years. That could mean rising warm air is escaping through the roof.
3. Seal gaps and cracks. Use caulk or weatherstripping to close up holes around doors, windows, outlets and trim where heated air can escape.
4. Open the drapes. In the daytime, the sun’s rays will help heat your home for free. Let them shine in all day, then cover windows once the sun goes down.
5. Wrap up in layers. It costs a lot less to pull on a sweater or wrap a blanket around you than it does to move the thermostat up even a couple of degrees. Keep blankets on the sofa, and wear socks or fuzzy slippers indoors.
6. Humidify. A humidifier will add moisture to the air, which makes it feel warmer and helps retain heat. Your whole house will feel more comfortable if the air isn’t so dry.
7. Unblock heating vents. Move furniture and other items away from vents so they can do a good job of evenly distributing warm air throughout the house.
8. Turn on ceiling fans. Flip the switch to make blades spin clockwise so they push heated air—which naturally rises—back down into the room.
9. Turn off exhaust fans. Kitchen and bathroom fans clear the air of odors and too much humidity—but once the air clears, turn them off. The longer an exhaust fan runs, the more heated air it sends outdoors.
10. Lower the temperature at bedtime. Throw an extra blanket on your bed and turn the thermostat down several degrees before you turn in. You could save up to 10 percent on your heating bill if you let your house cool off a bit for eight hours.