Tips to keep your house energy-efficient during the hot summer months

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso Electric wants to remind its customers of energy-efficient programs and tips they provide to help keep homes cool and the electric grid unburdened during the hot summer months.

El Paso Electric provides multiple incentives and rebates on their website for clients to help save money when powering their homes during the summer months.

One program provided is the energy-wise savings program. That program is eligible for those who own a Wi-Fi-capable smart thermometer. There are incentives to be in the program, and it allows the utility to take control of your thermostat during peak demand periods. During the summer months, those high-demand periods are usually around the evening when people are coming home from work.

During that time, the utility will alert the customer that they will cut the power to their A/C unit to help with the demand in energy. Before doing that, though, energy is pumped into the home to pre-cool the house.

"And just about the time you might start getting uncomfortable, the event ends, and it goes back to your regular program schedule," Crystal Enoch, Principal Energy Efficiency Program Analyst for El Paso Electric, explained.

Other tips to keep the home cool include:

• Clearing debris from around your A/C unit
• Making sure air ducts and windows are sealed and no air is leaking
• Keeping doors and windows shut
• Close your blinds
• Plant a tree on the west side of your home