Coos-Curry Electric
Empty House, High Bill?
One of the things that confuses an electric consumer
the most is when he or she leaves home for a week
or two, or even a whole month, and later finds that
the electric bill has not decreased much, if any. It
is entirely possible that a house left vacant can still
cause your electric bill to be high.
Many people have the mistaken idea that they can
turn their thermostat down to 55 degrees, leave the
house for a week or two, and their electric bill will
drop down next to nothing. That is simply not the
case.
A vacant house at 55 degrees will not use much
less energy for heating than an occupied one at 68
degrees. One reason is that the activity of an occupied house will radiate a certain amount of heat;
clothes drying, cooking, baths and human activity
all give off heat and help make up the difference. An
empty house does not have these heating agents, and
your heating system must maintain the 55 degree
temperature.
Furthermore, it is also possible that your home
could be vacant a full month, and have the electric
bill go up. Let’s assume, for example, you were home
one month during relatively mild weather, and your
bill for that month is close to normal. Then the next
month, you decide to take a vacation. If the weather
turns extremely cold, your bill could go up instead
of down, even though you are not home.
In addition, such things as water heaters, clocks,
instant-on televisions, refrigerators and freezers will
continue to operate regardless of whether any one is
home.
If you plan to leave your home for an extended
period of time, we recommend you turn down or
shut off everything you possibly can, but remember that lower settings do not eliminate all usage. If
you shut off everything, remember to winterize and
drain all water lines. n
For more information on how
you can save energy, visit
www.togetherwesave.com
4
D e c e m b e r 2009
Low Cost/No-Cost Home Energy Saving Measures
Water Heating
h Set water heater temperature to no higher than 120 F (for households with 1 to 2 members,
a 115 F setting should work fine).
h Limit shower length to 5 to 7 minutes.
h Install low-flow shower heads.
h Fix dripping faucets.
h Don’t let the water run while you are shaving.
h Don’t let the water run while you are brushing your teeth.
Laundry
h Wash clothes in cold water—use hot water only for very dirty loads.
h Do only full laundry loads.
h Adjust the water level if you must do smaller loads.
h Always use cold water rinse.
h Check that the dryer vent hose is tightly connected to dryer.
h Make sure dryer vent hose is not kinked or clogged.
Kitchen
h Switch your refrigerator’s power-saver to “ON,” if available.
h Clean your refrigerator coils annually.
h Set the refrigerator temperature to 34 F-35 F and freezer temperature to 0 F-5 F.
h Ensure gaskets around door seal tightly.
h Unplug unused refrigerators or freezers.
h If you are heating water, use hot tap water instead of cold.
h Let hot food cool before storing it in the refrigerator.
h Use cold water for garbage disposal.
Heating and Air Conditioning
h Set thermostats to 78 F in summer and 68 F in winter.
h Change HVAC filters monthly.
h When installing new air filters, make sure they are facing in the correct direction (look for
arrow on side of filter).
h Close fireplace dampers when not burning a fire.
h Close shades and drapes at night to keep heat in during the winter.
h Make sure drapes and shades are open to catch free solar heat in the winter.
h Do not close off unused rooms that are conditioned by forced-air systems.
h Do not close supply registers.
h Ensure return air grilles are not blocked by furniture or bookcases.
h Ensure windows and doors are properly weather-stripped.
I PULLED THE PLUG ON
MY ENERGY COSTS JUST
BY PULLING A FEW PLUGS.
T Vs, g a min g consoles, DVRs, cable boxes and almost anything that
h a s a p lu g uses energy even when it’s off. I’m saving $222 a year by
p u llin g p lu gs and tur ning off power str ips. What can you do? Find out
how t he l i t t le c h a n g e s a d d u p a t To g e t her WeS ave. c om .
TO G E T H E RW ESAV E .C O M