With today’s highly automated world, it’s hard to ignore how easily things could get out of hand, especially when it comes to energy usage. Whether it’s your water heater or electric furnace kicking into overdrive or your computer’s blue screen spewing random gibberish, there’s no mistaking how quickly things can change. In an age where people are constantly striving to save money and live more simply, the idea of living “off the grid” with only a magnetic strip for power and water supplies seems way out of reach for most people. The good news is that even if you don’t possess a complete alternate power system or even a solar panel, you can still do some things on your own to help conserve the power you’re currently using.
1. What Causes High Energy Bills
Before getting too deep into the problems, let’s examine how things work in the grand scheme of things: prices set by energy suppliers are set based on how much electricity you use and how much they think their product will cost.
Standard Variable Power Plan (SPPS) – This is the main bill paying product from most energy suppliers and while it has many similarities to SPPS (which is what I’ll discuss below), there are also a few key differences. For one thing, standard variable plans do not offer any incentive to reduce your energy consumption. Instead, the only way to pay for them is to agree to larger increases in your monthly payments. How that works is pretty simple: the more energy you buy, the larger your monthly payment goes. However, since your monthly payment may go up every month regardless, the result is an unending cycle of buying and using that will eventually cost your company a lot more money than it is worth. If you need to find yourself a new supplier to replace your current supplier, you should examine whether their standard variable rate plans provide any incentive for reducing your usage.
Biomass Heat Energy (BHE) – This is basically bio-gas in its purest form: burned wood, oil or biodegradable waste. Because this type of heating produces no smoke or carbon emissions, it is widely considered to be one of the cleanest and most effective ways to provide heat for your home or business. As with standard variable rate plans, your price cap will reflect the amount that your energy supplier pays to burn BHE in your home or business, which makes it a good plan for lowering your energy bills. However, you should watch out for the price cap, which can easily rise above $10 per MWh in a few years’ time, and prevent you from ever using a lower price cap on your plan.
Carbon Price Cap – A carbon price cap is put into place to limit how much your energy supplier will charge you each month for the amount of carbon that your home or business emits. The idea behind this cap is to ensure that your electricity or heating costs are as least as expensive as they would be without the cap in place. Unfortunately, as more businesses and homes to switch to solar and other clean energy sources, the price cap can become far too high, which can cause your bills to increase without you even noticing it.
2. Keep Your Energy Bills Low With These Tips
Every bill that comes in can be difficult to pay, but if you want to keep your energy bills low then there are several things you can do. It is important to remember that the appliances in your home use energy and this will also reflect on your bills. It is important to know what the culprit is that is is draining the most power, and in most cases your AC accounts for the most use and the highest cost to your energy bill. So in order to save money on your West Penn power bill is it important to ensure that your AC is running efficiently. There are many ways you can save money on your energy bills and one of the best ways is to turn to green technology to lower your costs. Technology such as LED lights and solar power for homes are becoming more affordable and easy to turn to.
As the cost of electricity continues to rise, installing solar panels on your roof is the best idea to save money on your energy bills and you should hire the best solar solutions for installation as they offer a variety of options that can reduce your energy bill. Also, to find the best companies in Bakersfield for installation, search online for affordable options with no upfront cost.
You may want to make a change in how you heat your home to keep your energy bills down. One way that many people are doing this is by using space heaters rather than heating their entire home. It is much cheaper to heat only part of the home and this can help you save a lot on your heating costs. You may not think that it is possible to heat your home this way but it can be very easy to do.
If you already have space heaters in your home then this may be something that you can live without. You can save a lot of money by turning them down when you are not using them and leaving them running on low when you do need them. Another good way to cut down on your use of heaters is to have them thermostatically controlled. This will keep the heater at a comfortable temperature so you don’t have to worry about it getting too hot or too cold.
There are also some things that you can do around the house that will help you keep your energy bills low. For example, turning off any fans that are in the room when you aren’t using them. Put blinds on any windows that have curtains. You can keep your home cooler by keeping your air conditioner on low when you leave the house.
By making some changes to your lifestyle you can find that you can keep your energy bills low. You may be surprised at just how much money you could be saving. If you are trying to cut back on the costs in any way possible, you should always bear in mind that there is always some sort of alternative that you can turn to. Just keep trying and you should be able to keep your energy bills low.
Also read about: Smart Buildings: Comfort, Safety, Things You Should Know