Utility companies often have different rates for various periods of the day or season. Peak hours are always the most expensive time of day to use electricity. This means that during off-peak hours, when most people are asleep and not using their electricity or water supply, the price is often lower.
What you pay for your water or energy bill will also vary depending on who supplies it, as well as which plan option is selected.
What does this have to do with the price of water? While water companies generally charge a flat rate, some do offer pricing “tiers” that can save you money for water usage during off-peak times.
It’s important for people who use more electricity, water or gas in the day than they do at night to check when those high-demand times will be. It could make sense to schedule activities around those hours. This might require some planning but can ultimately result in lower monthly expenses.
What Time Of Day Is Cheapest To Use Water?
As we said, many water utilities charge a flat rate for water. But, where water can become cheaper is when you start adding in the cost of running appliances that use that water. For example, if a water heater runs on electricity, then use during the peak hours designated by an electric company can increase your overall costs.
Utility companies often charge higher rates during peak hours, but what you probably didn’t know is the difference between day and night. Peak times for a company are when everyone is using their product, be it water, gas or electricity. At off-peak times (generally the nighttime), prices drop significantly.
For example, your utility might designate certain times of day – such as when people come home from work or when they start turning on their appliances – as the peak hours for electricity use.
In cold climates where natural gas is used for heating and to power the electrical generators, winter demand can cause rates on electricity bills to increase. Paying attention to your furnaces or water heaters in these environments will also help keep prices from rising as much.
What Is The Peak Time For Water Usage?
Each utility provider charges differently, so it is best to check your bill or call your provider for the most up-to-date information.
Although different utility companies vary as to when they charge more or less for electricity, in general the peak hours will be during the busiest part of business day. This is usually around 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m on weekdays (Monday through Friday).
Some companies may reduce rates for “partial-peak times,” which are right before and after the peak hours (for example, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.). Off-peak periods may be the rest of the times not included here. Holidays are often considered off-peak times, as well.
Best Time To Run Appliances To Save Energy
Clearly, the best time for using appliances is when overall gas and electricity use is low. By choosing not to run an appliance during high demand periods, this could help reduce power plant needs since they would need less fuel due to excess capacity from peak production levels (which can lead up higher costs).
Therefore, avoiding energy consumption during times of peak demand can help lower the overall cost of future bills.
To help save costs, only run a dishwasher when it is fully loaded. This will save water while still getting clean dishes. And, did you know that running a full load of dishes in the dishwasher actually saves more money than washing them by hand?
If you are convinced otherwise, make sure to wash dishes by hand in a tub or by plugging up the sink. This will save more water over time than if you do the dishes while the water runs continuously.
Is It Cheaper To Do Washing At Night?
Think of your washing machine as an energy hog. It probably uses more electricity than you might realize, but there are ways to reduce its drain on your bill.
If you have an electricity provider who charges extra during their peak hours, run your laundry loads before 4 p.m or after 7 pm as these are the times that many people do their laundry.
Whether if is cheaper to do your laundry at night really can depend on the season. In the summer, you should run your washer early in the morning to avoid energy-sucking peak times. Winter weather increases electricity use earlier in the day, so you’ll save money if you do your laundry later at night.
Additionally, the permanent press cycle uses more water during the rinse cycle, so avoid using that setting whenever possible.
Best Time To Run Dishwasher
We’ll bet that you run your dishwasher either right after dinner when everything is at it’s dirtiest, or first thing in the morning as you leave for work. Doing so during either of these periods could be increasing your energy costs, though!
The cheapest time to run a dishwasher, on a pure monetary basis, is when the electric company features off-peak hours. This time period could bring you as much as a 50 percent savings over running the dishwasher during peak hours.
Check your utility company’s website to find out what they consider to be their off-peak hours, then run your dishwasher during those times. You’ll save even more money if you run your washing machine and dryer during off-peak hours, too.
Conclusion
There are some simple things you can do to save money on your utility bills. Make sure that when it comes time for washing, do so during off-peak hours and at night. Use the cold-water setting, if possible. Also use the shortest washing cycle and clean dryer filters before each use.
If you have any questions how to save on your water bill, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.