A quarter-inch gap around the perimeter of an attic access hatch potentially can leak the same amount of air supplied by a typical bedroom heating and cooling duct!
Do your part to help reduce peak loads this summer
The hottest days of summer – when energy demand at your local electric cooperative is highest – place a lot of stress on Iowa’s utility network. The greatest peak loads generally occur from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., when air-conditioning systems are running and families arrive home and start using household appliances. You can help reduce summer peak loads by using small appliances for cooking, doing laundry during early-morning or late-evening hours, closing windows and using curtains or blinds during the day to keep the sun from overheating your home.
In this month's issue:
Your local electric cooperative
now has in place
a diverse menu of rebates
and incentives that are
available to you and all
members of your co-op.
Trees may seem harmless on a calm, sunny day. But add a bit of wind or ice on a stormy night and those towering pillars may threaten your home's electric supply.
Here are four good methods to try for staying comfortable without air-conditioning.
From past issues:
Every adult and responsible
child in your home should know how
to safely shut off and restore power to
your home at the electrical service panel.
After two years of declines, the price tag for building power plants and purchasing utility equipment has begun climbing once again. An improving world economy and hikes in costs for skilled labor, fuel and raw materials are driving up expenses. These higher prices likely will affect your electric bills in the not-too-distant future.
There's no getting around it: The large electric cooking appliances in your kitchen can consume a lot of electricity. However, by using those energy guzzlers efficiently and doing smaller jobs with smaller appliances, you can help keep your electric bills in check.
Editor's Choice Contest
» ENTER TO WIN!
An early warning is your best protection against severe weather
You won’t be awakened in the middle of the night by an emergency alert that doesn’t apply to your county, if you have this weather alert clock radio next to your bed. This unit allows you to easily program which weather alerts and civil announcements you want to hear.
Co-op Cooks
Put together a plan to handle weather emergencies
At this time of year, severe storms, tornadoes and floods can hit without much advance notice, so it’s important to create a plan for all the members of your family to follow. Here are some tips from the department of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.