What’s Up? Video: How CSU customers can stay cozy while keeping their electric bills in check

Grace Hallowell:

What's Up College Station? I'm Grace Hallowell, and today I am joined by Pat McIntyre, our energy coordinator over at College Station Utilities. Hi Pat.

Patrick McIntyre:

Hey, how's it going?

Grace Hallowell:

It's going well. It is the time of year where we start using a bit more energy in our homes with our HVAC systems, our heaters turning the thermostat up a little bit. And you're here to talk to us today about some ways to save some money and save energy.

Patrick McIntyre:

Sure, sure. The heartbeat of any home or house is the HVAC system. So, we recommend whether it's going into spring or you're going to go into summer, take a look and get your AC checked out by a technician. If you're on a service contract, that's a good time to have it before the cooling season starts. You don't want to get into the start of the cooling season and have a problem, so they usually take a look at your system. They'll change out the filter if you've got one of those big cartridges in the attic like the new systems have. Or you can change out your own filter if it's in the return air in the hallway usually. Another thing we like people to do is consider a smart thermostat because it's kind of like the data center for your HVAC. It can give you run hours, what times of day it comes on. Most of them are learning thermostats, and so it gives you a lot of good data that helps you manage your energy going forward.

Grace Hallowell:

From a personal standpoint, recommend getting your systems checked. My husband and I, our system went out over the weekend during the freeze-

Patrick McIntyre:

Oh, goodness.

Grace Hallowell:

So, it was a cold few days, but I'm glad that that happened now and not in the summertime.

Patrick McIntyre:

Yes.

Grace Hallowell:

So, what other tips can you share with us today?

Patrick McIntyre:

Well, going into spring is kind the spring-cleaning type thing. If you feel like you have some drafts or maybe some leaks in the house, that would be time. We offer a free service and energy audit through any College Station Electric Utility customers. The HVAC, we have a rebate for the connected thermostat. If you find yourself needing like in your case where you needed a HVAC. So, as long as it's the 16th or above, then we have a rebate for folks on that. Taking a look at insulation levels, at minimum, you want to have them above the joists that are shown in the attic. Usually 10 inches is a good rule of thumb, that's an R-30 new code if you're building a new construction that's R-38.

But R-30s 10 inches. That's kind of a good rule of thumb. That's something that do-it-yourself person can do. Like at the home centers, if you buy 10 bags insulation, they'll give you the machine to blow it in for free. Then just caulking around windows, looking at a lot of your recess cans. If your house like mine was built in the eighties, the recess cans were for incandescence, so they had to be vented to the attic, which is not a good thing because that's an air leak.

Grace Hallowell:

Right.

Patrick McIntyre:

So, if you replace those with LEDs, then you can seal up around them because the LEDs a lot less heat and it's not going to be any kind of safety issue like a 90-watt recess can incandescent would be back in the day.

Grace Hallowell:

So, let's talk a little more about the energy rebates.

Patrick McIntyre:

So HVAC, if you find yourself having to change your AC out, then we have a rebate for existing homes. Usually it's the first time AC. Sometimes we've had a customer come back and they're on their third AC, but a long-time customer. That rebate's been in place since 1992, so that's kind of one of our legacy rebates. So, there's a form on the website, cstx.gov/energy, and it's called Energy Back II. You just fill it out. The installer has to give you a couple pieces of information, which is the permit, and then the AHRI number. It's a reference number where we can look up the SEER back to the industry database connected thermostat kind of dovetails with the EBII because most new systems are going to get a smart thermostat with a system. And so, that's a $30 credit on your utility bill where the EB II is actually a check that you'll get.

And then same thing, the forms on the website. You got to provide a purchase receipt or if you got your AC changed out, the invoice will suffice for that. Then we have LED residential lighting, which you get $2 per bulb, up to 10 bulbs a year. So, that's an annual renewal. You got to provide a receipt with that. And that's also a credit on utility bill. The energy audit's not a rebate, but it's a free service to any College Station Utility customer. And we had a big influx of those in the summer this year after those 50 days consecutive days of a hundred degree heat. So, we were in a target rich environment.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, for sure.

Patrick McIntyre:

So, we got them knocked out and are back to our normal pace right now.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, and the energy audit is a good way for if you're like me and might not know if there's issues until they happen to catch things before you're caught in a storm, so to speak, without heat or without AC. What else do we have going on in the world of energy and electric?

Patrick McIntyre:

Well, a little bit on the energy audit, it's about 30, 40 minutes. We poke our head up in the attic. It's a visual, but a lot of times people use it as a primer for some kind of home improvement project they want to do. Some of the other things we have, we're going to be at the Home and Garden Show March 2nd and third. That's a Saturday, Sunday. Saturday is 9:00 to 5:00. Sunday is 11:00 to 4:00 at the Legend Center. And so we have a booth there with Jennifer Nations, water's on one side, electrics on the other. So Ethan Falcon, myself, and Jennifer will be manning the booths. So, come out and see us. If you want to talk energy conservation or you've got a home improvement project, you're doing some remodeling or you just want to come out and see all the vendors at the show, we'll be at a booth out there for those two days. And so, come see us.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, a great way to get your home all set and ready to go and one less thing you have to worry about.

Patrick McIntyre:

Lots of good information and vendors that are in the same business as we are out there.

Grace Hallowell:

Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

Patrick McIntyre:

Glad to be here. I'm glad your AC's back-up and running.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, me too. And that's What's Up.

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