Time for a Fall Furnace Tune-Up?
If you haven’t turned on your furnace yet, you’ll probably need to soon. The nice warm weather we’ve had recently has vanished and we’ll be facing temperatures in the 30′s next week. To help ensure your furnace is running efficiently, we suggest you make sure that you’ve changed your furnace air filter recently and that you get your furnace serviced every one to two years.
Energy Star recommends checking the filter every month. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it, and at a minimum, be sure to change the filter every 3 months. If you don’t change your air filter on a regular basis, the air flow will slow down and your HVAC system will need to run harder, leading to wasted energy. In addition, a dirty filter may lead to dust and dirt accumulating in the HVAC system which could lead to expensive repairs.
Most furnace manufacturers recommend an annual tune-up. If you are in need of repairs or an annual tune-up, we have compiled information from several Milwaukee area furnace experts, including some decent furnace tune-up coupons. If you are aware of any other quality HVAC contractors in the Milwaukee area offering a deal, please contact us and we’ll add the information to our post.
1st Choice Heating and Cooling has four coupons on their website, including coupons for $5 off any service if you provide them with your email and $25 off a service call (does not apply to diagnostic charges or tune-ups). Coupons expire 12/31/2011.
Allied Heating & A.C., LLC has a coupon for a $79 furnace tune-up. Expires 10/31/2011.
Burant Heating and Air Conditioning LLC has a coupon on their website for $10 off a regularly priced $105 performance tune-up.
Burkhardt Heating & Cooling has a coupon for $20 off any service over $100.
RJ Heating and Air Conditioning LLC gets kudos for listing their prices up front. $84 for a gas furnace cleaning, $99 for an oil furnace/boiler cleaning, and $25 for a carbon monoxide text.
Seider Heating and Air Conditioning – Lists their prices in a FAQ. Tune up prices for a gas furnace or gas boiler is $99.95. Tune up for an oil furnace is $169.
You can also use a free service called Service Magic to search for contractors. After filling out a little information on the Service Magic website, they will match you up with up to four contractors. Contractors can compete for your business and you have the opportunity to review comments from past customers in order to help you find the best match for your needs.
Interested in saving more money by conserving energy? Check out our other helpful energy savings tips.
Milwaukee Furnace Service Coupons
Thanks to the arctic blast that has arrived in Milwaukee, furnaces have been working overtime to keep homes warm. To help ensure your furnace is running in tip-top shape, we suggest you make sure that you’ve recently changed your furnace air filter. In fact, Energy Star recommends checking the filter every month. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it, and at a minimum, be sure to change the filter every 3 months.
If you don’t change your air filter on a regular basis, the air flow will slow down and your HVAC system will need to run harder, leading to wasted energy. In addition, a dirty filter may lead to dust and dirt accumulating in the HVAC system which could lead to expensive repairs.
If you are in need of repairs or an annual tune-up, we found several furnace tune-up coupons from Milwaukee area furnace experts that might be useful to you. If you are aware of any other quality HVAC contractors in the Milwaukee area offering a deal, please contact us and we’ll add the information to our post.
1st Choice Heating and Cooling has four coupons on their website, including coupons for $5 off any service if you provide them with your email and $25 off a service call (does not apply to diagnostic charges or tune-ups). Coupons expire 12/31/2011.
Allied Heating & A.C., LLC has a coupon for a $79 furnace tune-up. Expires 1/31/2011.
Burant Heating and Air Conditioning LLC has a coupon on their website for $10 off a regularly priced $105 performance tune-up.
Burkhardt Heating & Cooling has a coupon for $20 off any service over $100.
RJ Heating and Air Conditioning LLC gets kudos for listing their prices up front. $84 for a gas furnace cleaning, $99 for an oil furnace/boiler cleaning, and $25 for a carbon monoxide text.
You can also use a free service called Service Magic to search for contractors. After filling out a little information on the Service Magic website, they will match you up with up to four contractors. Contractors can compete for your business and you have the opportunity to review comments from past customers in order to help you find the best match for your needs.
Interested in saving more money by conserving energy? Check out our other helpful energy savings tips.
WE Energies Rate Increase Effective January 1, 2011
According to an article by Thomas Content on JSOnline, rates for WE Energies residential and business customers went up January 1st.
The average residential customer will experience an increase of $5.50 a month, which is an increase of about 4.7% on a typical utility bill. That’s an average increase of $66 a year! The reason for the increase is WE Energies has finished paying out credits to customers from the sale of the Point Beach Nuclear power plant.
But wait, there’s more bad news.
