This unseasonably warm pre-Thanksgiving weather won't last forever...and CPS Energy crews are making the rounds of homeowners associations and community centers, providing tips on saving on electricity when the weather turns cold, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The utility's John Moreno told an event at an east side senior center that it all starts with getting that pilot light in your natural gas furnace up and running after a long hot summer.
"This time of the year we do charge $24 to light the pilot light, but while we're there we do a quick safety check on that unit, as part of that," he said.
Moreno said the charge is $24 no matter how many furnaces need to be fired up.And you can check to make sure that pilot light has a blue flame.
"Because that's an indicator that it is burning correctly, if it has a blue flame," he said. "That's something that people can watch for on their own."
Another tip for making sure that you aren't wasting money on heat is to make sure your furnace isn't working unnecessarily hard
."You want to check your filters once a month during the winter months, twice during the summer but once during the winter," he said. "You also want to check around your windows to caulk any air leaks."
He says the same thing goes for around the doors, pet entrances, and any other place where your heated indoors come into contact with the outdoors. He says you don't want to spend money heating the back yard...it won't make it much warmer out there, anyway.