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ELECTRIC NOTES
RESOLUTIONS LOWER COSTS AND INCREASE SAFETY
1. Caulk and/or weatherstrip any place where heat escapes.
2. Have your home’s wiring inspected and make any necessary repairs.
3. Clean or replace filters often, even during the heating season.
4. Reduce the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees.
5. Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescents and keep all light
fixtures clean.
6. When buying new appliances, look for the EnergyGuide labels to check energy-efficiency
ratings.
7. Lower the thermostat in winter to 55 degrees when your home will be empty
for four or more hours.
8. Replace or repair old appliances and electric cords that are frayed or nicked.
9. Fix leaky faucets.
10. Keep the inside of your micro-wave clean. Spilled foods absorb heat and
make the oven operate less efficiently.
11. Always check the location of power lines when trimming trees.
12. Defrost food before cooking and turn the oven off a few minutes before
cooking time is up.
13. Try to dry clothes in consecutive loads and don’t overdry.
14. Install ground-fault circuit interrupter receptacles in your garage, kitchen
and bathroom.
15. Equip showerheads and faucets with flow restrictors.
16. Lower your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature. Each degree
it’s lowered will save you 3 percent on your heating costs.
17. Observe the 10-foot rule when moving tall equipment around power lines—stay
at least 10 feet away.
18. Install a programmable thermostat to control your heating and cooling system.
BE CAREFUL WHEN USING STANDBY GENERATORS
If you use a standby generator during a power outage, your local electric cooperative
reminds you that an improper generator hook-up can create serious problems in
safety and service.
It is very important that your generator has the proper transfer switch installed
by a qualified electrician. This switching device is used to transfer the electric
service from the power line to the generator. The switch also separates the
generator from the outside utility service. If the transfer switch is not used,
backfeed from the generator voltage to power lines could endanger the lives
of line crews working to restore your power.
Please contact your co-op for information on safely installing and using standby
generators.
WATCH OUT FOR COUNTERFEITS
Everyone likes a good deal. But some deals really are too good to be true.
That’s the case when you buy electrical products that seem too inexpensive.
Those products can be dangerous. In fact, some ultra-cheap products are counterfeit
and could hurt someone in your family.
Here’s how to keep counterfeit electrical products from shocking you:
• Be suspicious of electrical cords, circuit breakers and appliances
from discount stores that are way less expensive than the ones you’ve
seen in electronics or home supply stores.
• Avoid shopping at discount stores with unfamiliar names.
• Never buy electrical products over the Internet from unfamiliar vendors.
• Learn how to recognize certification marks from Underwriters Laboratories
and other safety testers. Carefully inspect the electrical products you buy
for authentic marks.
• Shy away from products in shoddy packaging. The product inside won’t
be much better.
• Read the labels carefully. Counterfeiters often change one letter in
a brand name: Sony knock-offs, for example, might show up with a label that
says “Sorny.”
• Report any suspected counterfeit products to the manufacturer of the
name-brand item.
MAKE ELECTRICAL SAFETY YOUR GOAL
What’s your perennial New Year’s resolution: Dieting? Saving more
money? Getting lots of exercise?
Here are a few that will be easier to keep—and can do you, your family
and your home a world of good. Do these every January:
• Remove covers from overhead lights and wash them in warm, soapy water.
Clean light covers let more light shine through, which will make your room look
brighter and save you from turning on a second lamp.
• Pull your refrigerator away from the wall and vacuum or dust its condenser
and coils. Clean coils prevent your fridge’s working parts from heating
up.
• Spring for an annual inspection of your heating system. A tune-up can
save you as much as 5 percent on your heating bill.
• Hire a licensed electrician to inspect your home’s electrical
wiring system—not every year, but at least once a decade. When’s
the last time you did that?
DON’T TOSS THOSE OLD ELECTRONICS
Did the holidays bring a new computer or television set into your home? Before
you toss out the old, you might think twice. Electronic junk contains hazardous
substances, including lead and mercury. In landfills, these poisons can leach
into groundwater.
Electronic refuse thrown in the trash is sometimes incinerated, sending dioxins
from the burned plastic into the atmosphere and leaving behind toxic ash.
Did you know that an old-style computer or TV monitor contains at least four
pounds of lead, and flat-panels have mercury bulbs? According to the advocacy
group Texas Campaign for the Environment, Texans alone will discard about 50
million TVs and personal computers by 2009, amounting to more than 200 million
pounds of lead.
It is now against the law for business or institutional computer owners to
discard their old machines in the trash. But consumers have no such restrictions,
and that waste stream quickly becomes deep.
There are alternatives to dumping a computer when it becomes outdated. It’s
relatively easy to upgrade your aging device with new components, plus it’s
often cheaper to upgrade than to buy a whole new box. Or, if there is still
some life left in it, you can donate it to a school or other group that might
be able to use it.
If your computer is not upgradeable, it can be recycled. In the last legislative
session, HB 2714 was passed, mandating that by September 1, 2008, computer makers
must have a program in place to collect and recycle or reuse all computer equipment,
including monitors, they sell in the state. This does not, however, include
television sets.
Some people worry about recycling their computers because data on them could
be accessible. But simply pitching that computer in the trash is no protection
for your information.
A few companies specializing in recycling electronic waste will guarantee that
your personal information will be erased in a way that is unrecoverable. Some
will even travel to your location to pick it up, if you have enough scrap to
make it worth the trip.
Willing community groups or individuals can organize an electronic waste recycling
drive in their areas.
To find a company in your area, contact the Environmental Protection Agency
regional office at 1-800-887-6063 or visit the agency’s e-cycling website
at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling.
the tree from soaking up the water it needs to last all season.
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