It’s almost that time to fuel up the barbecue and dust off those beach chairs, summer is almost here! While summer brings fun in the sun, it also can bring extreme heat and severe storms. With that, PECO has been hard at work to ensure our electric infrastructure is prepared to handle increased demand during the hotter summer months and prevent outages caused by severe summer storms.
These preparations include testing systems, processes, and procedures to respond to severe weather, and completing projects and initiatives across the region to ensure there is enough electricity to keep customers’ fans and air conditioners humming all summer long.
To ensure everyone stays safe this summer, PECO offers important storm readiness resources, including how to prepare for an approaching storm, how to properly use generators if power is lost, what to expect after storms, and how to stay safe. Customers can act now to prepare for severe weather by visiting peco.com/storm.
In addition, customers can lower their bills during the summer months by following a few simple tips:
- Turn it off: Turn off all unnecessary lighting and devices.
- Manage your thermostat: Keep thermostats at a constant, comfortable level when at home. Raise the thermostat setting for days of extreme heat to save even more. Install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust your home’s temperature settings when you’re away or sleeping.
- Keep shades, blinds, and curtains closed: About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply closing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your home
- Use ceiling fans to circulate air: For those without air conditioning, use ceiling fans or portable fans with the windows partially open to circulate fresh air into your home. For those with air conditioning, fans can be used to evenly distribute cool air
- Use appliances wisely: Run appliances that produce heat (like clothes dryers, ovens, and dishwashers) at night when it is cooler.
- Service your AC: Make sure to replace or clean the air filters for your cooling system at least once a month (or as often as recommended by the manufacturer) and have your system serviced regularly.
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