Whether you rent, own a home or own a business, your energy bill will be higher in the winter as your furnace works overtime to keep you comfortable. To control your monthly costs, it’s critical to manage your energy usage during the winter season.
Understand what impacts your winter bill
- You turn up the heat to stay warm when it’s cold outside. Regardless of your fuel source, your furnace needs electricity to help keep you warm. You may also use electric space heaters, which use a lot of energy and increase your monthly bill.
- Big drops in temp make your furnace work harder, even when you’re asleep or if your business is closed.
- Colder weather and shorter days mean you’re spending more time indoors, using more lights and electronics and adjusting the thermostat to stay comfortable.
Easy ways to save on your energy bill
- Seal air leaks around your doors and windows – simple steps like caulking, or using low-cost, clear plastic window sheeting is an effective way to keep warm air in and cold air out.
- Replace your furnace filter at least every three months to keep your furnace running efficiently.
- Use energy efficient lights. In these darker, colder months, switching to LED lighting can help manage your energy use and your bill.
- Install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust temperatures based on your schedule— you can save up to 10% a year on heating and cooling costs by dialing down your thermostat.
- Find instant rebates on all energy efficient products like LED lightbulbs, programmable and smart thermostats, air purifiers, and more at the DTE Marketplace plus free shipping on your order.
- If you’ve recently completed an energy efficiency project or think you may qualify for a rebate, visit our rebate center.
Understand your monthly bills
- Learn how to read your DTE bill with our helpful guide.
- Double check your gas supplier – you may not realize you are using an alternative gas supplier. Check your bill in your online account to see who is supplying your natural gas, then head to michigan.gov/compareMIgas to compare prices.
Manage your bill
- If you don’t already have one, create a DTE online account to easily sign up for billing programs and monitor your energy usage.
- Check out our free energy usage tools in your online account.
- If you’re a residential customer, select “Analyze My Bill” after logging in to see a personalized breakdown of your energy usage, helping you make the right decisions for your budget.
- If you’re a business customer, you can see an hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly breakdown of your energy usage to understand how your business uses energy year-round.
- From paperless billing to programs that level out your monthly bill, find the billing program that works best for you or your business.