As crazy as it sounds, the quarantine (or stay-at-home) policies put in place in many areas throughout the country have led to an interesting development: overall energy consumption is down. After seeing what happened to electrical use in Italy, economists and energy sector experts are anticipating similar results in the US. With manufacturing plants, retail outlets, and many other businesses shut down, it makes sense that overall energy use would decrease.
Explain that to your residential electrical bill.
With everyone in your family home at the same time working from home or doing remote learning sessions (not to mention Netflix binging), home utility bills are expected to increase. If you are not receiving an income right now, that can impact your family budget tremendously. While many utility companies are offering a forgiveness period before shutting off service, eventually you will have to pay the money you owe in a lump sum, and that can prove difficult for many families during this tough time. Knowing that this could be problematic for your family, Blue Collar Electricians wants to offer you some tips to help keep your utility bills low during the stay-at-home orders.
Many utility companies charge an increased amount for use during peak hours. Large appliances, like your washer and dryer and dishwasher, use the most energy, so if you do your housework at night, you can avoid peak charges.
Because you are only going to the store in emergency situations, you might not always have a packed refrigerator or freezer. The more food you have in the appliances, the more efficiently they run. If you don’t have food, fill up some baggies with water and put them in the fridge and freezer to take up space and keep things running efficiently.
Northeast Ohio is proud to have large, beautiful homes in many communities. If your family is only using some of the rooms in your home, shut the vents off in the unoccupied rooms so you aren’t wasting electricity and gas to heat and cool them.
Toasters, blenders, hairdryers, fans, and other electrical devices that only need to be used for specific tasks should be unplugged when not in use. If you aren’t using them, unplug them so they aren’t eating up electricity while they aren’t in use!
Some electrical issues are larger. You might need an upgrade to a more energy-efficient electrical system. Perhaps you want to upgrade to LED fixtures to help reduce consumption. Adding a programmable thermostat can make a huge difference, but it isn’t easy to do. That’s when it’s time to call Blue Collar Electricians for help. Our team is ready to give you recommendations for improvements you can make to save money on your Northeast Ohio energy bill. Call us today and schedule an appointment. We are essential, so we are here for you during the stay-at-home period.
