With such a large family and a big home, your electricity usage is high. Your electric bill seems like it keeps rising every month. You need to figure out a solution to your electricity usage that will help lower your bill.
This guide explains:
Disclaimer: The contents of this article is being discussed through the lens of Gexa’s Time Of Use plan.
During peak hours, the demand for electricity is high. This means that electric companies need to provide more electricity for their customers during those hours, sometimes resulting in higher energy charges, if you’re not on a fixed rate plan.
Peak hours are usually considered to be:
Does electricity cost more during peak hours?
This depends on your electricity plan.
For example:
It’s important to note that there is no “best time” unless you are on a Time Of Use plan (like free nights or free weekends) that offers lower energy charges based on time of day or day of week.
Peak times for electricity use affect the wholesale cost of electricity because operators need more generating capacity.
The high demand for electricity means more work for electricity producers, which translates to higher prices for energy consumers.
To try and keep your electricity usage low, the best time to use electricity is during off-peak times.
Off-peak hours are generally considered to be:
Wholesale electricity is often cheaper from the late evening through the early morning when not as many people are awake and using electricity.
However, most electricity plans do not offer cheaper electricity rates for off-peak hours.
To ensure your electricity is cheaper at night, find a plan that offers free or discounted night electricity.
Gexa Energy offers time of use plans that are 100% green and designed to help keep energy charges lower for night time or weekend electricity usage:
Peak times for electricity use are the times of the day or year that the most people are using the most amount of electricity.
The 3 most common peak times for electricity use are:
Daytime hours are considered to be a peak time for electricity usage because this is when the world is awake.
People are running appliances, using electronics, turning on lights throughout their homes, and doing school or work.
There are two important times of the day that play into the high demand for electricity during daytime hours:
Summer months tend to be peak times for electricity use for a few reasons:
1. People are running their cooling systems more frequently and at lower temperatures to help counteract the hot temperatures outdoors.
Air conditioners use around 6% of all of the electricity produced in the United States. To help lower the costs of electricity in the summer months, you can:
2. The hot temperatures force people indoors, increasing the use of cooling systems and landing them on electronics for many more hours throughout the day.
Similar to the summer months, the winter months are also peak times for electricity use.
They each have their pros and cons, but is one better than the other to use during peak electricity hours?
It depends — let’s review each of them below.
As we stated above, there really is no “best time” to use electricity unless you are on a Time Of Use plan (such as Gexa Free 3-Day Weekends Plan) that correlates lower energy charges with day of week.
A variable price plan is one where the price of electricity can change each month depending on the market price of electricity.
As the electric market increases, your per kWh price may also go up. As the electric market decreases, your energy charges may go down.
Although variable price electricity plans might be higher in peak months due to the demand for electricity affecting energy costs, these electricity plans may still be lower than a fixe -rate plan would be in off-peak times.
Gexa Energy offers variable price plans, like the Gexa Flex plan, a month-to-month plan that is 100% green.
Fixed rate electricity plans lock the consumer into a set price per kilowatt hour for the entire length of their contract.
Many energy consumers like this plan option because they have an approximate idea of how much their energy charges are going to be each month.
Unlike variable price electricity where the price that the customer pays increases as the electricity market increases, fixed rate electricity plan customers can save money when there is a higher demand for electricity.
Gexa Energy offers a number of 100% renewable fixed rate electricity plans including:
If you’re looking to keep your electricity usage and energy charges low, especially during peak hours, it’s not impossible to do.
By making some small changes throughout your home and in your daily routine, you can lower your electricity costs regardless of what kind of electricity plan you are using.
Heating and cooling systems account for more than half of the electricity usage in a home. By installing a programmable thermostat, energy users can program their heating and cooling for use during specific times of the day.
A programmable thermostat allows you to set temperatures higher or lower during peak hours or through the night when everyone is sleeping to help save electricity usage and lower energy charges.
With a Gexa Energy Saver Plan, you can lock in a great low rate and get up to 2 FREE smart thermostats (free install included) to help manage your home’s temperature anytime, anywhere — plus, get a $100 Visa® Reward Card as a welcome bonus.*
Large appliances eat up a large amount of electricity usage, which can become costly quickly.
By running large appliances at night when the electricity demand is lower, you can cut back on electricity costs.
Some large appliances to consider running at night include:
Many people have the bad habit of leaving on electronics that they are no longer using, or leaving on lights when they leave a room or the home.
By remembering to power off electronics that you are done using and turning off your lights, you can save electricity usage and energy charges.
When you leave the home, try to remember to:
Are you tired of keeping track of your electricity usage during peak hours?
Gexa Energy offers residential plans that are 100% renewable and low cost.
The many variable price plans and fixed rate plans available at Gexa Energy can help you use your electricity during peak hours without facing high energy charges.
*Allow 4 to 8 weeks for delivery and installation of your Emerson SensiTM Touch Wi-Fi smart thermostats.
Energy Optimization is a feature of this plan, which means Gexa may remotely adjust the thermostat temperature during peak usage periods to optimize your energy usage. At any time, you may override this adjustment using your app or thermostat.
$100 Gexa Energy Visa® Reward Card welcome bonus is available for new residential customers only who enroll on an Energy Saver Plan subject to availability. Promotion code and smart thermostat installation required to receive card. Allow 2-4 weeks after we have received payment in full of your second monthly bill to receive card, which will be mailed to the address specified during enrollment. Offer not valid with any other plan, promotion or discount and may be replaced or withdrawn at any time without notice. Card is issued by the Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC, pursuan to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Visa U.S.A., Inc. is not affiliated with Gexa Energy and does not endorse or sponsor this program.
Gexa Energy is not affiliated with Emerson and makes no warranties with respect to Sensi. Emerson, Sensi and related marks and logos are trademarks of Emerson, Inc. Other product/company names are trademarks of their respective owners.