This is especially true if you live in a two or three story house. It’s much easier (and faster) to cool a smaller space than it is trying to cool your entire home. Not using the guest room or that extra office space upstairs? Close their doors and don’t waste time trying to cool those rooms off. Make sure to close your blinds, too, for added protection from the heat. Sure, you might feel like a vampire sitting in your darkened living room at 3pm on a summer day, but you’ll be thankful when your house stays at a nice 75 or 80 degrees instead of creeping towards the 100’s. Hang your curtains in places where they’ll be most efficient at blocking light. Not only do they help to keep warm air in during winter, but they also keep the cool air in and hot air out during the summer. Thermal-backed curtains aren’t just for winter. Use fans placed in strategic positions to keep your house cool without the A/C on.
Of course, this only makes sense if you’re at home (it’s kind of useless to circulate air if no one is there to enjoy it). Once your home is cooled to a comfortable temperature, you can shut off your A/C and use fans to circulate the cool air throughout your home. This way, you can leave the A/C off during peak hours. What’s the smart thing to do? Run the A/C during off peak hours and make sure to get the home down to a desired level of coolness. SmartDay peak hours are from 2pm-7pm, which means that you’ll have all morning and evening to run your air conditioner at normal electricity rates. That being said, there are some best practices you can follow that will allow you to run your A/C less frequently (or at least during non-peak hours) in order to keep your electricity bill to a minimum.
This is especially true if you live with children or elderly. In short, it’s foolish to say that you shouldn’t run your air conditioner during a SmartDay.
So what is the answer? Tips for Using Your AC on a SmartDay So, knowing the above, it makes sense that our customers are having a bit of bill anxiety on the matter and are asking us if it’s OK to run their A/C on a SmartDay. This means that running fans, using the dryer, heating up the oven, and yes, even running your A/C, will cost you MORE money during SmartDay peak hours. Peak hours are from 2pm to 7pm, and increases normal rates by $.60/kWh. SmartDays are usually issued when the temperature outside is unusually high – usually 95 degrees or more – which is also when PG&E charges HIGHER rates during peak hours. PG&E can also issue SmartDays on any day of the year (including weekends and holidays, although unlikely), with a maximum of 15 days per year. This does come with a few exceptions, though. The benefit of SmartRate is that, if you are smart about your energy usage, you get reduced electricity rates from June 1 – September 30 th.
So what exactly are SmartDays? SmartDays are part of PG&E’s SmartRate plan, whichis an opt-in plan for residential customers. Many of our customers have been asking us, “Should I run my AC on a SmartDay?” This is a totally valid question when weighing the pros and cons of staying cool while at the same time keeping your summer cooling costs low. Those of us in California (especially in the central valley) know that summer is here and it’s louder, prouder, and hotter than ever! With temperatures in the hundreds and above, PG&E has been issuing more and more SmartDays.
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