Contact: Priscilla Knight, 703-392-1580, pknight@novec.com
Summertime, and the livin' is hot! Composer George Gershwin and the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative want the summer to be easy, but hot days and high humidity do not make home cooling easy. Extra heat and moisture from cooking, washing, and bathing make things worse. NOVEC offers these energy and money saving cooling tips:
- Close window coverings on east, south and west facing windows to block the sun during the day. Outside awnings are the most effective heat blockers.
- Set the air conditioning thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Raising the thermostat just six degrees will save between 12 percent and 47 percent in cooling costs.
- Have a qualified heating and cooling technician check the central air conditioner unit annually. Change filters every month for peak efficiency.
- Schedule heat-producing chores such as baking, cooking and laundry during the cooler morning and evening hours. Grill dinner outdoors.
- Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans to remove heat and steam. Remember to turn them off to avoid exhausting cool air.
- Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFLs use 75 percent less energy than conventional incandescent light bulbs and last much longer. Incandescent bulbs produce 10 percent light and 90 percent heat. Turn off lights when they are not needed.
- Run a portable dehumidifier instead of an air conditioner.
- On cooler evenings when the humidity is tolerable, turn off air conditioners and open the windows. Run whole house, window, ceiling, or floor fans.
- A whole-house fan, instead of air conditioning, can reduce cooling costs 35 percent to 50 percent. This powerful fan--which should be installed between the upstairs ceiling and the attic floor near the staircase--pulls hot air out of the entire house. It can exchange a home's total volume of air every couple minutes. Make sure windows are open and attic vents are clear!
- Install attic fans. They pull heat out of the attic, which cools the living space below.
- Look for the Energy Star® label when shopping for new appliances. Energy Star appliances create less heat and conserve energy.
- Install low-emission windows or low-e glaze to existing windows to reflect heat.
- This fall, plant shade trees on the southern and western sides of the home. At maturity, one shade tree over the roof can lower indoor temperatures as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
For more energy-saving tips, visit NOVEC's Home Energy Conservation Web site page.
