Howard Electric members pay a charge based on their on-peak demand each billing cycle. Demand is the amount of power needed to supply every electrical device running in your home at peak times. As more appliances in your home run simultaneously, your demand for power increases. This is why it’s important to limit the simultaneous use of appliances during on-peak hours. On-peak hours are 6 to 8 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. each day. Demand is not billed for the other hours of the day. These hours are called off-peak hours. To reduce peak demand see the suggestions below:
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Spread out using major appliances across separate 30-minute periods during higher-cost on-peak demand hours (for example, between 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., etc). Major electrical appliances that may contribute to high demand costs include the air conditioner, clothes dryer, water heater, electric range and oven.
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Shift the use of appliances away from higher-cost on-peak demand hours, to lower cost off-peak hours. This is the most effective way to reduce your demand cost.
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Use a programmable or smart thermostat to reduce heating or air-conditioning usage during on-peak hours.
While the energy required to run appliances can vary by brand and model, click on the demand calculator below to see estimations of the demand created by running certain appliances.
