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NYC Hit Record Sunday Electricity Use To Battle Heat, Humidity
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 8, 2013
Modified Jul 8, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 8, 2013
Modified Jul 8, 2013
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It felt like 105 degrees yesterday, and naturally that meant New Yorkers were left with two options: Opening up fire hydrants and/or cranking the air conditioning. And it looks New Yorkers didn't hold back on the A.C.—yesterday was an all-time record for Sunday electricity use!
According to Con Ed, "Con Edison’s overall electric use peaked at 11,241 megawatts (MW) at 6 p.m. today, eclipsing the all-time Sunday record of 10,866 MW on August 14, 2005. The all-time peak record is 13,189 MW, which occurred on July 22, 2011 at 4 pm." The utility adds, "The company continued to urge customers to use energy wisely while keeping cool as New Yorkers in the city’s five boroughs and Westchester cope with sizzling heat and stifling humidity," and offered some tips to conserve energy like "Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows" and "Try using fans instead of air conditioners, but leave your windows open for ventilation. Fans use as little as one-tenth the energy as air conditioners."
Oh, and Con Ed urges customers to "Set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees. Each degree lower increases cooling costs by 6 percent." But won't refreshingly sub-78 degree apartment be worth it now that you know how to split the A/C bill?
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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