For Immediate Release
July 30, 2004

Tune-Up the Air Conditioner

These next few weeks normally bring the warmest weather of the year to the Washington area, prompting Pepco customers to crank up their air conditioners to remain cool. While there is an ample supply of electricity to serve the region, it always makes sense to conserve energy and at the same time reduce your cooling costs.

Here are some tips that will make for a more comfortable summer:

• Clean the outside condenser coil of your air conditioner once a year. Collected dirt and objects can block the flow of air and reduce operating efficiency. To clean, turn off the unit and spray the coils with water at a low pressure - high water pressure could bend the fins. Try to spray from the top of the unit down and outward. A qualified repairman should check the internal coolant pressure.
• Clean or replace air conditioning filters monthly.
• Consider using a ceiling fan with your window air conditioner to spread the cooled air to other rooms and boost your comfort level.
• Close drapes, blinds and shades during the day to keep out the sun. Sunshine through windows can add heat to your home.
• Use your oven and other heat-generating appliances in the early morning and late evening hours to keep your air conditioning from working too hard. Better still, microwave instead of baking or grill outside.
• Remember that setting your home/office thermostat at a colder setting than normal will not cool faster. However, it will cool to a lower temperature than you may need and use more energy.
• Use duct tape to seal any cracks between each section of the air ducts on your central air conditioning system.
• Avoid placing lamps or television sets near your thermostat. Heat from these appliances is sensed by the thermostat and could cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.

More energy-saving ideas can be found on Pepco's Web site at www.pepco.com.

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About Pepco: For more than 100 years, Pepco has served the people of the Washington metropolitan area with clean, reliable and low-cost electricity. Pepco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM), provides electricity transmission and distribution services to more than 700,000 customers in the District of Columbia and major portions of Prince George`s and Montgomery County in Maryland.