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Tips to help you save on fall, winter power bills

Winter energy efficiency tips are not only related to your home’s heating system, they have more to do with your home itself.

October, which is National Energy Awareness Month, is a great time to prepare your home for the cold winds of winter. OPPD has a library of videos to help with projects to increase your energy efficiency. The utility offers additional information on its energy efficiency page.

The video below, featuring OPPD Energy Advisor Eric BenSalah, shows how addressing leaks and poor insulation can significantly lower your heating costs. The following strategies can save energy and money while still keeping you comfortable as the cold winds blow outside. Most of the tips are free or inexpensive, requiring only a little time.

Take advantage of heat from the winter sun

Leave curtains, blinds and/or shades open in direct sunlight to warm the room. Close them at night to prevent heat loss through the windows.

Seal drafty windows

• Seal any leaky windows or doors with foal or felt weatherstripping. Using a thermal gun is a more expensive option, or you can use an anemometer. You can also simply feel around the frames to determine whether leaks exist.
• Tight-fitting, insulated drapes or shades on windows that feel drafty are a useful layer once you weatherize.

Insulate your pipes

• Insulation slows down the flow of heat and helps make your home energy efficient. Your water pipes can and should be insulated, if at all possible, wherever they are exposed to an unconditioned space.
• Insulated pipes can help deliver hot water 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than uninsulated pipes. This can mean a lower water heater tank setting, too, which can help you save money.

Adjust the temperature

• When you are at home and awake, set the thermostat as low as comfortable.
• When asleep or out of the house in winter, lower the thermostat temperature between one and four degrees. Each degree of adjustment can save you 1 to 5% in energy use.

Check your furnace

• It is recommended that your furnace have an inspection by a licensed HVAC company. Any cracks in your heat exchanger can release harmful gases when the heat is running.
• Check or replace your furnace filter at least once per month.

Reduce heat lost from fireplaces

• When not in use, be sure to close the damper on your fireplace. Keeping the damper open can be like an open window during winter. Warm air goes up the chimney.
• Have your chimney inspected and cleaned by a professional on a regular basis.

Tools available from OPPD

In addition to the changes you can make around your home, OPPD has a variety of tools available to help you with weatherization efforts:

• DIY Energy Assessment
  • This tool gives you the power to complete an energy assessment in your own home. In coordination with our partner HomeBoost, OPPD offers residential customers a simple and easy to follow DIY assessment to help find and fix the biggest areas of energy loss. This is available at a discounted price of $19.
• Weatherization rebates
  • Our weatherization rebates offer savings on both Attic Insulation and Windows. With no income requirements, these rebates are also available to all residential OPPD customers.
• Energy Efficiency Assistance Program
  • OPPD’s Energy Efficiency Assistance Program helps you make efficient improvements to your home and connects you with knowledgeable professionals. After you’ve applied and are accepted into the program, we provide a complimentary in-home energy assessment to identify areas for energy-efficiency upgrades. We then determine which upgrades best qualify for up to $3,000 in improvements, implemented by contractor partners, at no cost to the customer.
• Energy Savings Assessment
  • If you don’t have the time, budget or skills to make routine home energy improvements, check out OPPD’s Energy Savings Assessment program. We’ve partnered with CLEAResult to offer eligible customers (between 201-300% federal poverty guidelines) a free in-home energy assessment with same-day install of qualifying measures. Applications are expected to open in November 2026!