Cooperative Living July 2015 - 12

ENERGY BANG FOR YOUR BUCK by Tom Tate, Contributing Writer
"
Why is my bill so high?!
S
ummer, where is thy sting? Thy
heat? Stifling humidity? Hast thou
forsaken us for fairer shores?
Must we endure these tepid days until
autumn holds sway? "
Okay, so it is not Shakespeare but,
fear not, summer will arrive, bringing the
heat and humidity we all know and
love. So, is your cooling system ready?
Regardless of how today's weather
seems, things will eventually turn hot
and sticky, and the first step in preparing
is to make sure your cooling system
is up to the task. So,
* Refrigerant level at proper charge?
* New, clean filters in place?
* Outside equipment clean and free of
debris?
* Plenty of iced tea and lemonade on
hand for internal temperature control?
Answering no to any of these questions
means you should;
* Call in an expert or,
* go to the store (for more tea and
lemonade!)
How about your temperature-control
strategy? Is it ready for the season ahead?
On especially hot and humid days, you
are making your system work harder if you
leave the thermostat at your normal temperature.
Here's a good analogy. When
you drive your car in cooler weather, it has
no problem keeping up with the heat produced
by the engine. The radiator is
awash in cooler outside air that whisks
away the heat. On summer days, the hotter,
more humid air has less ability to absorb
heat and the engine runs hotter.
Your air-conditioning system works in
a similar fashion. The outside coil is, in
essence, a radiator where the heat removed
from the house is discharged to outside
air. Sure, refrigerant makes the process
significantly more efficient than a car radiator,
but the fact remains that when the outside
air is hot, the system has less chance to
dissipate its heat into the surrounding air.
Now the system runs more to get rid of the
heat. As a result, your energy use increases
along with your electric bill.
Here's another way to look at it. If you
have your thermostat set at 76° and the
outdoor temperature is 85°, your cooling
system only has to compensate for a 9°
CURRENTS by Tom Tate, Contributing Writer
Insulation Choices, Types and Costs
T
he electric system in the United States
can be classified as one of the engineering
marvels of the modern world.
Few, if any, other countries can match it for
size and performance.
Yet, the system is not without its issues,
and one of the most serious is meeting the
demand for power on especially hot (or
cold) days.
Utilities have a couple of options when
it comes to meeting this occasional high demand.
They can upsize the lines and equip10
ment
to accommodate it safely - very expensive
and not the best use of resources,
especially if this expanded capacity is only
used a few days a year. Or, they can purchase
much more expensive electricity from
standby power plants, which is hard on the
customers' power bills.
Another action, which many electric cooperatives
take, is load control when demand
starts to rise during these peaks.
This direct control of electric load goes
by a number of exciting utility-style names
including load control, load management
and peak demand reduction. The concept
behind it is quite simple; your cooperative
installs switches on energy-consuming devices
and when the demand for electricity
nears peak capacity, the co-op sends a signal
over its power lines that turns the
switches off. If the equipment is running at
the time, it goes off. When the peak
passes, the co-op sends another signal to
turn things back on.
Candidates for such control include
Cooperative Living/July 2015
difference. But, when the outdoor temperature
goes higher, say 99°, now
your system really labors to overcome
that 23° gap.
There are solutions that are simple to
implement and that will help you save
money while staying comfortable. Draw
the blinds on the sunny side of the house
and after about 10 a.m., increase your
thermostat 2 to 3 degrees above your
normal setting.
Avoid opening and closing outside
doors as much as possible so that the
cool air stays where it belongs, inside.
Don't you tell the kids not to leave the
refrigerator door open? Same idea here.
Make sure ceiling fans in occupied
rooms and in the room with the thermostat
are running, blowing down to circulate the
air. This will reduce the workload for your
system and increase the occupant comfort.
Why use the fan in the room with the thermostat?
To make it think it is cool enough
that it doesn't have to run. Even a smart
thermostat will think it is cool. Besides, a
ceiling fan uses a lot less electricity than a
central air conditioner.
With these few simple steps, you can
set up your home to stay comfortable during
the heat of summer and protect your
budget from higher-than-necessary bills at
the same time. Now that you are ready,
get out there and enjoy the summer! Check
with your cooperative today for more
energy-saving advice. n
PROVECTORS/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
Cooperative Living July 2015

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