5/26/2015

Hot weather drives up energy use, but you can fight back

   June is one of my favorite months. School’s out, farmers markets are in, fish are biting and the days are long—and getting hotter.
   With another sizzling Mississippi summer on the horizon, now is the time to prevent it from heating up your energy bills.
   As a member-owned cooperative, your electric power association ranks service as its No. 1 priority, and that includes helping members manage their energy costs. We are not in business to make money for Wall Street investors; we exist to provide you with a necessary service at a reasonable rate and to help you use it wisely.
   You can find good energy-saving tips all day long on the Internet. But I’d like to emphasize a few because they work for Mississippians, where extreme humidity accounts for as much of our summer discomfort as the temperature.
   Topping my list is the setting on your air conditioner’s thermostat, whether a central or window unit. On hot days, raise the thermostat a few degrees to, say, 78 or 80 degrees. The goal is to keep your air conditioner from running all day and night. The longer it runs, the more energy it consumes and the higher your electric bill will be.
   If you use window air-conditioning units, cool only the rooms you are using; close off the bedroom vacated by your just-married daughter.
   Select the energy-saving mode, if your air conditioner has one. If you plan to buy a new air conditioner or any major appliance, look for the yellow EnergyGuide label to compare different models’ energy efficiency.
   Supplement your air conditioning with fans. Moving air helps evaporate moisture from the skin, which makes you feel much cooler even though it doesn’t actually lower the temperature of the room. Fans can also help move conditioned air throughout smaller homes.
   Fans are so effective at making us feel cooler that you might be able to turn off your air conditioner at night if you use a fan in the bedroom. But turn off fans in rooms not being used; if the fan is not blowing on you, it’s not cooling you or the room, just wasting electricity.
   Schedule household chores that add heat to the house, such washing and drying clothes and dishes, for the cooler evening hours. Done during the heat of the day, these activities will make your air conditioner run longer. Wash clothes in cold water and dry them on low heat—or on a clothesline.
   Using a slow cooker or a microwave will help keep the kitchen from overheating. If you must use the range or oven, consider cooking in batches for later reheating in the microwave. Lighter, no-cook meals are refreshing in summer. Think salads, sandwiches, chilled soups and fruit.
   I hope these ideas get you to thinking about your daily energy use. Electricity is so easily available—you don’t have to drive to the store to buy it—that we take it for granted. We forget that every flip of an electrical switch represents a purchase of energy.

Click here to view entire news archive.