Information on Electricity and Conservation

Campbell Creek Park electricity bills will vary drastically depending on your habits. We lived in one of the units for 17 months and averaged $47.70 per month (over two summers and one winter). We asked the electric company to provide us with recent one-year averages for our units and one other. The average monthly bills are listed below with other information:

The difference in the above costs depends entirely on the user. We have had tenants who leave the windows open (for fresh air) or leave the heat on all day while at work. Their bills are much higher than those who get in the habit of having the heat on only in the rooms they're using, and turning everything off when they're away from home.

The following tips were offered by a long-time resident of Campbell Creek Park.

Ideas to Keep Electric Bills Low

1. Set the water heater at 120° and cover it with an insulated jacket. For every 10° you turn down the water heater, you save 6% of the energy used.
2. Turn the water heater off when you're gone for more than three days, as recommended by Chugach Electric.
3. Take five minute showers.
4. Replace water faucets that refuse to shut off easily.
5. Put a "power head" on the shower, which cuts water consumption. Showers usually account for 32% of home water use. A standard shower head uses 5-7 gallons of water per minute. Low-flow shower heads reduce water use by 50% or more. With a good model, there is little noticeable difference in the shower.
6. Do dishes by hand most of the time.
7. Wash clothes in cold water. 90% of energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water. Even a cold rinse will save a lot of electricity.
8. Don't leave tap water running when you shave or wash dishes. It can waste 3-5 gallons per minute.
9. On a windy day, test for leaks around the baseboard, stove vent, windows and doors. Stuff insulation into any cracks.
10. Put plastic over the downstairs window and the sliding glass door upstairs during the winter.
11. Get a space heater and heat the space you're in rather than the entire apartment.
12. Turn down the thermometer when you leave the house or room. Heating accounts for about 40% of energy used in a home.
13. Get into the habit of turning off lights, heat, and other appliances when you leave a room and turning them on when you go into a room.
14. Never leave windows and doors open when the heat is on, except for very short periods as necessary to clear the air.
15. Dress a little more warmly so you are comfortable with slightly cooler inside temperatures.
16. Install compact fluorescent light bulbs. They screw into standard sockets and give off light which looks just like traditional incandescent light. They are more expensive initially, but you can save about $30 per bulb over the lifetime of the bulb.
17. Hang a curtain at the bottom of the stairwell to keep much of the heat from escaping upstairs.