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From YouTube: This Week In Ames | Winter Tips
Description
Electric Services Coordinator Steve Wilson stops by the show to give some helpful winter tips and tell us about free residential and commercial energy audits.
A
B
I'm
in
my
17th
year
with
the
city
and
in
any
given
day,
I
wear
a
lot
of
different
hats.
There's
a
lot
of
people
with
the
city
that
can
say
that,
but
I
genuinely
do
I
can
be
an
account
manager.
One
minute
for
some
of
our
largest
customers.
I
can
be
an
administrator
of
our
smart
energy
rebate.
Programs
I
can
be
on
the
phone
talking
to
customers
who
have
questions
about
what
they
can
do
to
save
energy
and
I'm,
now
fair,
fairly
involved
with
a
community
solar
project.
A
B
A
B
A
B
Cool,
but
at
the
same
time,
if
you
can
tolerate,
maybe
a
325
degree
turn
down
over
an
extended
period
of
time,
you
could
probably
save
anywhere
from
fifteen
to
twenty
percent
on
your
heating
bill.
If
you
did
that
consistently
throughout
the
winter
yeah,
so
that's
probably
the
biggest
biggest
thing,
then
there's
some
obvious
things.
If
you
want
to
reduce
your
overall
bill,
which
includes
electricity,
you're
going
to
want
to
you
know,
turn
off
the
lights
and
the
TV's,
the
you
know,
the
appliance
is
those
kind
of
things
if
you're
not
using
them.
B
On
back
to
the
furnace,
you
want
to
make
absolutely
sure
that
you
don't
have
any
obstructions
covering
your
distribution
or
your
return
registers.
It's
important.
Sometimes
we
forget
about
the
year
having
to
get
back
down
to
the
furnace
and
so
you'll
see
a
large
great,
maybe
behind
a
sofa
or
maybe
even
up
on
the
wall.
Typically,
those
are
the
return
registers,
although
you
have
the
distribution
registers
where
the
warm
air
comes
out,
but
then
that
air
has
to
circulate
to
the
room
and
get
back
to
the
furnace.
B
If
you
block
those
your
house
number
one
is
going
to
be
unbalanced,
you're
going
to
have
cold
spots,
but
number
two.
Your
furnace
is
going
to
have
to
work
a
little
bit
harder
just
to
get
to
satisfying
the
thermostat.
So
you
want
to
make
sure
that
you
know
those
things
are
free
and
clear
push
furniture
off
of
them
uncover
them.
That
kind
of
thing
you
also
are
probably
wise
to.
If
you
have
rooms
that
you
never
go
to
yeah.
A
B
Know
me
you're,
your
son
moved
out,
you
went
to
college
and
he's
gone.
He's
got
the
bedroom,
that's
empty
in
the
back
of
the
house,
keep
that
door
closed
and
you
might
even
try
closing
off
the
register
in
that
room.
If
you
don't
have
to
heat
it,
then
then
don't
now
you
have
to
be
careful
with
that,
because
if
there's
plumbing
in
it
in
a
part
of
the
house
when
you've
just
closed
it
off
and
it
gets
really
cold,
you
have
to
watch
out
for
may
be
freezing
place.
B
Things
so
another
thing
you
could
probably
do
is
is
be
be
aware
of
door,
openings
and
closings
it's
cold
outside
and
what
happens
is
the
heat
that
we
spend
money
to
produce
races
out
of
our
home
through
through
any
opening
moves
from
the
warm
side
of
any
barrier
to
the
cold
side?
So
when
you
open
the
door,
it
feels
like
cold
air
is
rushing
in,
but
actually
what's
happening
is
our
warm
air
is
rushing
out
and
that
cold
air
is
replacing
it
now
your
furnace
has
to
work
harder.
B
B
Or
something
or
you
step
out
and
then
at
and
of
course,
then,
if
we're
talking
about
the
replacement
of
of
air
or
the
fact
that
air
can
move
through
openings,
then
one
of
the
things
we
want
to
do
is
plug
up
those
openings.
So
you
want
a
weather
strip
and
caulk
and
make
sure
that
you
can't
see
daylight
around
your
door.
If
you
step
back
and
if
you
can
better,
you
better
take
care
of
that.
A
A
B
B
It
gives
you
a
document
so
to
speak,
of
where
you
are
and
a
snapshot
of
where
we
are
in
history
right
now,
an
audit
if
you
then
follow
the
recommendations
that
come
through
the
audit
now,
obviously,
the
goal
is
to
drive
down
your
energy
consumption
and
that's
exactly
what
that
audit
is
aimed
for
us
what
it
will
do
for
you,
people
that
have
a
home
that
was
built
before
the
year
2000.
Oh,
that's.
B
A
B
B
B
B
Any
any
commercial
business
that
again
is
on
our
system
for
electric
service
is
eligible
for
an
audit
and
like
the
residential
audit,
it
doesn't
cost
anything,
but
the
commercial
audits
a
little
bit
different,
because
businesses
are
all
different,
and
so
it
can
take
many
forms.
It
could
be
a
lighting
audit.
It
could
be
a
lot,
an
audit
that
looks
at
windows
and
doors
and
insulation
levels.
It
could
be
an
audit
that
looks
at
plug
loads.
What
do
we
have?
That's
drawing
electricity?
You
know
copy
machines,
coffee
makers,
you
know
those
kinds
of
things
yeah.
B
It
could
incorporate
all
of
those
things
when
you
get
up
to
the
larger
customers.
You
know,
then
you
have
like
the
industrial
class
of
customers.
They
have
electro
technologies
that
go
far
beyond
just
anything
that
you
might
find
in
an
office
building.
They
might
have
electric
dryers,
they
might
have
electric
blow
molding
machines,
they
could
have
all
kinds
of
different
things
that
use
electricity,
and
so
they
audit
then
maybe
takes
a
little
more
time
in
it
and
it
would
look
at
maybe
some
things
that
you
wouldn't
ordinarily
find.