Forecasters have warned us all week that temperatures locally will rise well into the 90s in North Georgia through the holiday weekend.
With that in mind, Jackson EMC's April Sorrow said customers will want to be comfortable, but not break the bank with high air conditioning bills.
"When it starts getting hotter outside, you need to pay attention to energy consumption inside because the HVAC unit outside is going work harder to keep the air inside cooler," Sorrow said.
Sorrow said a good rule of thumb in a heat wave is to keep the thermostat at 78 degrees when at home and set it a few degrees higher when you leave, rather than shutting the system down completely. She said turning it off makes the unit work harder to cool the home once it's turned back on. She added a programmable thermostat is also a useful tool for saving money.
Sorrow also suggests cutting back on baking. Instead, prepare foods that take less cooking. Keeping blinds and drapes pulled during the day will help keep the home cooled down as well.
