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Insiders Reveal How to Slash High Winter Bills
By LearnVest | November 5, 2014
Utility
costs can heat up in the winter. Learn how to cool them down.
Sunday afternoon
football. The smell of pumpkin pie wafting through the house. Stringing up
holiday lights.
Excessive electric use tends to be billed at a
higher rate, with your base rate jumping to a higher bracket after a certain
amount is used.
Now that the leaves
have started to change and crisp nights have set in, there are all sorts of
seasonal highlights to look forward to — but are you also envisioning the
extra cash you’ll be shelling out to keep those lights twinkling and the heat cranked
up?
Of course you’re not.
That’s because, while
we’re well aware of the conventional advice for cutting high monthly expenses
— ditch the costly cable and pick up Netflix! — we rarely focus on the other sundry utility
bills that fill our mailbox each month.
You know, the boring
ones — like gas, electric, water and heat.
But those utilities
can quickly add up to hundreds
of dollars a month in the winter, which is why we rounded up
utility employees across the country to share their top energy-saving tips for
slashing those costs.
After all, how would
you rather spend your fun money this season — on astronomical gas and heating
bills or a weekend ski trip?
The Heating Expert
John
Vrabel, president of Smart Click Energy, an online heating oil delivery company
based in Boston
“If you live in a
colder state, I probably don’t need to remind you that heating bills can spike
into the triple digits.
In fact, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration finds that more than 90% of American homes
will get hit with even higher heating expenses this season, thanks to
rising natural gas, propane and electricity prices.
Since heating costs
can fall under your electric, gas or oil bill, seasonal totals vary greatly —
from around $679 for natural gas to $2,046 if you use oil. But making a few
smart moves before the mercury falls can result in lower bills later on, no
matter your heating method.
My
favorite money-saving hacks
Right now—before a
chill really sets in—call your utility company and schedule
a tune-up to ensure your heating system will operate at peak efficiency. While
a technician might cost you around $100, plus any necessary repairs, I can’t
emphasize enough that efficient equipment is key. By comparison, faulty heating
systems could be costing
you hundreds of dollars.
Next, take the time to
inspect the insulation around your house. In a typical home, air leaks are
responsible for a whopping 25% to 40% of the energy that’s used for heating.
But weather-stripping
your windows can be done for as
little as $6 per window.
Few people know about
this, but one of my favorite techniques is to use an energy-efficient
humidifier (about $35 to $65) in the living room. In winter months, the air
inside your home is pretty dry. To be comfortable in dry air, people require a
higher temperature — but they wouldn’t if the air were more humid.
There are also simple
cost-saving tweaks that seem obvious, but most people still overlook. For
example, if you have a programmable thermostat, make sure warm-air
registers aren’t blocked by furniture or drapes, making it harder for those
registers to gauge a true temp. Speaking of … if you live in a sunny area, keep
curtains and shades up during the day to let sunshine naturally warm your home.
Lastly, I know
everyone loves a nice, toasty fire during the winter, but try to use a
traditional fireplace sparingly. It may look cozy, but these hearths actually
pull heated air up the chimney — and let cold in. At the very least, keep the
flue shut tight when you’re not using it.
How
much you’ll save
I’d estimate
that these simple insulation changes can shave 10% off your home heating bill at
a minimum — which could equal $200 or more per season, depending on the size of
your house and your heating method.”
The Electricity Expert
Emily
Bailard, senior director of solutions at Opower, a company that helps utilities
reduce consumption across the globe
“Hacking your electric
bill probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fun
fall activities. In fact, studies have shown that Americans only think about
their electricity for nine minutes a year — and that’s typically only when they
receive a high bill or have an outage.
But U.S.
Energy Information Administration data shows that, on average, most people are shelling out
about $100 a month — and even more during the winter when we spend extra hours
huddled indoors, burning lights longer. So if we all devoted just a few
more minutes to focusing on dialing back electricity usage, it’s
remarkable how much money we could save.
My
favorite money-saving hacks
If you haven’t already
invested in LED holiday lights, now’s the time. Not only will they reduce your
electric use by more than 90%, compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, but
they’ll also last longer — upwards of 25,000 hours.
While you’re at it,
swap out all of your lightbulbs with energy-efficient ones; the upfront
expense is minimal (starting at $9 a bulb), and will pay off big in the long
run.
Holiday shopping,
ordering seasonal cards and sending out e-vites for wintertime gatherings —
they’ve all become much easier to do thanks to computers. But that extra time online
can really creep up your electric bill.
