SUMMERDALE, Ala. — OK, this is the time of year when the electric bills are getting out of hand. That air conditioner seems to be running all the time.

However, if you’ve owned your own home for at least five years, are a Baldwin EMC customer, plan to be in your home for at least a year, your home is all electric and not a condo or mobile home, you don’t have a heat pump, and it’s 1,200 to 2,000 square feet, you might want to enter Baldwin EMC’s “Home Energy Makeover” contest.

It’s best to go to baldwinemc.com/savings.aspx?id=3240 for the complete rules and to download an application. But hurry. The deadline to apply is Aug. 10. The number to call for an application is 989-6247, Applications may be picked up at the Baldwin EMC offices .

The savings can be huge. The winner of the contest will receive, according to the Baldwin EMC Web site, “Energy experts from Baldwin EMC will join with home renovation professionals to make some major energy efficiency improvements throughout the winner’s home, all provided free of charge.”

“We will be installing a new high efficiency heat pump, CFL (compact fluorescent light) lighting, insulate the attic with foam, new water heater, and will install Energy Star appliances, and retrofit faucets with low-flow designs,” said Greg Gipson, a manager of energy savings for Baldwin EMC.

The value of the “makeover” is about $15,000 said Melissa Vaughn, an energy marketing specialist with Baldwin EMC

The other thing that the winner of the makeover will have to give up is a bit of privacy. According to Tim Hobbs, an energy marketing specialist with Baldwin EMC, “It’s a way to educate members on ways to save on their bills.”

That means that Baldwin EMC will be taking photos of the work in progress, publishing those photos, and putting them on their Web site.

“This is an educational tool,” said Gipson. “We want to show the different energy savings things you can do to an existing home.”

“That is why we need the winner to stay in the home for at least a year,” said Vaughn.

Even if you don’t win a home makeover, there are things you can do to reduce your energy costs.

“It always helps to bump up the air conditioning several degrees,” said Hobbs. He added that using a ceiling fan and CFL bulbs would help keep you cool and reduce energy consumption,.

Vaughn added that keeping air filters clean (which means cleaning or changing them regularly )and turning the hot water heater down to 120 degrees were other low-tech ways to reduce energy costs.

Picking the home promises to be a painstaking operation.

“We have a committee to evaluate the house,” said Gipson, adding that there would be an onsite evaluation of the homes that make the first round.

“We need to verify that the home meets our requirements,” said Gipson.

This is the first time Baldwin EMC is offering the program.

“We have seen other co-ops do it, and they have had some really good success,” said Vaughn. “People can do some of it and save, too.