Gainesville resident Joshua Pettit has been seeing unusually high utilities rates over the past few months, so he wanted to see what he could do to cut them down.
One possibility, Pettit found out, is Gainesville Regional Utilities' free home-energy surveys.
The surveys save customers an average of about $100 in electric costs per year, according to GRU. This does not include water, wastewater or natural gas savings.
Pettit’s recent bills are what pushed him to contact GRU to have the utility perform a survey. GRU's rates are some of the highest in the state of Florida, and local residents have complained about rates in the past.
“I’ve noticed it’ll go up to about three [hundred] down to two [hundred]," Pettit said about his bill totals. "It’s been low twos the last couple months, I think.”
During Pettit’s home survey, Michael McCabe, residential efficiency program coordinator for GRU, was able to identify problems in Pettit's home that could be causing the higher bills.
One problem was a leaking toilet. According to GRU, customers could see more than $200 in extra costs per year for a leaky toilet and up to $14,000 annually if a toilet is running constantly.
Customers can also save by turning their thermostats to the right temperature at certain times of the year.
“Just yesterday, [I knocked] on a guy’s door, and he opened it up with just a T-shirt on and basketball shorts. And it was cold outside," McCabe said. "I had to start shedding layers."
"Definitely dress for the weather," he recommended. "Try to layer up. That would be my first go to before you go to the thermostat.”
McCabe suggested setting thermostats to 68 degrees or lower during the winter and 78 degrees during the summer.
GRU was able to help Pettit identify other areas in which he could reduce energy costs, such as changing the coils in his air-conditioning unit.
“They shared a few concerns they had about some things that aren’t really my responsibility since I’m not the owner of the home," Pettit said. "So I’ll definitely show [the homeowner] the form [from GRU] and the suggestions made and see if there’s something they can do to help me lower my bill."
Customers can also find free cost-saving resources from GRU online, including a video version of the home-energy survey, a home energy calculator and an information page on the "winter maximum" of water consumption.