News Release

May 20, 2005

PNM Offers Energy Saving Tips for Summer Cooling Season

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NEWS MEDIA CONTACT Susan Sponar Telephone: (505) 241-2768

Albuquerque: With temperatures expected to rise to record highs this weekend, PNM customers are entering the peak electricity demand season. Now is the time to consider a few simple steps you can take to stay cool while lowering electric bills this summer.

"While PNM electricity rates are among the lowest in the Southwest, we still encourage our customers to use electricity wisely," said Jeff Burks, PNM director of environmental sustainability. "Making your home more efficient will save you money and is good for the environment."

There are many energy saving measures PNM customers can take to keep their homes cool and comfortable while reducing electricity consumption. Here are PNM's top 10 tips:

1. Keep your air conditioner clean and in good working order. This includes changing swamp cooler pads on a regular basis.
2. Install and use ceiling fans. Remember to set the blades in the summertime so the air blows downward (the leading edge of the blade will be pointing up).
3. Close heating-only air-duct registers, fireplace dampers and doorways to basements.
4. Use the low speed on your evaporative cooler whenever possible. It uses significantly less energy than higher speeds and cools just as efficiently.
5. Close blinds and curtains on the sunny side of the house.
6. Set your thermostat as high as comfort permits, so that your air conditioner doesn't have to work so hard.
7. Properly insulate and ventilate your attic, allowing warm air to escape through your roof.
8. Install a programmable thermostat that can be programmed to turn your air conditioner or swamp cooler off while you aren't home, and back on shortly before you get home.
9. Don't put appliances that generate heat, like lamps and television sets, under your wall-mounted cooling thermostat. The heat rising from them can cause the thermostat to read a temperature higher than the actual room temperature, resulting in overcooling the entire house.
10. With evaporative coolers, crack open windows in rooms where you want cool air to flow. Or, have a licensed contractor install "up ducts" in your ceilings to maximize the cooling efficiency of your evaporative cooler.