How are you dealing with the winter weather? While Texas has mild winters when compared to the Northeast; it doesn’t mean that we don’t need to take precautions and prepare for the worst. One of the best ways to do this is by lowering your electric bill! Here are 6 tips for homeowners in Texas on how to lower their electricity usage during these cold months:
Saving energy is one of the easiest ways to cut costs in your home. With the chill in the air, we often crank the heat, which can lead to higher electricity bills. However, there are a few things you can do to reduce your energy usage and lower your electricity bill. In this blog, we’ll go over the different ways that you can reduce your bill.
Natural Sunlight:
As sunlight enters your home through windows on winter days, it warms the inside. You can also use this natural resource to retain heat during cold months by opening curtains and doors that allow in sunlight. Additionally, the windows and doors can be closed (at night) to retain the heat. Solar space heaters are also affordable ($50-$150)and easy-to save money each year because they don’t need expensive maintenance fees either; just turn them on whenever you need heat.
Swap Out Those Sheets:
When you get home after a long day, your mind and body crave a warm bed. Your sheets can be one of the best ways to give yourself that much-needed warmth. How?? Everyone loves a cozy bed with with extra blankets at night time during winter months when temperatures. Sometimes, you can substitute the additionally heat from your furnace for a heavier sheet and/or blanket. Head to the store to trade out the light sheets (used in the summer) with heavier cotton sheets. This hack is cheap but can result in saving you hundreds of dollars.
Thermostat:
10 degrees! Remember this number. When you are away from home, lowering your heater by ten degrees is extremely beneficial. This can save you money on heating and cooling costs as well as lowering energy consumption. If this is hard to remember, we recommend programmable thermostats which allow you to schedule the times you are home, away, and sleeping. One of the tips is to set your sleeping and away time and forget it.. Companies such as Nest, Ecobee, and Honeywell as have thermostats that can easily replace your analog device. Installing these take around 20-30 minutes but can literally save you hundreds of dollars.
Pesky Cracks:
During your winter prep check behind cabinets for unfinished spaces for holes, cracks, or broken seals. The first check is to make sure that all of your doors have functioning weathering stripping. At times, weather stripping can become damaged and thus less effective. If you have more than 2 inches under your door, a bath towel can prevent the heat from escaping. Places a towel at the base of any of your doors, it can magically ensure a room retains heat.
Fireplaces:
While gas fireplaces are not as common in Texas; builders are beginning to integrate them into new houses. A small gas fireplace has the ability to heat around 500-1000 square feet while a large fireplace will heat around 1,000-$2000 square feet. Before using your fireplace, we recommend getting an inspection to make sure your chimney and other important elements are fully functional.
Sign up for Energenie:
Another best way to ensure your electricity bill is the lowest is to ensure you are on the correct plan. Electricity plans change regularly as well as purposely confuse you. While one plan may be good for your neighbor, it may not be the best for you. Energenie’s technology works behind the scenes to save money and be your energy concierge, to give you, the homeowner, peace of mind.