Home heating costs are rising as many work from home

ATLANTA — Many consumers are experiencing higher-than-normal home heating bills. The rise in costs can be contributed to many people spending much more time at home. The pandemic has allowed many to convert portions of their homes into new workspaces. The increase in heating costs can put a strain on already tight pandemic finances.

“In a time like this, hopefully people are figuring out how to make things work,” Bubba Ruppe said.

Ruppe understands the stress of the increased bills. He works from home, and is juggling rising heating costs as the temperatures continue to trend downward.

“The heat, we’ve noticed we’ve been using it more because we’re home,” Ruppe said.

Ruppe has started doing some things that hopefully will help lower costs.

“Some of the rooms that we don’t use and only have for storage, we shut the vents off in those rooms,” Ruppe said.

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Atlanta Gas Light has offered tips to help customers to try and lower their costs.

“Open window coverings during the day to allow that sunlight in to heat your home naturally,” said Tiffany Callaway-Ferrell, Vice President of Operations for AGL.

“Caulking and weather-stripping drafty doors, that is huge,” Callaway-Ferrell said.

Even with the money-saving tips, some customers are still falling short of their obligations.

“They’ve never had to worry about energy costs, so we do have some energy assistance programs available,” Callaway-Ferrell said.

The brutal cold temperatures that the metro has been experiencing lately shows just how important proper heat is to a home.

“We’ve got to have our heat, and there are probably a lot of families going through it,” Ruppe said.

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