Summer heat boosts energy bills

Efficiency-minded homeowners can decrease their costs

The heat is here and with it, higher electric bills. For homeowners looking to cut costs, ensuring their home is energy efficient is one way to go. Richard Sevigny, who has more than 30 years experience as a contractor, is a housing rehabilitation specialist for Clark County.

Sevigny has an architectural engineering degree and became an energy auditor in the 1970s. His house was built in 1995 and, by doing simple things like installing a programmable thermostat, he decreased his energy costs by 50 percent.

"The most important thing is the air conditioner, then the duct work, then the insulation, those three things," he said.

In his job with the county, he's found a "considerable" amount of housing in the valley where developers installed one of those three incorrectly, costing the homeowner money in higher power bills. New energy codes were enacted about three years ago but older homes could still be losing money.

Some homes rely on attic vents, those silver spinning silos on rooftops. But Sevigny said there are more superior ways to cool the attic area. Having adequate ventilation between the eaves and the roof peak allows for maximum coolness in that space.

Nevada Power Co. offers energy-saving tips for homeowners on its Web site: www. nevadapower.com/takecontrol. One section addresses the notion of turning off an air conditioning unit when the homeowner is at work.

But in Las Vegas, where a typical August day averages around 105 degrees, the power company recommends lowering the settings 5 to 10 degrees warmer than when the house is occupied.

"Turning it off during the day turns your house into a huge heat battery that stores up the energy it's receiving from the sun," the site says. "When you get home, your A/C will work continuously for hours to remove all that heat."

Bob Balzar is the director of Nevada Power's energy efficiency and conservation department. He said the No. 1 thing homeowners do wrong is not changing dirty air filters. The second thing is not setting their thermostat higher when no one is home. Third is not making windows energy efficient by installing tinting or solar covers and adjusting blinds to block out the sun's rays.

For low-cost solutions to trimming power bills, Balzar suggested weather-stripping around doors and windows, setting water heaters at 120 degrees and installing programmable thermostats.

"They pay for themselves within one summer," he said of programmable thermostats. "Actually, I think it's more like one month but that (one summer) is being conservative."

When it comes to air conditioning units, Balzar advised yearly maintenance checks to help them last the expected 15 to 20 years. Anyone about to replace their A/C unit should look for an efficiency rating of 12 or higher. Nevada Power offers a rebate for homeowners installing such units.

Running a ceiling fans cools the skin and can make indoor temperatures seem 4-6 degrees cooler. They should be turned off when no one is home.

Just as important as what you use is when you use it. The power company advises running dishwashers, washers and dryers and pool systems in the evenings or before 1 p.m., to take advantage of lower electric rates.

Got an old refrigerator in your garage? It's not a good idea. Garages can easily get hotter than 100 degrees in our summers, making the refrigerator work harder to keep things chilled. Chances are, the garage unit is also an older model and not nearly as efficient as newer ones.

Homeowners should also completely shut down computers as the units use just as much electricity when they're on screen-saver mode as when they're in use. Older computers, if left on all day, use as much electricity as some refrigerators. New computers now come with energy efficient ratings, too.


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