KPUB Energy Saving Tips

As a community-owned, not-for-profit utility company, finding solutions that help our customers save money is important to us. If your electric bill is suddenly higher than it used to be, you need to find the source of the problem. Remember—the less energy you use, the more money you save!

Year-Round Energy Saving Tips

Use a smart thermostat to program and manage your energy usage.
Try ceiling or portable fans to circulate air and make a room feel cooler.
Clean or replace all filters in your home monthly. Dirty filters make your system work harder than necessary.
Replace all light bulbs, especially ones that burn more than one hour per day, with a LED bulb.
Purchase energy-efficient appliances and products. Check the Energy Guide label and look for the ENERGY STAR® logo when purchasing these items.
Turn off or unplug small electronic devices when they are not being used. Weatherize your home by sealing gap/air leaksalong vents, windows and doors.
Unplug or recycle that spare refrigerator in the garage if you really don’t need it. Refrigerators are typically the second largest electricity users in a home. If your refrigerator is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it.
Keep the condenser coils clean on the back of your refrigerator and freezer
Add or upgrade the insulation in the attic. Remember, heat rises! Plus, there’s a KPUB energy-efficiency rebate for that!

Save in the Winter

During the winter, keep the thermostat set at 68 degrees or lower when you are home. Every degree of extra heating will increase energy usage 6-8%.
When using your fireplace, turn down your thermostat. When you’re not using it, close the damper to prevent warm air from escaping through the chimney.
Rethink your fireplace. Although a crackling fire in the fireplace can make a room appear to be warm and cozy, fireplaces are often a deterrent to energy efficiency because a lot of the heated air escapes up the chimney. A fireplace designed to provide heat eliminates this problem through a draft that supplies the fire with outside air rather than air from the room.
Open your drapes or blinds to take advantage of the sun’s rays during the day to help heat your home. Close them on the shaded side of the house and at night.
Caulk gaps and cracks around drafty doorframes and windows to prevent cold air from entering your home.
Install an insulation blanket around the water heater tank or consider a tankless water heater and wrap insulation around hot water pipes.
Minimize the use of electric space heaters and turn them off when you leave the room. Buy models that are thermostatically controlled.
Turn off lights in rooms that aren’t in use.
While sleeping, turn down the thermostat and add an extra blanket for warmth.
The ceiling fan direction in winter should be clockwise to create an updraft and circulate warm air around the room.
Keep your garage door down. A warmer garage in the winter will save energy.

Save in the Summer

During the summer, keep thermostats set at 78 degrees or higher when home when you are home. Every degree of extra cooling will increase energy usage 6-8%.On warm days, raise your thermostat to 80 degrees F or higher if you’re leaving the home for more than four hours.
Cool down with a fan. Fans keep air circulating, allowing you to raise the thermostat a few degrees and stay just as comfortable while reducing your air-conditioning costs.
The ceiling fan direction in summer should be counterclockwise to help create a downdraft, which creates that direct, cooling breeze.
Turn off fans when leaving the room. Fans cool people, not rooms.
Close your interior blinds, drapes or shades in the summer. Sunlight passing through windows heats your home and makes your air conditioner work harder.
Avoid using your oven on hot days. Instead, cook on the stove, use a microwave oven, or grill outside.
Wait until cooler times of the day to do tasks that make your house warmer, like laundry and cooking.
Hang laundry outside. Take advantage of warm summer days to bypass your dryer and let your clothes air dry.
Turn off lights in rooms that aren’t in use.
Use natural lighting early in the day and late in the afternoon to reduce your energy usage.
Turn off kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans 15 minutes after the job is complete or install 15-minute timers on bathroom ventilator fans.
Caulk gaps and cracks around drafty doorframes and windows to prevent cold air from escaping your home.
Keep your garage door down. A cooler garage in the summer will help save energy.

Put SmartHub to Work with its Built-In Tools & Alerts

Log in to your online KPUB account with SmartHub to check your usage, track electricity consumption, compare it to past billing periods and see where your usage is on a particular day.

Customers can also set up usage alerts, so they receive notifications or emails if electricity usage passes a threshold for a day or even an hour.