Ever wonder what the KWh means on your electrical bill, or wonder why your bill is so high in the winter months. The KWh stands for Kilowatt hours. This is a measurement of how many Kilowatts you have used in an hours time. For example: if you have a 1000 watt space heater (1 kilowatt) and you were to use it for one hour you would have used 1 Kilowatt hour. Usually the electric company will charge you somewhere around 8 cents per Kilowatt hour (more or less depending on your geographic location). You can use these numbers to find out where your money is going during the winter months. — 2000 watts for one hour would equal 2 KWh x $.08 = $.16 per hour. –
(this link will help you with calculating hours)

- If you are looking for high power usage items that may be sucking up your electricity first look for items that heat up (ovens, heaters, hot water heaters).
- Hot water heaters have to work much harder during the winter because of the cold water and cold air cooling down the water transferring in the lines. You can save money by insulating your lines and tank, this will keep your hot water hot and cause the elements to cut on less. – It is also possible to get a timer for your hot water heater, this will cut your heater on and off depending on what you determine as peak usage times.
- Electric/Heat pump heaters use quite a large amount of power if the temperature gets below 50 degrees. Save money on your heat by getting used to a little cooler temperature. If you are used to 75 try 72 instead, your body will get used to it. If at all possible get used to about 67 – 68 degrees (Fahrenheit), this will save you about 10 percent per degree of temperature drop. — This tip works for gas or radiator heat too —
- While your electricity bill is high it will also save a little money to use the microwave instead of the oven (depending on your oven). A conventional oven usually takes around 5-10 minuets to heat up and around 15 – 40 minuets to cook food using electricity the whole time. A microwave oven does not need to heat up and takes 2-10 minuets to cook a meal…This does not save a huge amount of money but is helpful if you are pinching pennies.

Remember Old houses do not usually have as much insulation as newer ones (new codes), and their windows, doors, etc. were not planned to be nearly as efficient as modern homes. If you live in an old house just give it the a double check, you may be missing something stealing your power.

There are many other ways to save money during the winter, I have just named a few. Please add more if you in the comments section if you have any.
Thank You,
Luke

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