4 ways lower your winter energy bills

Get ready to bundle up out there this winter.

Fortunately, there are a few ways you can consider lowering your winter energy bill.

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Shop your rate

Shopping around for the best natural gas and electricity rates in the state just makes sense. because their energy markets have been deregulated.

Just look online at the Public Utilities Commission for published rates from energy and gas marketers. You can use these quotes as a one-stop shop to do your comparison shopping for energy.

The rates usually reset once a month so check back throughout the season, particularly if you’re on variable rate instead of a fixed rate. Just be careful of early termination fees if you jump from provider to provider; they can negate any savings.

Remember, there is no difference between a therm or a kilowatt from one company vs. another. The only difference is the price! So shopping the market is so key.

Get a programmable thermostat

Want to reduce heating and cooling costs in your home by 25 percent or 30 percent? Try a programmable thermostat.

The Nest smart thermostat is one of the most popular of these devices.

Your local utility may subsidize the cost of a Nest for your home. Sometimes you can even get one entirely for free.

Finding out about potential subsidies is simple; it only takes a one-second web search by ZIP code at https://nest.com/rebates-and-rewards/.

You could save yourself up to $249, which is the suggested retail price.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that a cheaper Nest could be on the way in 2018. It may even include remote sensors to allow for zoned heating, i.e. individualized temperature control of select rooms.

Change your light bulbs

A single LED bulb can save you up to $70 per year in energy costs. But that’s just a general rule of thumb.

You can play around with bulb maker Cree’s online savings calculator at CreeBulb.com/Calculator to see exactly how much you could save by replacing the traditional incandescent bulbs in your home.

Kill the second fridge in your life

Nearly one in three of us have a second refrigerator in our homes, according to The Washington Post.

In theory, an old fridge should save you money by allowing you to stock up on frozen foods when they’re on sale. But the reality is older fridges consume massive amounts of electricity.

The cost of running a new fridge is next to nothing; older ones, though, can be hundreds of bucks a year to run.

So that money you think you’re saving buying food on sale, you’re actually spending on your electric bill.


Visit ClarkHoward.com for more info, or get his best-selling books signed with free shipping at GetClarkSmart.com.

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