Rule of thumb: If
you’re not going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes, turn off your
monitor. You might even consider unplugging it from a power source, since all
electronics that remain plugged in still consume electricity—a waste of about
50 watts per device, or about $50 each per
year.
That might not sound
like much, but multiply $50 by the myriad electronics you keep running at any
given time — TVs, phone chargers, computers — and you can see how quickly that
cash adds up.
People don’t often
factor it in, but this time of year also leads to extended use of big
appliances. More out-of-town guests and entertaining translates to extra sheets
and towels to wash and dry, not to mention running the dishwasher constantly.
When it comes to your
washing machine, I recommend following detergent instructions to a tee. Most
people are too generous with the amount they use — and over-sudsing requires
your machine to run energy-zapping extra rinses. Further, use the cold water
setting on your washer whenever you can. Surprisingly, it reduces energy use by
as much as 94%.
How
much you’ll save
You know those LED
bulbs you just bought to replace your old ones? It takes about $9 a year to run
one through the night, compared to $21 for a conventional bulb. That’s savings
of more than 50% right there!
Also, keep in mind
that excessive electric use tends to be billed at a higher rate, with your base
rate jumping to a higher bracket after a certain amount is used. Translation:
The more electricity you save, the more drastic your money savings.
The Water Expert
Lyle
Whitney, water conservation supervisor at the Aurora Water Department in
Aurora, Colo.
“I find it amazing how
much water we use when we’re not thinking about it — and how much savings that
can translate to if we are a little more conscious.
The average home uses
about 150 gallons of water per capita, per day, which is what we call ‘GPCD.’
In Colorado, a full 42% of that goes toward outside usage, like lawn
sprinklers. So the good news is that a fair amount of consumption will creep down in the winter.
But indoor use
can easily be scaled back, too, with just a few simple behavior changes
and appliance swaps.
My
favorite money-saving hacks
Let’s start with the
biggest water guzzler in the house: your toilet, which takes up 25% of GPCD. In
other words, this is a key area to consider investing in a more efficient
appliance.
If you have an older
toilet, you’re likely using as much as 3.5 gallons of water per flush — but
newer ones flush 1.5 or less, and cost as little as $75. And before you buy,
check with your water utility company because many provide rebates for
installing more efficient toilets.
Next up: those long,
hot showers we indulge in once the weather turns crisp.
In most households,
the average shower clocks in at close to nine minutes. Of course, trimming that
to five minutes can help a great deal.
But there’s also a
lasting fix: While most shower heads release 2.5 gallons of water per
minute, energy-efficient models release closer to one gallon per minute.
They cost about $20, and most people don’t even notice the reduction in water
pressure — but they offer serious savings over the long haul.
Besides water-smart
upgrades to your appliances, I swear by small habit changes. For example,
making a household rule to only run the washing machine when it’s full, rather
than doing that half load of table linens before a holiday party, can save up
to 49
gallons of water per wash.
Ditto when it comes to the dishwasher.
How
much you’ll save
If you tackle the
small appliance tweaks above, you can typically scale back usage from 150
to 100 GPCD — and save at least $100 a year.
But I assure you it’s
very doable to shave off even more. I average about 40 to 50 gallons a day,
thanks to simple habits like taking shorter showers.”
The Gas Expert
Frank
Benedetto, vice president of Van Duzer Gas in Southold, N.Y.
“While many newer
houses use electric heating units, a full 50% of all homes in the U.S. still use natural gas — a bill
that often goes up tremendously during the winter months due to hot water,
holiday cooking and heating systems.
But there are small
ways to scale back on gas usage — and score pretty decent savings over the
course of a season.
My
favorite money-saving hacks
I know this may sound
funny, but if you have a gas stove, simply cleaning the burners and wiping away
spider webs in the gas lines can greatly boost the efficiency of your cooking
range. If you’re uncomfortable doing it, you can have a full cleaning and
inspection done by your utility for about $150 to $175.
Further, learning how
to optimize your cooking range is really the simplest way to slash your bill.
For example, utilize
the smaller burner if you’re just simmering your food instead of bringing it to
a boil. And grab the best-fitting pot for the amount you’re cooking, as opposed
to the first size you can find. Case in point: Placing a 6-inch pot on an
8-inch burner wastes
more than 40% of the burner’s heat.
I’d also recommend
making use of the classic crockpot when cooking hearty autumnal dishes. This
device consumes far less energy than the oven and burners.
How
much you’ll save
Depending on your gas
usage, I’d estimate that these simple moves can cut about 15% off your annual bill — that’s nearly $300 in
savings this season.”
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