Winter Can Mean High Bills - Here are Some Energy Saving Tips

Winter often brings higher electricity bills because cold drives up usage.

(Most of the time, increases are due to actual usage, rather than meter malfunctions.)

Here are some common winter causes of higher usage, and tips for addressing it.

Electric heating/space heaters. Depending on how high it’s set and how long it runs, electric resistance heating systems can use a lot of electricity. Mini-split heat pumps are efficient in milder winter temperatures, but can drive up usage during very cold weather. Tip: Use thermostats and timers to help keep heat running only when needed. Be sure windows and doors are tightly closed, especially in rooms you don’t use often. Of course, unintentional usage can occur even when you leave home.

Water heaters. If you have an electric water heater, usage can increase if you use an unusual amount of hot water over a given period. (Remember, if household size increases even temporarily, with guests for example, that drive up usage.) Tip: Use cold-water wash cycles in the laundry, take showers instead of baths, use the dishwasher instead of using faucet water to clean dishes, and install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.

Engine heaters. Engine block heaters for tractors and trucks can also increase usage during frigid weather. Tip: only use when necessary. If you don’t expect to use the equipment, don’t warm it up.

More time at home. When we spend more time inside which means more power for household chores and activities, entertainment systems and lights heating. Tip: Turn lights off when they are not needed, or use timers and be sure TVs and entertainment systems are off when not in use. Consider using switchable power strips.

There are certain other devices that are harder to modulate, so cold weather simply adds to usage as long as they run. Electric heat tapes are one such technology. During periods of extended cold weather, necessary heat tapes around pipes, under mobile homes, and in other places can increase usage.

Necessary livestock water anti-freeze systems, heat lamps for chickens, indoor fish tanks or terrariums, can all increase usage especially if they are in a cold room.

SmartHub can help. If you’re having trouble zeroing in on the causes of high usage in your home, you can use SmartHub to help pinpoint the culprits. Here’s how:

Turn off breakers for that have larger loads on them (water and septic pump, water heaters, space heaters or heat pumps) one at a time, for an hour or more at a time. Record the times you turned each breaker on and off. The next day on SmartHub you can review your usage for any signs of major drops of usage during any one of these hours. If you see drops, you might be able to narrow down big energy users on a given circuit or device. 

In SmartHub you can also set up usage notifications that warns you when you exceed a threshold that you set.