DIY Electrical Safety

 

The current economic downturn has inspired more homeowners to tackle do-it-yourself projects than ever before. Faced with declining home values and aging properties, homeowners in some cases may choose not to pay for the services of a licensed electrician.
 

However, most of us don’t have the training or experience needed to safely perform electrical work, which increases the risk of injury and electrocution and potentially introduces new dangers. Working with electricity requires thorough planning and extreme care—cutting corners can be a costly mistake.

For example, electrical outlets cause nearly 4,000 injuries every year. And each year, more than 19,700 people are hurt by ceiling fans that are improperly mounted or incorrectly sized.

The Electrical Safety Foundation International strongly recommends hiring a qualified, licensed electrician to perform electrical work in your home. However, if you decide to do it yourself, consider the following important safety tips:

• Make an effort to learn about your home electrical system so that you can safely navigate and maintain it.
• Never attempt a project that is beyond your skill level. Knowing when to call a professional may help prevent electrical fires, injuries, and fatalities.
• Always turn off the power to the circuit that you plan to work on by switching off the circuit breaker in the main service panel.
• Be sure to unplug any lamp or appliance before working on it.
• Test the wires before you touch them to make sure that the power has been turned off.
• Never touch plumbing or gas pipes when performing a do-it-yourself electrical project.

 

For more tips on treating electricity with care in the home and workplace, visit www.esfi.org.

 

Source: Electrical Safety Foundation International

Around-the-Clock Appliances by Magen Howard

In 2013, new appliances don’t just cook your food and keep it cold, wash your clothes and dishes, or offer a few hours of entertainment. These machines boast myriad functions that make our lives easier—but in doing so also consume more energy.

While appliances have become more energy efficient as technology has evolved and federal standards tightened, few ever truly shut down anymore. And as Americans add more and more electronic devices to their households—25 on average, according to the Consumer Electronics Association—much more energy is consumed.

Take a phone charger as an example. Leaving it plugged in without a phone attached doesn’t mean it’s not drawing power—in fact, it uses 0.26 watts of electricity even when a phone isn’t connected, and 2.24 watts when the handset is charging.

Of course, that 0.26 watts by itself might not be a big issue. But if most of your electronic devices are doing that, it can add up to as much as 10 percent of your bill, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Take a look around your house—how many cords are plugged in? Of those, how many are actually attached to a device? You might be surprised at how much electricity your family consumes, even when you don’t realize it.

Cable boxes are a big culprit of 24/7 energy use. Leaving your cable box plugged in for a year and never turning it off adds, on average, $17.83 to your electric bill. Toss in a DVR function and that total jumps to $43.46, DOE reports.

And electronics aren’t the only problem. Basic “white goods” appliances like clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, and dishwashers are so savvy that you can set them to come on late at night, when the wholesale power your co-op must buy costs less—helping your co-op keep power affordable for you and your neighbors. Here again, the bigger you go with a new appliance, the more energy it will use.

Electric bills don’t have to be held hostage by 24-hour-a-day energy use. For starters, use a power strip to turn several electronics on or off at once. For a bigger investment, look into “smart” power strips. They allow you to cut power to certain appliances—say, your TV—while letting power flow to your cable box because it takes time to reboot after being unplugged.

If you’re in the market for a new appliance, look for an ENERGY STAR model. It generally consumes less power all around and uses less standby energy. But remember that you actually have to use those energy-efficient settings on your appliances to see savings on your electric bill.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Consumer Electronics Association

Magen Howard writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service organization for the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

Sneak a Peek at Your New Generation

And mark your calendar to attend Homer Electric's Annual Meeting.....

HEA Renewable Energy Project Survey

Homer Electric Association (HEA) is interested in gauging the interest of its members in participating in a commonly owned renewable energy project. 

The concept is still very preliminary, but the basic idea is that a group of interested HEA members would share in the cost of the construction and operation of a renewable energy project. The project would generate power and sell it back to Homer Electric.

The project would most likely either be a wind turbine or solar panel arrays, depending on the wishes of the participants. The revenue from the sale of the renewable energy would be shared among the owners, based on the amount of their investment.

The financial figures are just estimates but for the sake of discussion shares in a renewable energy project could be sold in increments of 500-watts for $5000.00. 

The return on the investment would be based on the number of shares held by the investor, the amount of energy produced by the project and the purchase price for the power. As with net metering, the energy produced would first be used to offset the energy used in your primary residence. Also, as a net metering participant you would not be subject to the minimum customer delivery charge.

Click HERE to participate in a brief survey.  Your feedback is appreciated and valued.  Thank you!

TV Efficiency Guides: High-Powered TVs Drain Energy

by Megan McKoy-Noe

Which appliance uses more energy: a refrigerator or television? Consumers may not realize that some large entertainment TVs—when used an average of five hours per day—can cost more to operate than a new, basic refrigerator.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 44 percent of American homes have three or more television sets, and each new set adds to a home’s monthly energy bill.

In the market for a new television? You’re not alone—U.S. consumers purchased an estimated 40 million new televisions with an average screen size of 50 inches last year.

To keep your electric bills in check, here are some tips to consider before buying a new television:

Display Tactics
Three parts of a TV impact energy use: display technology, screen size, and resolution. Plasma and liquid-crystal display (LCD) are the two most popular types of display technologies. Plasma screens often are cited as the largest energy user―mainly because their large 42-inch to 65- inch screens typically draw between 240 watts to 400 watts.

