NOVEC Offers Cool Tips for Hot Days

June 09, 2011

Contact: NOVEC Public Relations, 1-888-335-0500, customerservice@novec.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Summer begins on June 21, but Northern Virginia is already experiencing record-setting hot days. The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative offers easy, no- and low-cost ways to stay cool:

  • Set the air conditioner thermostat at 78 degrees when family members are home; run fans to feel cooler. Set it a few degrees higher if no one or pet is at home.
  • Before turning on the AC, make sure all storm and regular windows are closed and locked.
  • Close window shades, blinds, and drapes on the sunny sides of the home. As a quick, temporary solution, tack up insulating cloth available at fabric stores or old bed sheets.
  • Delay running the dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer until late at night or early in the morning.
  • Turn the electric water heater temperature from 140 degrees to 120 degrees.
  • Turn off all unnecessary lights, electronic devices, and appliances.
  • Cook with a microwave oven instead of the stove and oven.
  • Replace or clean the AC filter monthly so it isn’t working harder.
Replace incandescent light bulbs, which produce only 10 percent light but 90 percent heat, with compact fluorescent bulbs. CFLs are cooler and last much longer. It could be a long, hot summer. Invest more to save more on electric bills:
  • Install a programmable thermostat.
  • Have at least 38-R insulation in the attic.
  • Install an attic fan.
  • Consider installing window awnings on the sunny sides of the house, if your community allows them.
  • Install Low-E film on sunny-side windows to repel heat rays.
  • Replace regular window-screen mesh with solar mesh on sunny-side windows.
  • In the fall, plant a shade tree on the southern and western sides of the house.
For more energy-saving tips, go to www.novec.com/useitwisely12.

NOVEC is a not-for-profit electric utility corporation that supplies and distributes electricity and energy-related services to more than 180,000 metered customers in Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, and Clarke counties, the Town of Clifton, and the City of Manassas Park. It is Virginia’s largest electric cooperative and one of the largest electric companies of its kind in the nation. Learn more at novec.com, or call 703-335-0500. NOVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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