Most people have never heard of “Time of Use” plans although they have become increasingly popular when it comes to making a home more energy efficient. Tired of paying the increasing cost for energy, people are starting to look around to see what alternatives exist. One of these is the Time of Use plan that may be the ideal solution for your situation as well. In summary, a plan such as this includes the price of energy being higher during peak times and lower during off-peak times.
Although specifics of Time of Use plans might vary somewhat for different electricity companies, most operate on much the same concept. Because of this, the benefits that these plans offer are also similar. For instance, it would be expected for a homeowner to save anywhere from 7% to 10% annually on the cost of energy. In addition, peak times would be defined as eight of the busiest hours Monday through Friday with off-peak charges being lower than peak costs.
Typically, the months of May to October would constitute the time of the year when peak hours exist whereas November to April being for off-peak hours. Another common denominator is that off-peak hours would include weekends, as well as holidays. It is also common that if you were to switch to a Time of Use plan during the peak months of May 1 through October 31, you may see the first two or three bills being higher than average. However, if this occurs, most energy companies would be happy to offer an adjustment by crediting the account.
One of the great things about using a Time of Use plan is that it is virtually risk free. In all cases, you would save month but if for any reason you decided this plan was not what you wanted, you could always switch back. However, few people go back to the standard plan because the Time of Use plan is such as huge savings. As you make different changes associated with this plan, the more you could save. For instance, the following are just a few ways that you could save even more of your hard-earned money when switching to a Time of Use plan.
• Spend time to gain an understanding of the appliances in the home that use the most energy. That way, you could make appropriate adjustments and enjoy even greater savings with a Time of Use plan. As an example, instead of washing clothes or dishes during the hottest and busiest time of the day, wait to run the washing machine and dishwasher late in the evening. By making this and a few other changes while on a Time of Use plan would reduce energy consumption by an additional 25%, which equates to financial savings beyond the plan itself.
• It would also be helpful to know the difference in how much energy is used for various tasks within the home based on peak and off-peak hours. With this, you could again make some modifications in the way the household was run, enjoying even greater savings.
By using a Time of Use plan, the energy used for your home would be during low-demand periods. Since the pricing structure for off-peak hours is lower than for peak hours, you could spend your money on something better than energy consumption. One final note is that many energy companies that offer a Time of Use plan also provide online tracking and reporting tools.
This means you could see through comparison if you are making the right changes, as well as how much less energy is being used, among other things. With this, you could continue on the same path or modify a few things for even more savings. The information is usually provided through the energy company’s website although some also send it out to the homeowner’s email address if preferred.
