Thermostats are going to be getting a workout over the next few days as cold air has moved in. There are some things you can do to save money on your electric bill this winter.
“We recommend you set your thermostat at 68 degrees. If you’re going to go higher than that, again, you’re going to be using more energy,” said Jeff Shepard, the spokesman for Mississippi Power. “So we recommend you go to 68, put on a sweatshirt, put on a blanket when you’re sitting on the couch, throw another blanket on the bed when you go to sleep at night to try to minimize how much your heating is running overnight over the next couple of months.”
Other tips include caulking any doors and windows and using LED light bulbs. With many people working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some extra tips you can follow.
“If you have the ability to be working from home during the day, open up your windows, open up your blinds, let the sun get that heat coming in for free,” Shepard said. “I mean, that’s free energy right there that comes into your house through the windows, so you might as well take advantage of that opportunity if you have it.”
Experts say not to drastically increase the temperature in your home over a short period of time.
“Your heater is going to run an incredibly long time to get your house from 65 degrees to 73 if that’s what you want to do,” Shepard said. “We recommend that you basically go up 2 degrees every hour to let your system kind of acclimate and get your house warmed up over that process as opposed to trying to go you know, 5, 6, 7 degrees all at once.”
Mississippi Power is always accepting donations through its Project SHARE program that helps customers who have a financial need.