Growing up, I never really connected the words “smart” and “summer” together.

Mind you, I didn’t turn my brain completely off. I still kept it fed with regular trips to the library, baseball stats and a long list of creative reasons why the lawn didn’t have to be mowed until tomorrow. But summer was the mental break. No grades, no assignments, just a chance to relax.

As it turns out, “smart” can be pretty relaxing, too. Especially when it means a chance to save energy and get a utility bill credit.

This year, Longmont Power & Communications is partnering with ecobee to offer the Smarter Summer program to as many as 200 volunteers. The qualifications are pretty straightforward – to take part, you have to:

• Be an LPC electric customer
• Have an ecobee smart thermostat, or get one before the sign up deadline
• Have central air conditioning
• Sign up through ecobee’s eco+ app by May 31

So how does this work? Between June and September, ecobee will automatically adjust the thermostat to save power during periods when electric demand is high in our community. If it’s not a good day to nudge the thermostat, you can bail out of a particular event and wait for the next one.

Besides a certain satisfaction and some energy savings from using less electricity, you also get a one-time $50 utility bill credit just for signing up, and a further $25 bill credit after the cooling season if you took part in at least 75% of the events.

If you’re warming to the idea, but don’t have an ecobee thermostat, check out our Efficiency Works store to order one and get it installed by May 31, 2022.  It’s a great way to take charge this summer.

And it’s a lot easier than mowing the lawn.