The average business customer of WE Energies is going to see their rates go up 8 – 13%, and Content mentions that one energy intensive business will see their rates go up 20%. What will these Milwaukee area businesses do? Pass the increases along to customers by raising their prices? Reduce salary increases, bonuses, and profit sharing? Layoffs? Not hire new employees?
Sorry, it gets worse.
More rate increases are on the horizon. The Public Service Commission will be meeting on January 6th to discuss a rate increase proposal for 2011. Content also reports that it is expected WE Energies will file paperwork in March to request another rate increase for 2012.
What is your reaction to this news? Do you plan to take action to offset the rate increases? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Throughout 2011 we’ll be sharing strategies to help you reduce your utility bill. In the meantime, here are a few helpful posts we’ve written in the past:
- How to Get a $50 Credit on Your WE Energies Bill
- Save Money on Your WE Energies Bill with a Time of Use Program
- WE Energies Budget Billing
- How to Seal Air Leaks in Your Home
- Home Assessment Tool from Focus on Energy
- Have You Changed Your Furnace Air Filter Recently?
Save Money on Your WE Energies Bill with a Time of Use Program
If you’re looking for ways to reduce your energy bill, it’s worth your time to explore the three Time of Use programs offered by WE Energies. In a Time of Use program energy prices are lower during off-peak hours and prices are higher when demand is high.
WE Energies offers three levels for Wisconsin customers to choose from. When comparing the three levels versus your current billing, keep in mind the standard cost per killowatt-hour (kwh) is $0.12611 at this time.
Level 1 – The off-peak cost of electricity is 9 cents per kwh. On-peak price is 19 cents per kwh. This is a good level to get familiar with the program.
Level 2- The off-peak cost of electricity is 5 cents per kwh. On-peak price is 25 cents per kwh.
With Levels 1 and 2, customers have four options of how their on-peak hours are defined:
- 7am to 7pm
- 8am to 8pm
- 9am to 9pm
- 10am to 10pm
According to WE Energies, Level 1 may be best for customers who can shift 53% to 62% of their electricity use to off-peak hours, do not have many large electric appliances, and do not have electric heat. WE Energies suggests that Level 2 may be best for customers who can shift over 62% of power usage to off-peak hours and have many electric appliances.
Level 3 is a pilot plan for residential customers in effect through January 1, 2011. According to WE Energies, this level has on-, mid- and off-peak periods with prices that vary by season. This level offers the greatest potential savings if used correctly, but it also has high risk if you use too much on-peak electricity. Therefore, it may be wise for customers interested in time of use programs to get acquainted with the program by using Level 1 and Level 2 before moving on to Level 3. Click here to see all the details on Level 3.
To enroll in one of WE Energies Time of Use residential programs, call WE Energies at 800-242-9137. Commercial customers can obtain more information on their options by calling WE Energies at 800-714-7777.
Related posts:
- How to Get a $50 Credit on Your WE Energies Bill
- WE Energies Budget Billing
- Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program
Tips on Buying a New Dehumidifier
Now that the weather is getting warmer in Wisconsin, it is more likely that households will start running their dehumidifiers on a regular basis. This is a good time for homeowners to inspect their dehumidifier and to determine if the purchase of a new, energy-efficient dehumidifier makes economic sense.
As we discussed last June, according to the WE Energies Appliance Calculator, the estimated cost to operate a standard dehumidifier is about $25 a month! Using an Energy Star dehumidifier could save you about $7.50 a month. Assuming you use a dehumidifier four months out of the year, annual savings would be about $28. And, don’t forget, WE Energies rates went up in 2010 and are projected to continue increasing in 2011.
Consumer Reports suggests purchasing a model that scored the best efficiency ratings in their test, and to purchase the largest-capacity dehumidifier that you can afford because it will work quicker and more efficiently than a smaller unit. Subscribers of Consumer Reports can utilize their dehumidifier buying guide. A free overview from Consumer Reports (dated June 2008) can be found here.
Energy Star also has an informative webpage with information on specifications of Energy Star dehumidifiers, buying guidance, and frequently asked questions.
Wondering where to purchase a dehumidifier? Local stores such as Sears, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. are all good options. Although models tend to vary from store to store, making exact comparisons difficult, it is helpful to do some comparison shopping online before stepping into a store. The #1 sales ranked dehumidifier on Amazon.com right now is a Frigidaire 50-Pint Dehumidifier currently pricing at $185 with free super saver shipping. The same dehumidifier is currently on sale at Best Buy for $179.99 but standard shipping is $30.42. However, the nice thing about Best Buy is you can buy online, and pickup in your local Best Buy store.
Have any advice to share with our readers about your experiences with dehumidifiers? If so, please leave a comment.
We regularly feature energy savings tips to help Milwaukee area consumers reduce their utility bill. Follow this link to see all of our previous energy savings tips.
