FIVE WAYS TO LOWER YOUR ELECTIC BILL

BUY A PROGRAMMAGLE THERMOSTAT – This device is easy to install and costs about $100. You could make back the cost with one year’s work of energy savings.

IDENTIFY AND SEAL THE ENVELOPE – The envelope is the home’s thermal barrier to outside air. When outside air seeps into your home through cracks or breaks, it lowers the energy efficiency and comfort in your home.

Walk around your home and feel for the place where cold air is coming in. For a modest investment, you can get products like caulking, weather stripping, and foam sealant to plug leaks. Many homes have major air infiltration through crawlspaces, basements, knee walls, attic hatches and attic pull-down stairs.

SEAL YOUR DUCTS – In a typical house, about 20 percent of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks and poorly sealed connections.

But duct tape isn’t the answer. By applying a substance called mastic with a paint brush to every duct seam, you can effectively plug the leaks. Mastic can be purchased at companies that sell wholesale to heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors.

CHANGE YOUR FURNACE FILTERS – Dirty filers block airflow through your heating and cooling systems, increasing your energy bill and shortening the equipment’s life. By remembers to change the filers regularly, your furnace will not have to work unnecessarily hart to heat your home.

INSTALL CFLs – Install compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). Compact fluorescent lights use about 75% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer.

Homeowners can save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime and they produce about 75 percent less heat.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if everyone American home replaced just one standard incandescent light bulb in their home with a CFL, the country would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, and save more than $600 in annual energy costs.

Since 2003, Jackson Energy has distributed more than 5,000 CFLs at the annual meeting, customer appreciation days and other events.

According to statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Star program, over the life of the products, the CFLs distributed by Jackson Energy will:

Save 1,442,994 kWh of energy
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,092,853 lbs.
and save members $134,198.44 on their electric bills.

JEC ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS

Jackson Energy offers free energy audits to their members. The audit can help the homeowner identify potential problems that may be affecting their electric bill, such as inadequate insulation or leaks around doors or windows.

To schedule an energy audit, call 1 800-262-7480.

You can also use the Home Energy Calculator link to conduct your own on line energy audit and see how different energy efficiency improvements can help lower your electric bill.

Tune Up – This Jackson Energy program is an inspection and minor repairs of a home’s heat pump and ductwork. A trained HVAC technician will inspect the heat pump and the ductwork and make minor repairs to leaky ductwork, which will make the system more energy efficient to operate. The home owner is charged $40 per heat pump unit for the Tune Up.

MORE WAYS TO SAVE