A POPULAR energy company has promised users hours of free electricity through a new offering.
The money-saving move starts soon and extends through the weekend for qualifying homeowners or renters.
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It’s all part of Reliant Energy’s Truly Free Weekends Plan.
Those who enroll in the plan can get 100% Solar power every weekend between 8 pm local time on Friday and midnight on Monday.
Reliant emphasized on its website that it is “truly free” electricity within the window, meaning a $0 energy charge and $0 delivery fee.
To get the free electricity every weekend, customers must sign up for the 100% Solar plan through Reliant Energy.
Read More on Energy Bills
There’s no need for rooftop panels, either, thanks to the company’s Make It Solar program.
Reliant will instead “match your electricity usage with renewable energy certificates, ensuring your energy consumption is offset by solar power,” per its site.
Interested homeowners or renters can enter their ZIP code on Reliant Energy’s website to see if the free weekend electricity offer is available in their area.
Reliant Energy operates in Texas, predominantly in major cities like Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth, but also in several other regions.
TIME IT OUT
After signing up, to save the most money, it’s best to perform any high-energy-consuming tasks within the window.
Doing laundry, using the oven, running the dishwasher, and even gaming or binge-watching television during the weekend would be optimal.
Those customers with an electric vehicle would also benefit from charging it during the free electricity period.
As summer approaches, there are also several ways to save on electricity bills during the paid periods for Reliant Energy customers, and all Americans nationwide.
SAVE, SAVE, SAVE
For one, turning your thermostat up two or three degrees from 2 pm to 9 pm and using fans instead to cool off would save cash.
Reliant also advises the “4-by-4 rule,” which means that if no one is going to be home for over four hours, then the thermostat temperature should be the same number of degrees higher when gone.
Thermostat Ranges Winter vs. Summer
- Winter
- At Home: 68 degrees
- Away/Asleep: 60 to 65 degrees
- Variable depending but always seven to 10 lower than normal setting
- Summer
- At Home: 78 degrees
- Away: 85 degrees
- Asleep: 82 degrees
- Variable depending but always seven to 10 degrees higher than setting
Credit: US Department of Energy
Waiting until after the sun sets to wash clothes or use the dishwasher is also advised.
The dishwasher should also be fully loaded first.
Blackout curtains and thermal drapes can also keep heat outside without having to crank up the air conditioning.
Rotating ceiling fans counter-clockwise is also better for circulating cool air.
Even something as small as changing lighting options to LED bulbs instead of incandescent would be more energy efficient, and natural daytime lighting should provide what’s required, too.
Still, homeowners and renters should expect to see a relatively unavoidable slight increase in energy bills in the summertime.
When it’s hotter outside, the A/C unit naturally has to work harder to keep things cool inside.
There’s also an exact temperature to set a thermostat to save money on heating and cooling bills, but the “7-10 rule” must be followed.
A little-known switch on a thermostat could also save Americans $174.