You’ve probably seen the Energy Star sticker on countless appliances throughout the past couple decades. The symbol has become ubiquitous with energy saving since it emerged 24 years ago. But how effective are Energy Star appliances in application? Is it just another marketing tactic or does it have a real impact on your energy bill? Will the appliances pay for themselves? The answers to these questions aren’t exactly simple, but can be enlightening.
Energy Star Appliances: Do They Really Pay for Themselves?
Animals and Its Electricity Impact at Home
Many of you in the Seattle area might remember this incident from last May, when a raccoon managed to somehow cause massive power outage in the Seattle area, affecting almost 40,000 people due to electricity impact. A smaller number of you might recall this strange event, as well. While these examples are rather unusual sets of circumstances, it’s not unusual for animals to cause problems with power and impact electricity on a much smaller scale.
Even though animals causing large-scale blackouts isn’t as uncommon as you’d assume, we’re going to leave that alone for today and talk about animals and their impact on your personal and local electrical situation: your house, and maybe the ones right in your immediate area.
So, how can animals cause the power in your home to have problems?
Keeping an Eye on Your Electrical Bill
You’ve probably seen some items in the news recently about customers across the country spying problems with their electrical bills. Between confusing data, inconsistent information, and (unfortunately) some electric companies marking up bills in their favor, it’s difficult to know exactly whether or not you’re being charged fairly for your electricity usage. This is why it’s important that every customer understands a thing or two about how to interpret the various parts of their power bill. That way, if you suspect that you are being charged incorrectly or unfairly, you can understand what your bill says in order to find and fight the discrepancies.
Here Come the Electric Cars: How Will They Impact My Electricity Bill?
Without a doubt, one of the biggest revolutions in transportation over the past decade has been the mainstream adoption of the electric car. Once considered a bit of an eccentric idea, the electric car has since made its mark in our society with over half a million plug-in vehicles on American roads in 2016. In Seattle alone, the number of electric vehicles on the road is expected to be around 12,000 by the beginning of the 2020s. Regardless of the numbers, the future is clear: electric cars are here to stay, and will only become more popular as time goes by.
Preparing Yourself for Winter Power Outages and Emergencies
Let’s talk about winter power outages. When the electricity threatens to go, what do you do to keep yourself prepared? With snow, wind, and rain causing branches to break and cause blackouts, you could be out of power for hours or days. That’s why it’s important to have the right resources to stay warm and comfortable while you wait out the storm – or the right electrician if it’s something minor that calls for a professional. You’ll be glad you prepared in advance, instead of sitting in the dark twiddling your thumbs.
Below is a list of items that you should have ready to keep yourself safe and warm while you patiently wait for the lights to come back on.
How to Spot Electrical Problems With Your Furnace
If you find your furnace isn’t producing enough heat, or is just not even turning on at all, what do you do? You could call an electrician or a heating and air company, but fear not! There might be a quick fix available. Before doing anything, it’s best to check if the system even turns on. By turning your thermostat three-to-five degrees above your room temperature in the heat setting, you should hear it turn on within 10-30 seconds. If nothing happens, or you don’t feel much heat coming from the vent, it’s time to go down the list of potential causes.
How To Improve Your Electricity Bill in the Winter
Traditionally, winter is thought of as a magical time of year with snowball fights, hot cocoa, and fashionable coats. But if you own a home, it can feel less magical and more maddening. All the whimsy of the season goes away the second you take a look at your dreaded electricity bill.
So, how do you keep winter from hurting your wallet? To help you out, Wire Craft came up with a bunch of tips to help to protect you from the winterizing brutality of coldness and the electrical bill that comes with it.
Best Uses For Track Lighting In Your Home
In a fancy restaurant, you’ve probably been amazed by the mood-setting atmosphere. The subtleness of the task lighting above your table, paired with the specific accent lighting on walls, highlighting tasteful decor, gives you that romantic feeling without you having to worry about… well, eating in the dark. You can thank track lighting for all these feels. Track lighting uses multiple lights on a rail system, pointing in different directions to create a dynamic effect on an object, wall, or surface. So how does a home use track lighting, and where might you be missing opportunities to provide unmatched ambiance? As it turns out, track lighting was first made popular in home decor… so, it’s worth considering as you decide on lighting for your main living spaces.
Preventing Home Invasion in the Greater Seattle Area
Hardly anyone thinks about safety and security in their home these days. We have become so lax about preparing for intruders that we deconstructed our walls, filled in our moats, and replaced the white knight that hangs out in front of our doorstep with a cute lawn gnome. Even modern television shows like Fuller House play on the lack of security with all members of the home saying “it’s always open” for anyone that rings the doorbell. This could be a dream house for modern bandits. Lets snap out of fantasy for a bit and talk about a few ways to prevent your home from being invaded.
Make Your Backyard Pop With Outdoor Lighting
Your backyard is your oasis. It’s a place to go to relax and have fun. Your kids love being outside, enjoying the little slice of nature that belongs to you – whether it’s to make snowmen in the winter, or to play a competitive game of volleyball in the summer. You enjoy having a place to go outside, to get away from it all and find a little peace and quiet. There’s a way to make your backyard pop even more, and that’s with outdoor lighting. Here are some tips on how you can use proper accent lighting outside.
