BPA suggests ways to save dollars and energy in heat
Although it's cooler at the moment, it is still summer and high temperatures are bound to return.
The Bonneville Power Administration has some tips to help conserve energy and stay comfortable during a heat wave.
"There's never a good time to waste energy," said Mike Weedall, vice president of Energy Efficiency at BPA.
Air conditioners, fans and other cooling devices place a high demand on electricity use and cranks up the electricity bill just as much as the heater does in the winter.
"Taking a few simple conservation steps can not only provide some relief for your electric bill, it can also help you stay cool while reducing the strain on the region's electricity system."
BPA recommends the following consumer actions:
• Close windows and window coverings on southand 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 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 lighterweight clothes can conserve energy. Consider air-drying clothes on a clothes line outside or on drying racks.
BPA is a nonprofit federal electric utility that markets more than a third of the electricity consumed in the Pacific Northwest.
The power is produced at 31 federal dams owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation and one nuclear plant in the Northwest and is sold to more than 140 Northwest utilities.
BPA purchases power from seven wind projects and has more than 2,000 megawatts of wind interconnected to its transmission system.
BPA operates a highvoltage transmission grid comprising more than 15,000 miles of lines and associated substations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
