CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In celebration of Earth Hour, ComEd is reminding its customers to power down for an hour, Saturday, March 19 from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., and join millions across the world in this global effort. Earth Hour is the world’s largest annual voluntary environmental action event to raise awareness about climate change. ComEd will join the Earth Hour the movement by turning off nonessential lights at its office facilities across northern Illinois.

“Every year we look forward to participating in Earth Hour; it’s another chance to remind our customers about other ways they can have a positive impact on their energy use,” said Val Jensen, Senior Vice President, ComEd Customer Operations. “From smart grid investments that are helping to improve power reliability and providing more options to our customers to manage their electric usage, to an industry-leading energy efficiency program offering a variety of programs and tools to help our customers save energy and costs. ComEd is focused on helping to ensure a clean, green energy future for our customers.”

Here are more ways ComEd Customers can save energy and money:

1. Take Advantage of Smart Meter-Enabled Programs

• Enroll in ComEd’s Peak Time Savings program, which allows customers with smart meters to save money by voluntarily reducing their electricity use during Peak Time Savings Hours. More than 110,000 customers have already signed up to earn a $1 credit on their electric bill for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity reduced during designated Peak Time Savings Hours. Sign up for the program by enrolling now for the summer of 2016.

2. Get the Energy Efficiency Rebates

• Take advantage of ComEd’s $100 rebate for customers who purchase an ecobee3 or Nest Learning Smart Thermostat. Combined with the $20 rebate offered by local gas utilities Nicor Gas and People’s Gas, the total rebate is $120, essentially cutting the cost of the devices in half, making the convenience and increased control of energy use more affordable.
• Replace old appliances with more energy efficiency ones and get between $25 – $500 in rebates to help you pay for your new appliance. When shopping for appliances such as refrigerators, look for the ENERGY STAR® label, and purchase the most affordable energy efficient unit.

3. Save with Discounts

• ComEd’s Energy Efficiency Program, Smart Ideas^® is providing instant in-store discounts on select ENERGY STAR^® certified CFLs, LEDs and trim kits. Look for the ComEd “Lower Price” sticker to save on a variety of energy-efficient lighting products at participating retail stores. No coupon is required – prices shown reflect the instant discount.

4. Schedule a ComEd Home Energy Assessment

• ComEd will send an energy advisor to your home, provide a personalized energy assessment and offer energy-efficient upgrades.

5. Follow no cost/low cost energy-savings tips

• Inspect the caulking and weather-stripping around all windows, doors and openings, replacing as necessary. Also, check your ductwork for leakage to minimize energy lost. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent.
• Check the HVAC filter every month. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder thus wasting energy.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room and close blinds/shades in the summer to keep your home or business cool and leave them open in the winter to use the sun for a warm up.

And before customers turn their lights back on, it’s a great time to change out old energy-wasting incandescent light bulbs with new CFLs (compact fluorescent lamp) or LEDs (light emitting diode), which typically use about 75 percent less energy. CFLs also last about 10 times longer, while LEDs last about 25 times longer.

For more information on ComEd’s Smart Ideas Energy Efficiency Program, including tips, tools, and rebates that help customers save money and energy, visit ComEd.com/HomeSavings.

ComEd’s sister utilities, BGE in Baltimore and PECO in Philadelphia, also are participating in recognizing this global event.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.