Take Our Advice ...

Beat the heat, with efficiency

There is still plenty of warm weather left, so it's not too late to take a few measures to be more energy efficient. Here are a few summertime tips, useful at home or at work, from Tony Motto, the University's energy program manager:

• Close the drapes to keep out the hot daytime sun, especially on south- and west-facing windows.
• Turn the air conditioning thermostat up to 78 degrees -- or higher -- to reduce cooling costs.
• Shut air conditioning vents and close doors to rooms that are used the least.
• Turn off lights and computers when not in use, and set fax machines and printers to "sleep" mode.
• Delay laundry and dishwashing to nighttime, away from peak-demand hours.
• Prepare meals that don't require an oven or stove.
• Turn off electric heat pumps in backyard swimming pools, or better yet, replace them with solar heat pumps.
• Change air conditioner filters regularly.