Was your Huntsville Utilities bill high in January? Here’s why

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Did your eyes widen at seeing your utility bill for January? Let us explain.

We’re here to break down exactly why your utility bill may have gone up, and steps you can take right now to lower your utility bill in the coming months.

Plunging cold temps cause higher utility bills

A week of freeze warnings and a handful of snow days definitely were out of the ordinary for Huntsville residents.

Remember that icy snap a couple weeks ago that had all of us cooped up for the weekend? Temps like that are what drive up utility bills.

When the weather suddenly heats up or cools down significantly, your air system is essentially working overtime to compensate for the change in temperature.

Here’s what the folks at Huntsville Utilities have to say:

“In high bill season, the main driver is usually the electric portion of your utilities, even if you have natural gas.

If your bill goes up, it was because of extreme outside temps—hot or cold. When there are extreme weather conditions, there is just no way to completely prevent your bill from going up.”

_{Todd Long, Huntsville Utilities}

Best practices to save money on utilities

Our friends at Huntsville Utilities shared a few key tips for you to save money on your utilities:

Do:

• Bundle up in your house: Instead of turning up the heat (and wearing summer clothes), put on extra layers.
• Open curtains on sun-facing windows: Let the sun help heat your home.
• Set the thermostat as low as you’re comfortable: There is no set recommended temp, but this is a good rule of thumb.
• Use a programmable thermostat: Program or manually set your thermostat to a lower temp while you’re not home.
• Understand where your thermostat is: If your thermostat is in a cooler spot of your home, it could be reading a lower temperature than your home actually is (ex: your hallway thermostat is set to 64°, but your home is actually 68°).

Don’t:

• Shut off your HVAC system: Huntsville Utilities says this is the worst thing you can do—it could lead to frozen pipes or other damage.
• Turn on Emergency Heat: This is the biggest no-no for using excessive energy! This is meant for short-term emergencies—not regular usage.
• Use space heaters: They may make you warm quickly, but they use up a lot of energy and aren’t meant to heat large spaces (in other words, you won’t save money using a space heater over turning up your thermostat).

Using the HSVUTIL app to monitor usage

Wondering how you can watch your own usage to ensure you are being efficient? Enter the HSVUTIL app!

As a Huntsville Utilities customer myself, I use the app to:

• 📈 Monitor my home’s energy usage per day
• 💡 Get important updates + report outages
• 🤝 Support community members in need through Project Share

How to download

Don’t have the app yet? Here’s a quick guide:

• 📲 Search for “HSVUtil” in your phone’s app store + install
• 💻 Open the app + tap “Don’t have an account? Register now.”
• ➡️ Fill out the registration + tap “continue”
• 🤔 Answer the security questions on the next screen + tap “Register”
• 📧 Find the verification email in your inbox + tap “Verify account”
• 🤫 On the next screen, set your new password + tap “Save”
• 👍 Return to the main screen + log in with your new account!

From the cold to the hot seasons, Huntsville Utilities is here to help you save money while getting the services you need.

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