
JEA wants to remind customers of cold weather tips, as there is a direct correlation between weather and energy consumption. Following the tips below can help customers save on their utility bill and protect their home’s infrastructure.
Heating accounts for up to 50% of energy consumption for the typical home. JEA recommends the following conservation tips:
- Set your thermostat to 68 degrees; lower it to 65 at bedtime and 55 – 60 if you are away for an extendedperiod.
- When adjusting your thermostat, increase the temperature by one degree at a time. Rapid swings in thermostat settings could turn on your system’s auxiliary heating, or heat strips, which can be costly to run. Watch this video to learn more.
- Consider using space heaters in occupied spaces while turning down the thermostat to avoid the costs of heating your entire home. Keep safety in mind: Never leave a space heater unattended, on while sleeping, or close to flammable items. Make sure the space heater has “tip over protection.” Watch video on space heater safety.
To manage your costs during a cold snap:
- Monitor your consumption on jea.com: JEA offers tools on its website to help customers track their daily electric and water consumption. Customers with a JEA online account can view the Daily Usage Graph on their Manage My Account page and My JEA Utility Tracker to better understand what they’re using and when.
- Pay close attention to the impact that heat strips have on your bill: Check to be sure your system is in heat mode rather than emergency heat mode. Auxiliary/emergency heat, or electric heat strips, use more energy than a conventional heat pump, which can lead to higher electricity costs.
To protect your home’s infrastructure, JEA suggests these tips as temperatures drop below freezing:
- Drip outside faucets in a steady stream to prevent pipes from freezing.
- Let water drip slowly from inside faucets, both hot and cold.
- Wrap any exposed pipes and backflow preventers located outside or in unheated areas.
- If a washing machine is in an unheated room such as a garage, disconnect both the hot and cold water lines. Place both in the drain pipe behind the washing machine. Drip both faucets at a steady stream.
- Know the locations of water shutoff valves and sewer clean-outs.
JEA offers a variety of flexible billing and payment options to help with higher bills:
- JEA MyBudget, a levelized payment program that takes a rolling average of your last 12 bills so that your monthly payment will be about the same every month. Learn more
- Payment Extensions and Arrangements: These tools give customers more time to pay their balance due. Payment extensions push out a customer’s due date, while payment arrangements allow customers to pay their balance due over monthly installments. Learn more
- Access to Community Resources: We can point the way to third-party groups that offer utility bill assistance. Learn more.
- Find more cold weather tips at jea.com/winter
About JEA
JEA is a municipal utility providing safe, reliable and affordable services to more than one million residents across four Northeast Florida counties. JEA is not owned by investors and does not earn a profit. It was created by the City of Jacksonville to meet the electricity and water needs of those who live in Jacksonville and surrounding communities. JEA’s 2,200-plus workforce is dedicated to meeting customers’ needs, both today and for generations to come, while protecting our precious natural resources and supporting our region’s growth and economic development. Learn more at jea.com.
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