Winter Energy Saving Tips From ATCO Energy
- Home Owner Tips
- Wednesday, November 21, 2018
This week, we wanted to share a few extra ways to conserve your energy usage this season – so we’ve called in the experts to help us out! Our friends at ATCO Energy, one of Alberta’s largest home energy retailers, have kindly contributed to this week’s blog post with their helpful winter energy-saving tips. Take a look below to learn more.
Warm up to Winter
Don’t let your energy bill this winter leave you cold. When it comes to conserving energy in the winter, small changes can have a significant impact on your energy costs. The biggest culprits are your washing machine and dryer, freezer, fridge, electric range and lighting in your home. Advances in energy efficient appliances have greatly reduced the operating and standby energy used with these appliances. For example, if your fridge was around in 1986, it’s probably using 1400 kWh of electricity a year. Instead of lugging it into your new home, swap it out for a new energy efficient model that uses 350 kWh a year and reduce consumption by 75%! New appliances aren’t the only way to help you reduce your energy consumption as you enjoy your new home.
Ho-ho-holiday electricity
During winter, and especially the holidays, energy consumption will be at its highest. When you consume electricity is just as important as how much you consume. While the process of generating, transmitting and distributing electricity may make your eyes glaze over, there is one simple strategy that can make a noticeable difference. Avoid using major appliances during peak periods. Between six and nine o’clock, morning and evening, most people are cooking meals, doing household chores and preparing for the day. During these times, the demand for electricity spikes, driving the price higher. During the holidays, it’s tough to turn the Christmas lights off, however, you can wash clothes, run the dishwasher and bake your Christmas cookies outside of peak consumption hours to lower your energy costs.
Sneaky Phantom Power
Power usage can be as elusive as Santa himself! Phantom (or standby) power is used by devices that have a remote control, internal clock, continuous display or charging function. This includes digital cable boxes, DVDs/PVRs, rear projection TVs, audio systems and subwoofers. In an average-sized home, phantom power can account for a whopping 10% of your energy costs (about 60 kWh per month). To diminish these costs, plug electrical devices into a power bar that can be turned off when not in use (some have a timer feature), unplug any devices that are not in use (particularly if you are leaving town) and ensure that you are taking advantage of any energy saving features on items like TV’s or computers.
With these simple strategies, you can take frost-bite out of your winter energy bills. For more tips on how to manage energy costs in your home, visit ATCOenergy.com. Bonus Tip: If you’re a Trico Homeowner, we’ve got some good news! Your Trico Red Card offers a 10% discount on ATCO’s Blue Flame Kitchen Store – redeemable both online and in-store. More information can be found on our Red Card website.
Founded in 1947, ATCO is one of Canada’s premier corporations comprising of multiple companies including Retail Energy (electricity and natural gas retail sales).As a company built by Albertans for Albertans, ATCO energy is proud to be a part of your community.