If you live in Oklahoma, and I do, you noticed a big change in the weather this summer as opposed to the last two. It rained! And consequently it was much cooler. That meant my lawn didn’t burn up, the water rationing was a little less stringent, and I used less electricity to cool my house this year than last. That was good for my pocketbook and everyone’s energy usage.
Our OG&E bill is on the Average Billing cycle, but I know I spent less this summer than the last one. There are only two people living in my house these days – no teenage kids taking marathon showers using all the hot water, all the while keeping every electrical appliance in the house running at once – but we still use our fair share of electricity.
There are ways to save electricity whether the Oklahoma summer cooperates or not. At my husband’s insistence (and SOMETIMES he’s right) I shut the blinds throughout the house when the temps were expected to climb above 95° during the day. They were closed before I left for work in the morning and they stayed that way all day. It is amazing how much heat can come through those original 1980 windows that have not been replaced. Everyone knows it is cooler in the shade than it is in the sun. Even though I love the great outdoors, no one was at home to look out those windows during the day anyway, so why not? I could always open the blinds once it became cooler in the evening.
OG&E has many new ways to reduce your energy consumption like SmartHours, myOGpower and their Home Energy Efficiency Program (HEEP). Just go to http://oge.com/environment/EnergyEfficiency/Pages/EnergyEfficiency.aspx and check out the new ideas for consuming less energy and saving money. You’ll be glad you did. Be sure to follow them on Twitter @OGandE or like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OGEpower.
What innovative ideas have you come up with to save energy in your home? I welcome your comments. I’m always ready and willing to learn something new.
Compensation for this post was provided by OG&E. Opinions expressed here are my own.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 
Your post made me smile because we wondered where all the Irish rain had gone this summer – now I know. Energy consumption is a big thing here as well but we try to harness the sun’s heat to heat the water for the house and this year the solar panels proved to be a great success. No energy was used for heating water but our rainwater saving system was put under stress as we had no rain!
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So great to hear from you Maria. Sorry about the lack of rain. I thought Ireland was always green! Maybe I need to go see for myself sometime.
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We did the Smarthours oprogram this summer and saved a LOT.
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I never let the thermostat get below 76 degrees in summer, and try to keep it at 78 as much as possible. Fans are also your friend – moving air feels so much cooler than still air. And keeping a cold drink (preferably water) nearby will keep your core body temperature cooler as well.
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I’m with Rebekah on keeping the thermostat up and the fans on! We do the closed blinds thing, too – but I have a harder time with that because I like a bright house when I’m home.
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