Auditing Electricity Usage
NEW CONCORD, Ohio – With January low temperatures hovering around Zero, February heating bills could reach record highs.
Guernsey Muskingum Electric Cooperative Energy Advisor and Member Services Representative Ray Crock talked about a service that his company provides for free to its members called the Home Energy Audit.
“It can range from a question answer session that I tell them to write their questions down ahead of time so you know. Sometimes it’s going to the breaker box and checking amperage to see what’s maybe wrong. And then other times it’s an evaluation of the house. It’s a blower door test and an infrared scan of the house. How they can do things to keep the inside air in and the outside air out,” Crock said.
Houses and household lifestyles can vary by age and number of residents, giving each audit a unique snapshot of what habits or appliances might be using the most electricity.
“Heating and Cooling is by far and away the largest percentage of energy use in a house, whether you’re talking electric, gas, whatever.” Crock said. “Once you get away from heating and cooling, the next ones are the water heater and the clothes dryer. Today, you’ve got a lot of people that take long showers or filling great big garden bathtubs. Hot water costs about two cents a gallon to heat up. And then the clothes dryer and person’s habits. How often are you doing laundry?”
Crock also noted that smart televisions that appear powered off often draw electricity because they’re in a stand-by mode. For more information about ways to reduce your power bill, you can visit gmenergy.com.
