EnMax encourages residents to be “Winter Wise” with their energy

Dec 22, 2019 | 6:00 AM

Longer nights and colder temperatures lead many of us to use more electricity and natural gas over the course of the winter months.

But EnMax Energy has released a number of energy saving tips that they hope will make people more “Winter Wise”.

Corry Poole, Vice President of Customer Experience with Enmax, says one area to watch is the thermostat inside your house.

“On those cold nights, i want to jack up my thermostat, and it is very easy to do that. But often I forget to turn it back down again. And I think that applies to many Albertans – it is easy to move that thermostat but we often leave it up.”

Poole also suggests turning the thermostat down if you are going away from your home for a few days, as well as closing your blinds in order to keep the heat from escaping.

Meanwhile, many of us like to decorate both the inside and outside of our houses during the holiday season.

But Poole says there are things you can do to keep those lights from having a significant impact on your electricity bill.

“Make sure that you are using LED bulbs in all of your lighting, and also use a timer so that we do not go to bed with our outdoor lights on and then leave them on all night.”

EnMax Energy says electricity usage in Alberta goes up eight percent, and natural gas usage increases by 40 percent, for every 10 degrees that the temperature dips below zero.

More “Winter Wise” energy saving tips can be found online at www.enmax.ca/winterwise

by Jeff Henson