Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Message from the Consumers' Counsel:

Be energy smart when preparing for warmer weather

As the temperatures begin to climb, residential consumers often think of spring cleaning and perhaps a vacation during the warmer months. Important items to add to the list are improvements to help become more energy efficient. Spring and summer weather means it is time to pay the electric bills for running air conditioners, so even taking small steps will help save money.

In a living room and kitchen, consumers can be sure that blinds or drapes are installed to help block out sunlight during the daytime. In the bedroom, consumers should unblock all the vents where air conditioning will come out. If a window air conditioner is used, it should be turned off or its settings reduced when leaving the room.

Consumers also can help be more energy efficient by only using bathroom ventilation fans sparingly. These fans can temporarily help take out the humidity during and after a bath or shower. Overuse of the fans can pull cooled air out of a home and waste electricity.

To save energy and money throughout the home, consumers can raise their thermostat when they are at work, running errands or on vacation. By raising the temperature five degrees for a period of eight hours, up to 10 percent can be saved on their electricity bills.

A programmable thermostat allows consumers to preset a heating and cooling schedule and better manage the temperature. Programmable models store four or more settings per day and will adjust the temperature automatically based on a family or individual’s schedule. Customers with heat pumps should be sure to select a compatible programmable thermostat.

The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, the residential utility consumer advocate, has free resources to help consumers decide which energy efficient upgrades to make to their homes, including a newly created interactive tool called the Smart Energy House. The Smart Energy House helps consumers better understand how the use of appliances and other items can impact their monthly electric and natural gas bills. It also identifies tips to help consumers reduce their energy usage.

This summer, let’s remember that the cheapest unit of electricity is the one we can avoid using through energy efficiency.

Best regards,

Janine L. Migden-Ostrander