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ELECTRIC NOTES
WHAT TO DO WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT
When severe weather causes power outages, employees of your electric cooperative begin working immediately to restore service as quickly as possible. then the secondary lines serving just a few customers are serviced. Medical facilities and individuals on life-support systems get top priority.
When your lights go out, look outside and see whether your neighbors are also in the dark. If they’re not, check your fuse box or circuit breaker to see if you can locate the problem.
If the outage has affected your neighbors, call your cooperative.
Outages that occur in severe weather, or that last for an extended period of time, can place a heavy burden on the system at the moment power is restored. To prevent an overload on the system and possibly another outage, take these steps:
• Turn off every inside light except one.
• Turn down your thermostat.
• In cold weather, close windows and drapes to save heat. Pick one room on the warm side of the house (preferably one with a fireplace). Close the door to the rest of the house and use blankets to insulate your windows.
• If the outage lasts over 60 minutes, turn off your electric water heater.
• Make sure your kitchen range is off, both the surface and the oven. Never use it for heat.
• Turn off all unnecessary appliances.
• Avoid opening the freezer door. A full, freestanding freezer will keep food at freezing temperatures for about two days; a half-full freezer about a day. For more information about food safety during and after a power outage, call the USDA Food Safety Hotline at 1-800-535-4555.
• If you see a downed power line, STAY AWAY! And call your cooperative at once!
• Leave your porch light on so workers will know when your power has been restored.
• When power comes back on, slowly switch your appliances and lights back on and gradually return your thermostat to its normal setting.
Preparing for Severe Weather
Your electric cooperative works hard to keep the power on for its customers, but severe weather can sometimes put us in the dark. You'll be safer and less inconvenienced if you have the following emergency supplies on hand:
• Flashlight with fresh batteries
• Radio with fresh batteries
• Candles and holders
• Blankets
• Matches
• Wind-up clock
• Firewood and kindling
• Manual can opener
• Charcoal grill with charcoal
• Paper plates and plastic utensils
• Lighter
• Bottled water
• Nonperishable food
• Extra batteries
10 WAYS TO SAVE ENERGY—AND MONEY—THIS WINTER
No money for new windows or thicker insulation? Here are 10 cheap and easy ways to shave your energy use this winter—without feeling cold:
1. Turn on your ceiling fan—yes, in the winter. Switch the direction of the fan to clockwise (just flip the switch on the fan’s base into the “winter” position), and run the unit slowly. It will circulate the warm air that rises to your ceiling and make you feel warmer while you’re in the room.
2. Add weatherstripping or caulk around windows and doors to keep warm air from leaking out and cold air from sneaking in.
3. Rearrange your furniture. Move it away from heating vents. Push your most frequently used furniture away from exterior walls, which can feel colder than interior walls.
4. Install a programmable thermostat. Turning back your thermostat by 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day can save you up to 15 percent on heat.
5. Open drapes and blinds every day to let the warm sun in. Close them when it gets dark.
6. Repair leaks in your ductwork’s seams and joints with a duct-sealing compound.
7. Wear a sweater so you can lower the thermostat a few degrees. You can save 1 percent on your heating bill for every degree you drop the heat.
8. Close the vents and doors in unused rooms.
9. Replace burned-out lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lights. CFLs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.
10. Switch to cold water for washing clothes and dishes.
PORTABLE SPACE HEATER SAFETY
• Keep drapes, newspapers, clothing and other combustible objects a safe distance away.
• Plug portable space heaters directly into the outlet. Do not use extension cords.
• Always put heaters in a place where they can’t be tipped over easily.
• Do not use heaters in wet or moist areas, such as bathrooms, unless they are specifically built for that purpose.
• Make sure the plug of the heater fits snugly in the outlet.
• Don’t use space heaters in rooms where children are unsupervised.
• Turn off the space heater and unplug it when not in use.
SAFE HOLIDAY LIGHTING TIPS
Before the last Thanksgiving pie is finished or the final quarter of that heart-stopping football game has ended, some folks are ready to start stringing up holiday lights. When you get ready to decorate, observe these safety tips to help ensure that your holiday season is safe from electrical hazard:
• Before decorating, read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installation and maintenance of all decorative electrical products.
• Indoors and out, use lights and other electrical decorations certified by a recognized independent testing laboratory, such as CSA, UL or ETL.
• Outdoors, use only lights and other electrical decorations certified for outdoor use.
• Carefully inspect each decoration before plugging into an outlet. Cracked, frayed, loose or bare wires and loose connections may cause a serious electric shock or start a fire. Replace damaged items.
• Always unplug an electrical decoration before replacing bulbs or fuses.
• Don’t mount or support light strings in any way that might damage the cord’s insulation.
• Never nail or staple light strings or extension cords.
• Do not connect more than three light strings together.
• Light strings with screw-in bulbs should have no more than 50 bulbs connected together.
• Don’t overload extension cords—they can overheat and start a fire. Keep all outdoor extension cords and light strings clear of snow and standing water and well protected from weather.
• Use caution when decorating near power lines. Contact with a high-voltage line could be deadly.
• Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and a person touching a branch could be electrocuted.
• Don’t allow children or pets to play with electrical decorations. Even small lights can produce a deadly electric shock if misused.
• Turn off all electrical decorations before leaving home or going to bed.
• Plug outdoor electric lights and decorations into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs).
CAN YOUR FRIDGE HANDLE THANKSGIVING?
Your turkey—and your family—won’t be the only ones who get stuffed this Thanksgiving. Your refrigerator and freezer will be stuffed before and after the big meal.
With all that extra use, it pays to make sure your cold appliances are up to snuff before cooking time rolls around.
If you’re one of the many homeowners whose refrigerators are more than 10 years old, you’re paying more than you have to for electricity.
That aging appliance may still keep food cold, but it’s doing so at a cost. New Energy Star refrigerators gobble at least 15 percent less energy than federal standards require and 40 percent less than models sold just seven years ago, according to the Department of Energy.
When you shop for a refrigerator or freezer, read the EnergyGuide label that you’ll see in the store. It tells you how many kilowatt-hours of electricity the unit will consume in a year. The smaller the number, the better.
And opt for a refrigerator with a freezer on the bottom or the top; side-by-side designs burn more energy. Also, stand-alone, chest-style freezers are usually better insulated than upright models.
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