LCD TVs don’t need much power to operate―111 watts on average. Most LCD screens range in size from 21 inches to 49 inches. These TVs fall into two categories: those with cold-cathode fluorescent lamps to illuminate the screen; and backlit models employing a light-emitting diode (LED). LED units offer several benefits, notably better picture quality and thinner and lighter screens. They also use slightly less energy, at 101 watts.

Most prospective buyers already have the ideal screen size in mind; remember that the larger the screen, the more energy you’ll drain. And although a high-definition TV (HDTV) transforms the latest blockbuster movie into a theater-like living room experience, these sets generally use more power to generate better picture clarity.

ENERGY STAR Boosts Ratings
ENERGY STAR TVs cut an estimated $3.5 billion from consumer electric bills annually.  The joint energy efficiency ratings program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the first set of voluntary television efficiency standards in 1998. Today’s ENERGY STAR-qualified screens use, on average, 40 percent less energy than standard models, whether you’re watching the latest hit show (active mode) or have the screen turned off (standby mode).

Standards are constantly ratcheting up. In 2008, a 50-inch ENERGY STAR-rated television used 318 watts on average. In 2010, those sets had to curb energy use to 153 watts or less, and by 2012 50-inch TVs could not drain more than 108 watts. ENERGY STAR provides an online guide so potential buyers can find qualified televisions ranked by energy use, size, brand, and display type at www.energystar.gov.

ENERGY STAR Partners like TopTen USA also maintain lists of the top energy efficient televisions (and other household appliances) based on size at www.toptenusa.org.

Look for Labels
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recognized the need for education and easy comparisons for the amount of energy televisions consume. In 2011, a yellow Energy Guide label—a common sight on refrigerators, dishwashers, and other large appliances—became a requirement for TV.

“TVs now vary widely in the amount of energy they use,” comments FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “By comparing information on the Energy Guide labels, consumers will be able to make better-informed decisions about which model they choose to buy, based on how much it costs to operate per year.”

The label compares the annual operating cost of a specific television to the plug-in cost of similar models. The label must be attached to the front of all televisions; websites selling televisions must also provide an image of the label for prospective buyers.

While the FTC Energy Guide labels provide the annual cost to operate a television, consumers in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho can identify the most efficient ENERGY STAR television models by looking for an orange, “Most Efficient,” sticker. Learn more about the effort at www.energyefficientelectronics.org.

Tune in to Savings

If you’re not in the market for a new TV but want to make sure your model is operating efficiently, these tips may help you save energy:

• Turn off the TV and other connected devices when they’re not being used—consider using smart power strips to eliminate continually power draw.
• Reduce TV brightness by turning down the LCD backlight―you’ll save energy and still retain good picture quality.
• Turn on the power saver mode, which many new TVs offer
• Control room lighting. While many energy-saving tips reduce brightness of the screen, you can compensate by dimming lights around your TV.

Your television set isn’t the only energy-guzzler in your residence. Visit www.TogetherWeSave.com to find more ways to save energy and money at home.

Sources: ENERGY STAR, Federal Trade Commission, Cooperative Research Network, CNET.com, Energy Information Administration

Megan McKoy-Noe, CCC, writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service organization for the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives. Brian Sloboda contributed to this article.

Electronics Recycling Opportunity

The use of computers, televisions and other electronics continues to grow. As demand increases and technology evolves, we replace older electronics and the volume of electronic waste increases.  Do you have computers, laptops, monitors, printers, cell phones and other electronics that are obsolete?  Not sure what to do with them? 

You can do your part in conserving valuable resources and refurbish used electronics than to dispose of them in landfills. It prevents valuable materials from going into the waste stream.

Take them to the Electronics Recycling Event at the Central Peninsula Landfill on Saturday, December 1st from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The landfill is located at Mile 98.5 Sterling Highway in Soldotna. Click HERE for more information.

Stay Warm & Save Energy This Winter

by Madeline Keimig, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives

On top of staying warm throughout the winter months, a lot of people worry about saving money and energy. According to a poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, four out of 10 consumers are worried about money this holiday season.

The average family spends $2,024 a year on energy; nearly half of that goes towards heating and cooling costs. Stay warm and save energy with these helpful winter tips:

·         Pick smarter lightbulbs. Decorate for the holidays efficiently with strands of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).  Using LED holiday lights for 12 hours a day cuts seasonal lighting costs by 90 percent when compared to traditional incandescent holiday lights.

·         Check furnace filters. Be sure to clean or replace your heating and cooling system’s air filter. At a minimum change the filter every three months; a dirty filter clogs the system, making the system work harder to keep you warm.

·         Install a programmable thermostat. Is your home alone most of the day? Programmable thermostats can knock up to10 percent off heating bills with the ability to automatically turn temperatures down 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours a day.

·         Insulate water heaters and pipes. Wrap water pipes connected to the water heater with foam, and insulate the water heater, too. To save about $75 annually, consider lowering the water heater temperature from 130 degrees to 120.

·         Bundle up your home. The more heat that escapes from cracks, the more cold air enters, causing your system to work harder and use more energy. Use an incense stick to spot air leaks. When it’s windy outside, hold a lit incense stick near your windows, doors, and electrical outlets. If the smoke blows sideways, you’ve got a leak that should be plugged with weather-stripping, caulk, or expandable foam.

·         Use a low-flow showerhead. About 14 percent of your energy bill funds water heating. Low-flow showerheads can minimize water use by up to 50 percent—a helpful change, especially when extended family members visit for the holidays.

Want more ways to save? Take the home energy savings tour and see how little changes add up to big savings at www.TogetherWeSave.com. 

Sources: Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, ENERGY STAR, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Consumer Reports

Madeline Keimig writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives, the national branding program for 700-plus electric cooperatives in the U.S.