webadmin posted on May 11, 2014 14:12
With warmer temperatures upon us, here are some ways to save power and money. The Statesville Electric Utilities Dept. also offers Free Energy Audits. Call 704-878-3419 or email to schedule an energy audit.
- Close shades, drapes and blinds during the day;(all directions).
- Wear light weight clothing (short sleeves, shorts, cotton).
- Set the air conditioning thermostat at 78 degrees or higher. Raise it a few degrees higher when away in the day. A lower air conditioning temperature makes your costs much higher. Setting your air conditioner at 70 degrees instead of 78 can almost double your operating cost!
- Don’t choose a lower air conditioning temperature when you first turn it on. It won’t cool faster –- whenever it’s running it’s cooling as fast as it can. Set low, it cools longer, not faster.
- When weather is mild, use fans instead of the air conditioner. Your central air conditioner will use about 100 times more energy than a fan at medium speed.
- If you have ceiling fans, run the fans and the air conditioner at the same time but set the air conditioner a few degrees higher, to 80 or 81 degrees. With the breeze from a fan, you should feel as cool as you would at 78 degrees with no fans – but you’ll reduce your costs by about 15%-25%.
- Use a microwave instead of the range/oven. The microwave doesn’t heat the kitchen.
- Keep windows and doors closed while air conditioning.