Beat Winter’s Chill Without Cranking Up Your Heating Bill

01/11/2018

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Kacee Kirschvink|504-576-4132|kkirsch@entergy.com

Very cold weather is moving into much of Texas again this weekend, and it will likely be a long time before the warmer temperatures of spring return. That means now is the time to implement energy-saving tips so you can reduce your usage and keep more cash in your wallet.

Here are some big winter energy savers:

Adjust the thermostat. During the winter months, grab a sweater or a blanket to stay toasty, and set the thermostat to 68 degrees. Every degree higher can add 3 percent to your bill. So if you crank the heat up to 78 degrees, you’ve already added 30 percent.
Conserve hot water. Wrap your electric water heater with a water heater blanket that can be found at your local home improvement store and set the thermostat to 120 degrees or medium.
Replace air and furnace filters every 30 days or as required by the type of filter.
When you change your light bulbs, replace them with newer, energy-efficient models that use less energy and last longer than incandescent bulbs.
Seal air leaks. Install weather stripping around your doors, windows and any location where there may be a path between the inside and outside of your home.

Keep all doors and windows closed when the heat is on.
Open drapes to let warm sunlight in during the day. Close them at night to reduce heat loss.
Schedule a heating system checkup with a licensed professional if you haven’t already done so.
Do not block heat registers or air returns with curtains or furniture.
Close the damper on fireplaces when not in use.
Set the thermostat back to 55 degrees if away from home for several days.Extreme temperatures in any season can bring spikes in your energy usage. Now is also a good time to sign up for Level Billing which helps eliminate spikes by paying an average amount each month. This is extremely helpful in managing budgets.
Other convenient payment options include:
More tips, as well as clear, do-it-yourself videos, to help put these ideas to work can be found at entergy.com/save-money. Customers can also visit Entergy Solutions, a program that offers incentives and rebates on a variety of energy-efficiency upgrades year-round.
Pick-A-Date, which lets customers choose the date when their bills are due.
Automatic Monthly Payments, which save customers the trouble of writing and mailing checks.
Entergy also helps elderly and disabled low-income customers through its customer-assistance fund, The Power to Care, which is funded by Entergy employees, customers and shareholders. To find out how to get this or other types of bill payment assistance, or to contribute to the fund, visit entergy-texas.com or check the donation box on your monthly bill.

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to approximately 450,000 customers in 27 counties. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $10.8 billion and nearly 13,000 employees.

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