ARC Window Films

Understanding your energy bill

In these money and eco aware times it is becoming increasingly important to save both money and energy in a variety of aspects of your life. Your home, and in turn your energy bills are a great place to cut some of the cost and also the size of your carbon footprint.

Unfortunately, whilst these bills contain an absolute wealth of information about not only your usage but also your energy rates they are not always the easiest to understand.

Of course, not all electricity bills will look exactly the same and you may have to know where your energy provider of choice places each section however ultimately just by understanding the basics of each section you will be on your way to being able to interpret the information that you are sent.

Billing Period

Here you will find what dates your utility company has taken readings on your meter. You will find that that these dates will around the same time each month, although at times there may be some slight variations.

Amount owed

This is probably the first thing you are likely to look at when you receive your bill. After all it shows exactly what you need to pay. This charge is calculated using the two dates that you will find detailed in your billing period. The difference between these two amounts is multiplied by your energy rate and this creates your charge.

Average Usage

This section is probably one of the most useful when it comes to understanding your energy usage at home. They may be presented to you in a daily average or perhaps a monthly average but both will show your peak points. Of course during winter months energy usage is often higher than during the summer but you might also find out other factors that attribute to the amount of energy that you use.

Energy Rates

Here you will see your current applied energy rates. This may be split into peak and non-peak hours with the non-peak hours generally being cheaper than the peak hours. The reason behind this is because the grid that provides the energy is not used as much during the non-peak hours meaning that a lesser rate can be charged (encouraging people to use more energy at these times).

Knowing whether or not you are being charged dependant on the time you use the energy can lead you to making some cuts and saving money. Examples of this can be to only use tumble dryers during the night rather than when you get home.

So there you have it, a brief, yet informative guide to understanding your energy bill. Why not take some time to see what you can understand from your next one. You might be surprised by the money that you can save.

Of course, making changes to your energy use can come from a variety of different directions. One great way is with window films, just like the ones that you can get from www.arcwindowfilms.co.uk.

So make sure that you take the time to look into the different ways that you can make a difference to your energy bill and save yourself some money!