As UA students transition from dorm life to Alabama off-campus housing, they are quick to learn how electricity bills can drain bank accounts faster than groceries or any other activities. In on-campus dorms, the semester payment covers all of the bills, and students do not have to worry about paying utilities separately. When searching for your first apartment, there will be the discussion of utilities like electricity, water, gas, and garbage pickup. While all-inclusive Tuscaloosa apartments include these costs in rent, many do not. It is an important lesson to learn how to ensure that your electricity bill does not spike too high, especially as students living in the digital age. Here are the top four things to remember when you move into your first UA apartment:
Turn off your thermostat when you leave your apartment.
As any Alabama resident knows, the weather in town can be unpredictable. Whether it's the summer heat, or the ups and downs of the winter, it can be easy to turn on the heat or AC to reflect the weather and leave it running. Especially after living in the dorms, where slight changes can make the perfect atmosphere inside each dorm without worry about the electricity bill. However, leaving the air running while you are in class or out for the day can take excessive electricity and increase your bill exponentially.
While the reminder to turn the lights off seems trivial, it can make a huge difference in total electricity bills at the end of each month. It can be easy to get wrapped up in the day to day of student life, with activities, classes, homework, and socializing. Opening the blinds and letting in some natural sunlight during the day will not only allow you to keep the lights off, but also to regulate the temperature in your UA student apartment as well. It is vital to make sure that the lights are kept off when you are not home during the day, or when you go to sleep at night.
Unplug devices when not in use.
Extension cords, speakers, chargers, decorations like twinkle lights and rock lamps, and wax warmers all use electricity. When leaving the dorms, which can be strict on these kinds of devices, students get excited to use them, but then neglect to turn them off and unplug them when they are finished. Remembering to do so makes a difference in bill price and can help students to keep them low.
Use cold water when doing laundry.
For students who have apartments with washing machines near University of Alabama, it is excessively important to wash clothes with cold water. When the machine heats the water, it uses a large amount of electricity to do so, and this can be a large portion of monthly electricity bills. Using cold water also helps to avoid clothes shrinking and colors bleeding. If the option is available on the machines, choose options that require less water as well. This combination will significantly reduce electricity bills and allow more room for devices and other electricity use.