Below are some common-sense hot weather tips:
During sunny weather, close drapes or blinds on the sunny side of your home to prevent the sun from directly heating the inside of your home. Set your air conditioner’s thermostat to as high a temperature as is comfortable. Every degree you can increase the temperature in your home will result in using about 3 percent less energy during the hottest summer days. Use fans-moving air cools your skin faster, resulting in greater comfort on hot days. Use a programmable thermostat to keep the temperature in your home warmer during the work day then set it to be cooler by the time your arrive home. For window air conditioners, only operate the unit while someone is in the room. Keep your refrigerator and freezer as full as you can. Frozen or cold items in the refrigerator help keep other items cool, reducing the amount of work your refrigerator has to do to maintain a lower temperature. Close rooms you don’t regularly use during the summer and close the air conditioning vents in those rooms as well. Try to avoid using heat-producing appliances in your home during the hottest hours of the day. The less heat you produce in your home, the less work your air conditioner will have to do. For important information regarding energy usage, visit www.firstenergycorp.com
Hot weather tips for pets:
Pets can get dehydrated quickly, so give them plenty of fresh, clean water when its hot outdoors. Make sure your pets have a shady place to get out of the sun, be careful not to over-exercise them, and keep them indoors when it’s extremely hot. Symptoms of overheating in pets include excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling, mild weakness, stupor or even collapse. They can also include seizures, bloody diarrhea and vomit, along with an elevated body temperature of over 104 degrees. Animals with flat faces, like Pugs and Persian cats, are more susceptible to heat stroke since they cannot pant as effectively. These pets, along with the elderly, the overweight, and those with heart or lung diseases, should be kept cool in air conditioned rooms as much as possible. NEVER leave your animals alone in a parked vehicle, “On a hot day, a parked car can become a furnace in no time, even with the windows open, which could lead to fatal heat stroke.