With frigid weather this week, Indiana Michigan Power is reminding customers of some of the things they can do to reduce their bills.
I&M spokesperson Schnee Doyle tells us energy can be saved by lowering the thermostat by seven to ten degrees when leaving for the day. Also, she says avoid space heaters because they’re huge energy hogs.
“If you run a 1,500 watt unit for eight hours, it can add more than $60 a month to your energy bill,” Doyle said. “And not to mention, space heaters are a significant fire hazard.”
Doyle says even in the winter, you can use the sun to heat your home by leaving the shades open. Just be sure to close them when it gets dark to keep all of that energy in.
If you’re thinking about closing the register in a room you don’t use, think again. Doyle says that doesn’t really do anything.
“Your furnace is designed to heat a specific square footage of space and it can’t sense if a register is closed or not. So it’s going to keep working at the same pace of whether or not that register is closed.”
Doyle says anyone having trouble paying their bill should contact I&M to learn about options. You can arrange to have the larger winter bills spread out over a few months.
For more tips on saving energy, go to ElectricIdeas.com.
