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Published monthly by Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc.

JUNE 2020

WATTS WATTS INSIDE >> page 2

Meet the 2020 CHEC scholarship recipients >> page 3

Smart thermostat buyer’s guide

CHEC grieves the loss of two board members It is with profound sadness that Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative announces the recent passing of John “Theron” Croisant and Kenneth “Chick” Kelley, two beloved Board of Trustee members. A committed board member for the past five years at CHEC, Theron held public service near to his heart, as he was involved in numerous community boards throughout his lifetime. CHEC was fortunate to benefit from his leadership during his time as a board member and friend.

He dedicated his professional career to education and impacted the lives of many throughout his career as a teacher, coach and superintendent. Theron is survived by his wife of 56 years, Judie; one son, Tracy Croisant and wife Kim; and eight grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one son. Theron will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

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Summer energysavings word search

John “Theron” Croisant

Kenneth “Chick” Kelley

Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. Headquarters Office PO Box 539 • 1002 E. Main Stigler, OK 74462 800-328-2368 Branch Office PO Box 587 • 1800 KOA/Power Drive Sallisaw, OK 74955 918-775-2211 Pay-by-Phone: 1-888-678-1937 www.cooksonhills.com Alternate Emergency Only: 918-552-0016

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joe Ogle, Vice President Rocky Woods, Sr., Trustee Vacant John Dillard, Trustee Dart Drummonds, Trustee Vacant Ronnie Pevehouse, Trustee

District 6 District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 District 7

CHEC announces 2020 scholarship recipients CHEC is pleased to announce the 2020 Cookson Hills Electric Scholarship recipients: Cooper R. Oaks from Kinta High School (son of Travis and Tina Oaks), Candice Griffith from Webbers Falls High School (daughter of Samuel and Norma Griffith), Alexis Christine Cohea from Keota High School (daughter of Keith Cohea and Leah and Duane Polk), and Anthony Noah Foster from Gans High School (son of Kristy Gillean). The employees and board of trustees of CHEC support the educational goals of area youth by awarding scholarships. Each year, four college-bound graduates in the CHEC service area receive a $500 scholarship. CHEC employees initiated the scholarship program in 1997. The scholarships are solely funded by employee fundraisers and donations with the goal of providing eligible graduating seniors the opportunity to further their education. [3006203] To be considered for the scholarship, students must submit an applicaion and two letters of recommendation. Students must plan to attend a state accredited school or technical school offering an associate or bachelor degree. The program is open to any graduating senior whose parents or guardians are members of CHEC. For details on the scholarship program or if you would like to make a donation to the scholarship fund, please visit www.cooksonshills.com or call Felicia Wixom at 800-328-2368.

STAFF Juli Orme, General Manager Chris Morris, Chief Financial Officer Jason Fontaine, Director of Engineering Mark Blaylock, Director of Operations — Stigler Marty Huff, Director of Operations — Sallisaw Ellen Mattison, Manager of Accounting Services Kristie Cash, Manager of Office Services

Russell V. Barber, General Counsel Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. welcomes members to submit photos, and articles which will be subject to editing. Cookson Hills reserves the right to publish or modify any article. Companies and individuals featured in the Hot Watts newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or view of Cookson Hills.

bit.ly/CHEConFB (case-sensitive)

Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If you find your account number hidden in this issue of the Hot Watts, you’ll receive a $25 credit on your electric bill.

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Alexis Cohea

Anthony Foster

Candice Griffith

Cooper Oaks

CHEC honors Theron Croisant and Chick Kelley, continued from page 1 Chick served almost 34 years as a board trustee with over two of those years as the board president. He was also a member of the KAMO Electric (CHEC’s transmission provider) and OAEC boards, among various other boards, clubs and committees. After receiving his degree at Tulsa Business College, he worked as an accountant in the oil industry until his retirement. Chick was a dedicated man of God serving as a song leader and Sunday school teacher over the past 60 years. He loved gospel music and shared his love by teaching guitar lessons at the Stigler Community Center.

He is survived by his wife Freda of 67 years; one daughter Debbie Crull and husband Brent; two granddaughters and four great grandchildren. He will be missed by the many people he impacted throughout his life. “The absence of these two great men will certainly be felt at CHEC,” said General Manager Juli Orme. “Their mentorship as well as their friendship has ministered greatly to me in my work life and in my personal life. We will miss them dearly.” CHEC would like to extend our condolences and prayers to the families and friends of these two wonderful men.

