Our service area expecting some serious high temperatures over the next week! Keep reading for important information about managing hot weather and energy use, or visit ready.gov/heat for important heat safety information.
Staying Cool and Saving Energy
As temperatures rise, most people find themselves using more energy to keep their homes cool. Check out the tips below to beat the heat while saving energy, or use our free Home Energy Calculator for custom, season-specific efficiency advice!
- Sunlight adds unwanted heat to your home; make sure that your blinds or curtains are closed during the heat of the day.
- Fans cool people, not rooms. Leaving a fan on will not bring down the temperature of your home, so make sure to turn off fans when you are no longer using them.
- Cook with a crock pot or grill. Your oven and stove can add unwanted heat to your home, causing your air conditioner to work harder and use more energy.
- Make sure to seal any air leaks around doors or windows with caulk and weather stripping to keep warm air out and cool air in.
Severe Weather
Hot temperatures can come with the risk of severe storms. Make sure you and your family have a plan and know how to stay safe if storm damage leads to outages. Visit our Outage Safety page to sign up for Outage Alerts, review important safety information, and more!
Peak Alerts
During extreme temperatures, you might here people talking about peak alerts. Peak alerts occur when demand for electricity is reaching a new high, or “peak,” which can increase the cost that electric providers have to pay for the energy that they deliver to you. When that cost goes up, so do your energy bills.
To avoid a price increase, we ask our members to voluntarily reduce their electricity use during times of extreme demand. Make sure to turn off unused lights and appliances, and hold off on using large appliances like your dryer or dishwasher until the weather cools down in the evening. Follow this link to learn more about peak alerts.
Reliability
This summer, Ohio is at a low risk for rolling blackouts, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t possible during times of extreme weather. Learn more about rolling blackouts and grid reliability on our Energy Policy Resources page.
