Take Control: Energy Savings Tips

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Well, I am on the phone with Mansa Musa from moneysmartlife.org, and Mansa is hot outside and the ac is just cranking in a lot of places. And that's what we're talking about today. [00:00:14] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you know, especially in weather. Like, if you gotta use your ac, so no harm in using it necessarily. But let's talk about how we can use it as efficiently as possible. And that takes a little research on your part, but it's something that can pay you dividends, and you can know you're paying the least amount for energy while you're keeping your house cool. The first thing I want to tell people is that DTE and consumer power have a variety of electrical rates, and you need to find the best discount plan that fits your lifestyle. For example, the plan that I'm on, they call it peak and off peak. The peak period is only on the weekdays and runs from 11:00 a.m. to 07:00 p.m. and from 07:00 p.m. till 11:00 a.m. the next morning is off peak. [00:01:13] Speaker A: Okay. [00:01:14] Speaker B: The rates are almost two thirds cheaper. So what you do once you find a plan, and once again, there are different ones that fits your lifestyle, then you adjust your lifestyle to the plan. For example, we only wash and run appliances during the off peak periods. Yeah, the entire weekend is off peak. So you can do things, you know, just take some thought and some planning. The second thing I would tell you to do is know your rates. You ought to know how much you're paying for electricity. It'll help sharpen your mind about what's happening now. You can alter your usage time. We just talked about that. On hot days, for example, like today, I pre cool my house during the off period. [00:02:02] Speaker A: Got it. [00:02:03] Speaker B: I normally run my thermostat during the peak period. It's set at 78 degrees. And what I do is in the off peak period, I will cool my house down to 75 degrees, so that during the heat of the day, it takes much longer for it to reach the point where the air conditioner turns on. Again, I maintain my comfort, but I'm not paying during peak hours for the air conditioner. Trying to maintain. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. That's good. [00:02:40] Speaker B: The next one is get a remote enabled thermostat. You'd be surprised. You can just pick up your phone and turn your air conditioner up or down depending on what's happening. Whether you're there or not there, you don't necessarily want to cool the house too much. If you're not going to be there, but with a remote control thermostats, you can have it cooled by the time you get there. The final two is have your AC service and change your filter. Just basic things like that can save you money. And the final thing is investigate rebates and tax credit for installing insulation. DTE, as well as consumer powers offers rebates. And here's the thing about insulation. If you properly insulate your house, you'll have to run your air conditioner less while it will maintain its comfort level. [00:03:30] Speaker A: Wow. That is very true. Just had all of that done with the maintenance of the AC earlier before the heat wave hit us. And it does take a lot less time to cool the apartment. And I'm on the third floor, so heat rises. [00:03:48] Speaker B: That's right. [00:03:49] Speaker A: So you got to really, really be careful. Well, we can get all this [email protected]. and also the archives are at take controltuesday.com, so you can check out all of the information that we talk about. And don't forget to like and share when you go there. Mansa, thank you so much. [00:04:08] Speaker B: Thanks to.