Consider a smart thermostat to maximize summer energy savings A Comparison of the Market’s Smartest and Most Popular Heating and cooling costs account for around half of a user’s energy bill according to the U.S. Department of Energy. So when it comes to reducing energy use and cutting home energy costs, the most impact can be made by programming the thermostat. The right thermostat settings could yield energy savings of 8-15%, and new technology is making it easier than ever to achieve those settings. Smart thermostats are Wi-Fi enabled and may be controlled remotely through a tablet, smartphone or voice control. Some models use multiple sensors to monitor temperatures in various parts of the home for more balanced heating or cooling, track user temperature preferences and use the data to optimize your heating and cooling schedule, and some are designed for complex multi-stage systems that will control heating, cooling, dehumidifier and ventilation systems. If you’re interested in controlling your thermostat with your voice or an app, or in being hands-off and letting it learn your habits, you should consider a smart thermostat. To narrow your choices, factor in smart features, price and attributes that matter most to you, such as color, size or style, and make sure the chosen product supports your HVAC system. The Nest 3rd Generation Learning Thermostat and Ecobee4 are the most popular and sophisticated devices in this category. Both devices are usually priced around $250, but consumers can easily recoup their money in energy cost savings. There are many similarities between the two thermostats. Both can be adjusted via computer, tablet, smartphone, Google Assistant or Amazon

Alexa device (the Ecobee4 even has a built-in Alexa-enabled speaker). And both thermostats can interact with other smart devices and utilize geofencing—using your phone’s GPS to determine if you’re home, then automatically adjusting the temperature. Nest’s geofencing works with multiple phones, while Ecobee supports just one phone. Ecobee makes up for this with its more sophisticated sensors. The Nest and Ecobee offer for purchase, remote sensors that allow the thermostat to take readings from any room throughout your home and adjust the temperature accordingly. This can be an advantage if your thermostat is located near a draft or in direct sunlight. The Ecobee’s sensors go one step further with occupancy sensing, which notices if there is movement in the house, in order to override geofencing if the primary phone user leaves the house and someone is still there. While many of the features are similar, there a few that are notably different and can help you determine which is right for you. Nest, powered by a rechargeable battery, is a learning thermostat and automatically learns your schedule. When you begin using Nest, it makes a few assumptions and creates a baseline for its schedule. As you adjust the temperature up or down, Nest records it, and after a week, learns your schedule and the temperature settings you prefer. From then, it continues to learn and respond to your adjustments. Ecobee must be hardwire installed, utilizes a touchscreen and can analyze HVAC data for 18 months. All temperature and motion data

Heating and cooling costs account for around half of your energy bills according to the U.S. Dept. of Energy? The right thermostat settings could yield energy savings of 8-15%!

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Smart thermostat buyers’ guide, continued from page 3

Energy Efficiency

from the thermostat and sensors is recorded, and can be accessed online by the owner to help you monitor total energy use, how the weather influences your use, and how your home efficiency compares to other users in your area. For those looking for a smart thermostat with fewer bells and whistles, the Honeywell Lyric T5+ is one of the market’s most popular, priced around $135. While it can’t sense your presence or learn your schedule, it does have the geofencing feature and can interact with other smart-home devices. Whichever fits your lifestyle and preferences, a smart thermostat is a good investment that can help you save energy and money in a more convenient way than ever.

Tip of the Month I D E S N I A T R U R S I I I V N L L R Q O Y C R I T E B O H E P H O U.S. N EDept. C H of A R G Source:

Home cooling makes S F B L J Z S M H up a large portion G H G S E B O R V of your energy bills. G M M C E C K Z G Try to keep the J A A T G Z T M Q difference between T D L X J L H R S the temperature M J C O E P Y H O of your thermostat T X J Y H G W X A setting and the R F K E H A L T A outside temperature K E S X S H Q B S to a minimum. The J C T H G F M X Z smaller the difference, M C E A C Z I G V the more energy you C R G K W O A T N will save.

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Call 811 before your summer building projects begin

Energy

SUMMER ENERGY-SAVINGS WORD SEARCH When you save energy at home, you’re helping your family save money and protecting our environment. Read the energy-saving tips below, then find and circle the bolded words in the puzzle. • Close blinds and curtains on hot, sunny days to block additional heat from entering your home. • Turn off lights and electronics, like TVs and stereos, when you leave a room. • Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.

• Only clean full loads of dishes when you run the dishwasher. • Cooking with smaller appliances like slow cookers and toaster ovens use less energy than larger appliances. • Unplug phone chargers when they’re not in use – they consume energy even when they aren’t charging devices.

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D F H M A D J X F E C C R C H

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A S O K T H Y W L Q M I A B H

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