Summer in Southern California usually means two things: triple-digit forecasts and finding new ways to stay cool. What if you could handle the heat without breaking the bank?
Before you resign yourself to sweating it out, consider upgrading your thermostat.
Unlike a conventional thermostat, a smart thermostat can connect to your phone, letting you adjust your home’s temperature remotely.
“The biggest money-sucking mistake people make is forgetting to adjust their thermostat when they leave their home — wasting energy and money on an empty house,” said Robert Hagstrom, a Southern California Edison advisor in Customer Energy Programs. “Being able to make those changes from anywhere can save customers up to 30% on their bills.” The technology can even learn your daily patterns and use your phone’s location to know when you’ve left the house, automatically adjusting the thermostat.
When you upgrade to a smart thermostat and enroll in SCE’s Smart Energy Program, you can get up to $125 in bill credits.
Check out SCE Marketplace to compare brands, prices and energy efficiency ratings to find the model that best fits you.
Tips to maximize your savings this summer:
- Precool your home. Before 4 p.m., when energy cost is lower, cool your house a degree or two more than usual.
- Instead of turning the AC all the way off, aim to keep the temperature at 85 degrees when you are away — a hot house makes your system work overtime when you’re ready to cool it.
- Consider enrolling in demand response programs, which reward customers with bill credits for reducing energy use during peak hours.
- Maximize your ceiling fan’s efficiency by adjusting it to turn counterclockwise, which circulates a cool downdraft.
- Turn off the lights and fans when leaving the room.
- Close your blinds to keep the afternoon heat out.
- Limit the opening and reopening of refrigerators.
- Unplug electronic devices and chargers when they are not in use.
- Give your dryer a break and hang-dry your clothes.
- Cook with a microwave or grill outside to keep your home cooler.
For more ways to help reduce your energy use, visit sce.com/billhelp.