Here are JEA’s tips to protect your home, save money ahead of freezing temperatures

With a cold front set to bring freezing temperatures to Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, JEA is sharing cold weather tips to help residents save on utility bills and safeguard their home’s infrastructure..

This weekend’s rain will bring in an Arctic cold front that will present the coldest temperatures this winter.

JEA recommends the following conservation tips:

• Set your thermostat to 68 degrees; lower it to 65 at bedtime and 55 - 60 if you are away for an extended period.
• When adjusting your thermostat, increase the temperature by one degree at a time. Rapid swings in thermostat settings could turn on your system’s auxiliary heating, or heat strips, which can be costly to run.  Watch this video to learn more.

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• Consider using space heaters in occupied spaces while turning down the thermostat to avoid the costs of heating your entire home. Keep safety in mind: Never leave a space heater unattended, on while sleeping, or close to flammable items. Make sure the space heater has “tip over protection.” Watch video on space heater safety.

How to manage costs:

• Monitor your consumption on jea.com: JEA offers tools on its website to help customers track their daily electric and water consumption. Customers with a JEA online account can view the Daily Usage Graph on their Manage My Account page and My JEA Utility Tracker to better understand what they’re using and when.

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• Pay close attention to the impact that heat strips have on your bill: Check to be sure your system is in heat mode rather than emergency heat mode. Auxiliary/emergency heat, or electric heat strips, use more energy than a conventional heat pump, which can lead to higher electricity costs.

Protecting your home:

• Drip outside faucets in a steady stream to prevent pipes from freezing.
• Let water drip slowly from inside faucets, both hot and cold.
• Wrap any exposed pipes and backflow preventers located outside or in unheated areas.
• If a washing machine is in an unheated room such as a garage, disconnect both the hot and cold water lines. Place both in the drain pipe behind the washing machine. Drip both faucets at a steady stream.
• Know the locations of water shutoff valves and sewer clean-outs.

How to deal with increased bills:

• JEA MyBudget, a levelized payment program that takes a rolling average of your last 12 bills so that your monthly payment will be about the same every month. Learn more
• Payment Extensions and Arrangements: These tools give customers more time to pay their balance due. Payment extensions push out a customer’s due date, while payment arrangements allow customers to pay their balance due over monthly installments. Learn more
• Access to Community Resources:  JEA has third-party groups that offer utility bill assistance. Learn more.