Bray and Scarff - Alexandria, VA: 3 Tips to Help Shift Electrical Use and Save Money

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Nov. 4, 2014 - PRLog -- Prior to the introduction of smart meters, electrical bills were comprised of two numbers; the electricity consumed by the sum of all the appliances in the home multiplied by the number of hours of use. Smart meters have now changed this calculation by charging three different amounts of money for kilowatts depending on the time of day that they are used. Referred to as “Time of Use” billing, the three different billing periods are called On-peak, Mid-peak and Off-peak, with kilowatt charges being the highest for On-peak consumption and lowest for Off-peak usage.

While the move by utilities to Time of Use billing via smart meters has been somewhat controversial on a number of levels, one aspect of the changeover is indisputable; the customers of electric utilities can save substantial amounts of money on their utility bills by shifting their use of appliances to Off-peak billing hours. At present, the rule of thumb is that by shifting at least 50 percent of energy consumption to Off-peak hours and keeping On-peak usage to 20 percent or less, consumers can pay less than what they were paying on standard billing plans.

Here are some examples of how appliance use can be shifted to off-peak hours or minimized during On-peak billing periods.

· Adjust heating and cooling systems for the times when you are home and when you are away – Heating and cooling systems are the most energy-intensive appliances in the typical home and can represent one-half of the energy consumed each month. On-peak billing hours generally run from the early afternoon into the evening, a timeframe that often coincides with the times when homes are empty. By adjusting your heating and cooling systems with a programmable thermostat so that they go into operation shortly before the arrival of household members, you can drastically reduce both the overall consumption of energy as well as the most expensive hours of operation.

· Laundry – Shifting laundry chores to nights during the week and on weekends can shift all of a household’s laundry-related energy charges to Off-peak levels, which can reduce the cost per load by up to 50 percent.

· The dishwasher – This is another example of an appliance than can be run almost exclusively during Off-peak hours. Once the racks are full, set the timer and cut the cost per load by up to 50 percent.

Additionally, as electric cars gain in popularity an increasing number of households are seeing an extra $45 to $50 on their electric bills due to the cost of charging the vehicles’ batteries. Rather than plugging in upon arrival at home, charging costs can be reduced substantially as well by starting the charging process after 10:00pm during the week.