Beat the Heat: Summer Energy Saving Tips
Posted on June 18, 2020 by Will Gehrke
Tags, Energy, General Interest
Summer is almost here, but with warmer weather can come higher cooling costs, whether you live in an apartment or own your home. CUB has compiled the following strategies to reduce energy and save money this summer.
Electricity bills have two components. First, the fixed charge, which is a set dollar amount charged on a monthly basis. The second component is the volumetric charge, which is based on usage. Electricity usage is billed monthly based on usage between meter readings. Electricity bills often increase during the summer, primarily due to increased air conditioning costs. With many people continuing to work from home in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, costs related to home cooling could be even higher.
Energy Saving Tips:
Use Your Thermostat Efficiently
Avoid setting your air conditioner’s thermostat at a colder setting than necessary when first turning it on. Air conditioners remove heat from the home at a constant rate. Initially setting your air conditioner at a colder-than-necessary temperature does not cool your home any faster. And if you forget to turn the temperature down, you could increase electricity consumption.
Use Window Coverings
During warm periods of the day, close blinds and drapes to block sunlight and reduce the need for cooling. Insulated drapes and honeycomb style blinds are particularly energy efficient window coverings. Window coverings are especially effective if you have inefficient single-pane windows.
Don’t Cool Unused Rooms
If you use room air conditioners, close the doors of unused rooms to localize the cooler air to where it’s needed most.
Use Fans
Fans allow you to keep cool while using less energy than air conditioning systems. Ceiling fans use 5% of the energy of a window air conditioner unit. During the nighttime, if suitable for your climate and safety concerns, open your windows and blinds to let cooler air into the home.
Maintain Air Conditioning Units
Conduct regular maintenance on your air-conditioning system to ensure that it runs more efficiently. Ask your service technician to check and clean the heat coil in your air conditioning unit.
CUB is a strong believer in energy efficiency because it is advantageous for individual customers and the system as a whole. Energy efficiency helps customers lower their utility bills and energy usage. Lower system-wide energy usage decreases the need for additional utility investment in system resources such as generation, distribution, and transmission lines. The costs of these resources are paid for by utility ratepayers. An energy efficient system is least-cost for all customers because the least-cost kilowatt hour is that which is not needed.
Have a great summer and keep cool using these energy efficiency tips!
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06/19/20 | 0 Comments | Beat the Heat: Summer Energy Saving Tips