How to Lower Utility Bills in Winter

December 13, 2018

Winter is an expensive season for home utilities. Your furnace raises your gas bill while your holiday lights and trees raise your electric bill. After a month of purchasing a truckload of presents for all of your friends and family, the last thing you want to see is a utility bill that makes you cringe.

While holiday decorations do use up some extra electricity, there are other ways to cut the cost and save some extra money this season.  Here are our tips for how to lower utility bills in winter from the team at Buzz Electrical.

Wear lots of layers.

Heating costs are the biggest culprit for raising your utility bills. If you lower your temperature even a few degrees, you can save money. The bigger the difference is between the outside temperature and the inside temperature, the harder your HVAC system will have to work to maintain it. Wear sweaters and thick socks and snuggle up under a warm blanket to allow your heating costs to go down.

Program your thermostat.

Do you leave your heater running while you’re out of the house all day? If so, you are paying for a warm house that is totally empty! It can be easy to forget to adjust your thermostat as you are rushing out the door in the morning. Thankfully, you can set up a programmable thermostat to lower the temperature at specific times daily when you know you won’t be home.

Reverse your ceiling fans.

Did you know your ceiling fan can actually keep you warm during winter? Look for a switch on the body of your fan that rotates the blades to blow air counter-clockwise. This will push the warm air that rises to the ceiling down towards you.

Seal up cracks.

If the toasty air inside your home can escape through cracks around the doors, windows, baseboards, and outlets, it can raise your energy bill. Use caulk or spray foam to seal up cracks and insulate tricky spots around the house.

Use LED light bulbs.

LED light bulbs use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. Installing them around your house uses less electricity and saves you money. Read all about the top five benefits of LED light bulbs here.

Decorate with LED lights.

LED Christmas lights have all of the same money-saving advantages as regular LED bulbs. They consume less energy, they are more durable, and they last longer than old school Christmas lights. Read about why we think LEDs are the best Christmas lights here.

Have you been wondering how to lower utility bills in winter?

We hope this guide gave you some new ideas on energy savings. At Buzz Electrical, we are always happy to help our customers save money and save energy.

Family owned and operated Buzz Electrical is Fayetteville’s leading electrical company! If you need any electrical repairs or electrical upgrades in your Arkansas home just in time for the holiday season, we are here to help. Give us a call at (479) 267-2899.