LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) wants to remind customers that daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 4. It is time to turn your clocks back and a good time to review your energy and water routines. Customers should remember to re-set their lighting timers, as well as sprinkler timers to coincide with the shorter daylight. It is also a good time to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Customers can also review their water and energy saving habits. Saving water and energy, not only helps with the supply, but helps reduce your bill. It has been a very dry year and helping to save water will assist in insuring that we are using our water supply wisely.
LADWP customers can take advantage of a wide array of energy saving programs offered by the LADWP, such as the Consumer Rebate Program that offers cash incentives or purchasing energy saving products, such as refrigerators and water saving clothes washes. The Refrigerator Retire Program will take away old, energy wasting refrigerators and reward the customer with a $35 rebate and compact fluorescent lights. LADWP customers can also receive up to seven free shade trees through the Trees for a Green LA Program. The trees program is working in concert with Million Trees LA to help bring 1 million new trees to the Los Angeles urban forest. Other programs, such as the Solar Incentive Program and the Green Power Program support renewable energy.
LADWP offers these ways to use energy and water more efficiently:
- 1. Turn off lights and equipment when they are not in use.
- 2. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) wherever appropriate.
- 3. Plant shade trees, to reduce heat gain to the house and reduce the need for air conditioning. Fall is a good time to plant trees.
- 4. Install / Use Ceiling fans or whole House fans for comfort cooling.
- 5. Set your air-conditioner thermostat to 78 degrees or higher in the summer and heat your home at 68 degrees or cooler during winter
- 6. Install a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature automatically and maximize your energy savings.
- 7. Clean or replace your air-conditioner’s filter(s) every month to keep your air-conditioner running more efficiently.
- 8. Regularly brush or vacuum the condenser coils at the bottom or rear of your refrigerator and check door gasket for tight fit and adjust if necessary.
- 9. Buy energy-saving “Energy Star” labeled appliances and products.
- 10. Limit the time you run your pool pump: Summer (six hours a day), Winter (four hours a day)
- 11. To conserve water do not water lawn(s) on windy days or during the hottest part of the day, when evaporation rate is high.
- 12. Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth and reduce shower times to save water.
- 13. Check your sprinklers for proper operation. Make sure that watering your lawn and not the sidewalk or street. Repair leaks.
- 14. Adding new plants to your yard? Consider native and other drought tolerant plants that need 2/3 less water.
- 15. Be aware of the “Energy Vampires.” These are appliances that use energy even when you think they are not. Any appliance with a clock or “quick on” is using energy. Unplug these appliances when not in use.
- 16. Lower the temperature on your water heater.
- 17. Wash only full loads of clothes or dishes.
- 18. Check to see that your fireplace damper is closed tightly to hold air in when the fireplace is not in use.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was established more than 100 years ago to provide a reliable and safe water and electric supply to the city’s businesses and residents. For more saving tips and information about LADWP’s energy programs, please visit www.ladwp.com or call 1-800-GreenLA.
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Contact: Kim Hughes
(213) 367-4417
(213) 792-9599-cell phone