Tips on keeping cool and keeping your cool when the electric bill arrives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2009

With some scorchers predicted to hit Washington over the next week or so, it’s a good time to remind folks how to beat the heat without getting beat up by high energy bills. 

As Speaker Pro Tem in the state Legislature, as well as an energy consultant by trade in the private sector, it’s been one of my career-long goals to help Washington residents conserve energy while fostering homegrown technological advances in alternative forms of clean, renewable energy. Still, one of the quickest and easiest ways to meet our energy needs - and save money - is to adopt smarter ways of using our current supply of energy.

Here’s how. The Bonneville Power Administration has compiled a list of its top recommendations for consumers during the heat wave:

• Close windows and window coverings on south- and west-facing windows during the day. North-facing rooms stay coolest during hot weather.

• Set your cooling thermostat as high as comfortably possible in the summer. The smaller the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall cooling bill will be.

• Avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and, therefore, unnecessary expense.

• Keep lamps or TV sets away from your air-conditioning thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.

• Consider using your microwave instead of conventional stove or oven. It emits less heat and uses two-thirds less energy than an electric range.

• Operate major appliances such as dishwashers, washers and dryers late at night when there is less demand on the system. If any of your major appliances have time-delay functions, set them to operate after 10 p.m.

• Clothes dryers are big energy users. Drying towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes can conserve energy. Consider air-drying clothes on clotheslines or drying racks.

For more tips, visit the Bonneville Power Administration’s website at:

http://www.bpa.gov/Energy/N/energy_tips/save_energy/index.cfm

 

Jeff Morris is Speaker Pro Tem in the State House of Representatives, representing the 40^th Legislative District Serving San Juan, eastern and northwestern Skagit and southwestern Whatcom counties.

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