Although we are all feeling the pinch at the pump and on our electric bills, don’t get too discouraged. San Antonio is said to have the second lowest cost for energy of the top 100 cities in the United States, according to a recent study done by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Even with these relatively low rates, there are a few ways technology can help cut the electric bill and reduce pollution at the same time.

City Public Service Programs’ Peak Saver Thermostats
CPS is now giving away programmable thermostats to help you save money on your monthly electricity bill. These units allow you to program your AC to work with your schedule: There’ll be no turning the thermostat up before you leave for work in the morning, and no more waiting for the house to cool down when you return home. It’s all done for you. Participants also agree to allow CPS to cycle the compressors off for 10-minute periods each half-hour, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., reducing the demand for power and reducing pollution. If you are interested, contact the CPS Peak Saver program at (866) 222-7645.

Windtricity
This new program locks in your price for power over the next year and allows you to “go green” at home on a scale you can afford. Through wind farms in West Texas, CPS now allows you to purchase between 10 and 100 percent of your power through green sources at a set cost of 9.9 cents per kilowatt hour. Currently, this is still slightly more than using traditional resources, but it gives you the opportunity to use less of them. The average homeowner uses 1200 kwh (kilowatt hours) per month; if he uses 10 percent wind power, the premium would cost only $1.94 more on his bill, and 100 percent wind power would be $19.44 more. That’s at today’s energy prices; as the price for natural gas goes up, the premium will continue to get smaller.

Other ways to save at home
For starters, always look for Energy Star products when purchasing new appliances. Energy Staris a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Designed to save you money and cut back on greenhouse emissions, these products range from refrigerators to battery chargers and use on average 10 to 15 percent less energy and water than their competition. A full listing can be found at www.energystar.gov.

According to CPS, for each degree cooler than 78 degrees, your energy costs can rise between 7 and 10 percent. So if you’re not interested in the thermostat that comes with the Peak Saver program, go buy a programmable thermostat anyway. These units help to regulate the temperature during your busy week, giving you one less thing to worry about and, at the same time, lowering your electric bill. Another great way to save is to switch from standard incandescent light bulbs to lower-wattage compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). CFL bulbs last up to 10 times longer and use just one quarter of the energy compared to incandescent light bulbs. Actually, the government is already one step ahead of this trend. They have set a deadline of 2014 for an end to the production of incandescent bulbs. CPS will be following up this year with a coupon program for discounted bulbs at retailers.

One creative way to save money on your electric bill is to install dimmers in some rooms. These can cut down on your electricity usage and help to make your home much more inviting. Install them where it makes sense, like the hallways and dining room. Dimming a light bulb by just 25 percent will use roughly 20-percent less power.

Now all you have to do is get busy. It just takes a few calls and a trip to your local hardware store to start saving.

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