As temperatures drop, many of us bump the thermostat up, which leads to higher energy use and higher bills. Prepare your home before the winter weather strikes to help manage your energy use and bill.
Winterize Your Home
Follow these tips to save energy and money while keeping your home comfortable this winter:
- Inspect your heating equipment every year to ensure it’s working properly.
- Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows to keep out the cold. Draft stoppers are an inexpensive solution you can make yourself.
- Insulate your hot water heater and pipes. If they are warm to the touch, they are good candidates for insulation.
- Install storm doors and windows to add an extra barrier to the cold or cover the inside of windows with window plastic for a less expensive solution.
- Remember that heat rises. Add insulation to your attic to help prevent heat from escaping your home.
Manage Your Energy Use
Making these small changes in your daily life can help you better control your energy use and bill:
- Change your air filter once a month.
- Keep all curtains closed at night and keep those that don’t get direct sunlight closed during the day.
- DO NOT use the emergency or auxiliary heat setting on your thermostat unless it is truly an emergency as these settings are much more expensive to run.
- Log in to your SmartHub account to monitor your daily energy use and see exactly how the adjustments you make can affect your bill.
Beat the Peak
Want to help Piedmont Electric keep rates low? Join our Beat the Peak program!
Part of our power supply costs are determined during the time when members are using the greatest amount of electricity, known as our peak period.
Once you enroll in the program, you’ll be alerted when a peak period is expected, so you can save energy during that time. Reducing our power costs help us keep rates low for our members!
To join Beat the Peak, call us at 800.222.3107 or email BeatThePeak@pemc.coop.