Test Your Electrical Savvy
On February 11, 1847 the genius inventor of the electrical age, Thomas Edison, was born. Nearly 160 years later, his most famous invention, the light bulb, still has an essential place in the home. With often no more than four hours of sleep per night and his personal creed of, "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration," his work with electricity is legendary.
For all the work done by Edison and his predecessors, most people know only as much about electricity as is absolutely necessary to go about their daily lives; in other words, not very much. But ignorance isn't always bliss. A little information can prevent shocks and reduce power bills. Here are a handful of true/false questions to test your Electrical IQ:
1. If lights flicker or dim repeatedly, you should call an electrician. TRUE. Anytime the lights flicker or dim repeatedly, there is a problem and the electrician should be called. Power outages due to power line accidents, strong wind, storms or extreme heat can cause brief interruptions. You can verify the details with the local power company. But continuous flickering or dimming of lights signifies an overload, and you need to contact a professional. You should also call your electrician if you are constantly resetting circuit breakers or changing fuses, smell burning wires or need to replace faulty wiring.
2. It's cheaper to leave fluorescent lights on when exiting a room than it is to turn them back on when you return. FALSE. This is a commonly held belief, based on the erroneous notion that fluorescent bulbs use a lot of power to get started. While it is true that a compact fluorescent bulb does require a brief surge when switched on, it works out to be around the same amount of energy as five seconds of normal use, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. So turning the lights off for more than five seconds will save more energy than leaving them on.
3. A circuit breaker is not designed to protect against a ground fault. TRUE. Circuit breakers are designed to protect against high levels of electrical current caused by a short circuit. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCIs) protect against ground faults, when current leaking from an appliance goes to ground through a person touching the appliance. Even a small amount of current passing through a person this way can be lethal; a GFCI will trip if there's a ground fault, whereas a circuit breaker won't.
4. A two-parter: Computer screen savers save energy, and your computer will last longer if you leave it on all day, instead of shutting it off when you're not using it. FALSE AND FALSE. Screen savers only save screens, not energy. If you want to save energy, turn the monitor off. In fact, the EPA recommends you turn the computer off, too, if you aren't going to use it within a half hour. They claim the lifetime of the hard disc is limited by use, rather than start-ups.
5. You can damage a power tool by using the wrong size extension cord. TRUE. If your electric lawn mower, hedge trimmer, or leaf blower doesn't get enough power, either because the extension cord is too thin or too long to deliver it, it can damage and eventually destroy the motor. Also, overloading an extension cord can cause a fire or shock hazard. Be sure to use a cord rated to provide the proper amperage the tool requires, listed on the tool. Remember, when dealing with electrical issues in your home, safety should be your number one priority.
BIA NOTES: Geothermal energy has been utilized for centuries, even millennia, so in that sense it is not new. Our earth is a huge sleeping giant of stored solar energy just waiting to be tapped. There is 50,000 times more energy in the upper six miles of the earth's crust than in all of the global oil and natural-gas reserves combined. But the big question is, how accessible, practical, and affordable is this energy with today's technology? When you take a look at long term savings on energy costs and payback periods, the answer is a resounding "yes." Geothermal heat pumps are already at work converting the constant temperatures of the earth to heating and cooling for residential and commercial use.
Jumpstart your spring building projects by taking advantage of the over 900 home plans in every style and square footage imaginable from the Nelson Design Group (NDG). They also have other services available such as Land Planning, Estimating, Commercial stock plans and Interior Color selection kits. To tour these plans, all you have to do is long onto our website at www.biacc.org. and click on the NDG link on the home page.
April is New Homes Month and it is coming during a period of rising interest rates and a slow down in new home construction. But savvy consumers can take advantage of creative perks being offered by lenders and many home builders today. There is no reason for homebuyers to panic. A projected decline of approximately 8 percent in 2006 new-home sales would return the market to the same healthy level of activities posted in 2004. Interest rates, despite recent increases, remain relatively low.