March-2024 Cooperative Living-REC - REC20

How Weather Impacts Your Electric Bill
We aim to make your bill as clear as possible. When you
receive a bill each month, it represents the amount of
electricity used the previous month.
It's a common question-and totally
understandable. Aſt er all, if you
haven't changed a thing and your
bill spikes, it's normal to wonder
what's causing the fluctuation in
your bill.
In a word, weather. It all comes
down to temperature diff erential,
said Energy Management Advisor
Rich Mialki.
The fancy phrase simply refers to the
diff erence between the temperature
inside your home and outside.
So if the temperature dropped
to 20 degrees overnight and your
thermostat was set to 70 degrees,
that's a 50-degree diff erence. The
coldest hours of the day are typically
overnight, so we don't realize how
much more the heat is running.
In the winter, the disparity between
the outside and inside temperatures
not only meant the heating system
ran a lot more, but these low
temperatures likely caused costly
auxiliary backup heat to kick on.
" So while your thermostat setting
might have stayed consistent, the
bitter cold temperatures caused
your heating system to run more and
use significantly more electricity, "
Mialki said.
Another factor that might contribute
to a higher winter electric bill: space
heaters, which are energy hogs.
Running two typical-size space
heaters for eight hours a day could
add more than $90 to your monthly
electric bill.
The temperature gap tends to be
much higher during the winter
than the summer. Although as the
summer heat arrives, your energy
use will likely increase again due to
the temperature diff erential.
Mialki noted that even if you take
steps to reduce your energy use, you
likely are still using significantly
more electricity on days and
months when the temperature
diff erential is most pronounced.
Keep Your Electric Bill in Check
*
In the winter, set your thermostat to 68 degrees
or the lowest comfortable temperature. In
warmer months, set it to 78 degrees or higher.
It's a no-cost option to reduce energy expenses.
At night or when you're going to be away
from home for an extended period, adjust the
thermostat a few more degrees. Again, it all
comes down to the diff erence between the
indoor thermostat setting and the outdoor
temperature. The smaller the diff erence, the
lower our heating and cooling costs will be.
*
Consider purchasing a smart thermostat if you
don't already have one. These devices allow
you to program your temperature settings and
even adjust the temperature from your mobile
device, no matter where you are. Extreme cold
or heat will still increase your energy costs, but
using a programmable thermostat will help you
minimize those increases.
* Use the MyREC SmartHub tools (see below) to
monitor and reduce your energy use.
For more
savings tips, visit:
myrec.coop/save
Smarter MyREC SmartHub
MEANS MORE SAVINGS TOOLS FOR YOU!
MyREC SmartHub recently re-launched with diff erencemaking
tools that put more power in your hands!
ENHANCED FEATURES
NEW
Monthly Usage Summary
by Appliance:
Get insight into your electricity use by
appliance and get tips on how to save.
High Use Alert:
A high usage alert tells you when you
have exceeded your average use in
recent days.
18
Build a Home Profile:
It's important to fill out this profile
to receive tools and tips tailored
just for you!
Projected Next Bill Cost:
Receive a projected bill halfway
through the billing cycle.
myrec.smarthub.coop
Already a Smarthub user?
Great! Sign in and
start saving today!
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Rappahannock Electric Cooperative | Cooperative Living Magazine
http://www.myrec.coop/save http://myrec.smarthub.coop
March-2024 Cooperative Living-REC

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