Snohomish PUD offers tips to cool home during hot weather

With high temperatures forecast this weekend, customers can do a lot to keep their home comfortable

Temperatures around Snohomish County and Camano Island are forecast to climb above 90 degrees this weekend. With the weather heating up, consider these tips from Snohomish County PUD to help keep your home comfortable:

• Upgrade to a smart thermostat: Installing a smart thermostat makes it easier to ensure that your home is cooled efficiently. The thermostat can automatically change the temperature based on the schedule and settings that you create. Currently the PUD is offering customers a manufacturer price discount and PUD instant rebate on Nest and ecobee smart thermostats in its marketplace until July 5.
• Keep your thermostat up to 78 degrees: If you have central air conditioning, turn your thermostat up to 78 degrees when you’re home and 84 degrees when you’re not. You can save 3-5% in home cooling costs for every degree you raise it.
• Close the blinds: Closing your blinds, shades or curtains on warm days keeps the sun’s rays out and helps keep your home cool. If you have air conditioning, it can also help you save energy, blocking up to 45% of the sun’s warmth.
• Use small appliances in the kitchen: While preparing meals, use a crock pot, toaster oven or microwave instead of your full-sized range or oven to keep your home cooler and save energy. These small appliances use only 20-50% of the energy needed to cook the same meal on your stove top or oven. Better yet, fire up the grill and take meal prep outside.
• Keep the AC flowing: If you have furniture in front of your central air vents or window AC unit, you could be blocking the cool air they’re trying to deliver. Check to be sure they’re not blocked, vacuum the unit or have vents cleaned, and make sure the air filter is clean.

For a more long-term strategy, install a heat pump in your home. Heat pumps provide efficient cooling and heating, and the PUD is offering instant rebates up to $2,500 for installing an eligible heat pump in an electrically heated home. For details, visit snopud.com/cooling. Customers need to have electric heat as a primary heating source to qualify and work must be completed by a PUD Registered Trade Ally.

Due to the heat, the PUD is anticipating energy demand on June 28 will be its highest ever in June. Fortunately, above-average water supply and snowpack this spring have the PUD and Northwest well-positioned going into summer.

During hot summer days, energy demand peaks after noon and before 10 p.m. Customers should try to conserve energy usage during those times. Wash dishes, run laundry and take showers in the morning or late at night. Also customers should pre-cool their living space before 5 p.m.