Winter Guide
Winter Tips to Manage Your Energy Use
Keep your home warm and your energy bill low with Hourly Pricing. Cold-weather prices are generally lower and more stable than summer prices, but they may rise during extended periods of cold weather or unexpected cold snaps. Read on for a few tips to help you save money while enjoying the season.
When To Shift Your Energy Use
To manage your energy bill, shift your energy use away from higher-priced hours. During fall, winter and spring, higher-priced hours are 6–10 a.m. and 4–8 p.m.
You can control your energy by delaying using large appliances such as your dishwasher or laundry machine until prices are lower.
Save More with Energy-Efficient Appliances
Are you already seeing savings by shifting your energy use to off-peak hours? Save even more by using energy-efficient appliances!
Check to see if your appliances are ENERGY STAR approved. You can also find the CLEARCOST (purchase price + estimated lifetime energy costs) of your next appliance at ComEd Efficient Choice.
More Ways To Save
Sunlight is free and can help warm your home. During the day, open curtains and blinds to allow the sun’s rays to help warm your home. When the sun goes down, close curtains to keep warm air in and cold air out.
Make sure your home is ready for winter so you can cozy up with a mug of hot cocoa with peace of mind! Close doors and vents in unused rooms and replace your furnace filter monthly. Insulate your windows and doors with foam weatherstripping tape. If you’re feeling festive, add LED holiday lights to the shopping list. Have a bigger project in mind? ComEd offers rebates on heating, cooling, weatherization and more.
Use a smart or programmable thermostat to automatically lower the temperature at night and when you’re not home. You can also automate your savings by connecting your smart home technology with free Hourly Pricing IFTTT applets.
Hourly Pricing Alerts
Hourly Pricing Alerts can help you save by telling you when to shift energy use. We send you alerts when the real-time market price of electricity is trending high or if energy is expected to be in high demand the following day.
Not receiving Hourly Pricing Alerts? Subscribe to or update your alert notification preferences by logging into your My Hourly Pricing Account. This account is different from your ComEd.com account.
Plus, you can always find real-time and day-ahead prices on the Live Prices webpage, the ComEd mobile app and by calling 888-202-7787.
Need Help Paying Bills? Meet SAM.
ComEd’s Smart Assistance Manager (SAM) is a self-service tool that delivers personalized financial assistance, payment arrangements and savings recommendations based on your usage and billing history. You can verify program requirements and find tips and offerings to help you save.
Hourly Pricing’s Impact
Since 2007, Hourly Pricing participants have collectively saved over $35 million* and 131 million kWh.**
Participants have helped prevent 109,391 metric tons of greenhouse emissions from entering the atmosphere.**
That equals the amount of emissions released by driving around the Earth 11,330 times!**
From all of us on ComEd’s Hourly Pricing Team, have a wonderful winter!