Making Light Work

As nightfall starts earlier and earlier, we again notice how much we depend on light to live our normal lives.  Light changes what we can do and how easily we do it. 

Simply having brighter bulbs can make a life brighter.  Light fixtures have ratings for the maximum wattage bulbs they can handle.  The issue is heat.  A 60 watt bulb creates 60 watts of heat.  Too much heat can 'cook' the electrical insulation to where it gets brittle and causes a short circuit.

However, CFL (Compact FLuorescent or my description: Curly Fluorescent) bulbs give you more light with less wattage.  A "60-watt-equivalent" CFL bulb may only use 13 watts of electricity and therefore generate only 13 watts of heat.  You could put in a 75-watt equivalent CFL bulb, save energy, not overheat the fixture and still have more light. 

Aftermath of the flood

Since the flood a month ago, there have been a lot of requests for generators and battery backup sump pumps.  The materials for these jobs have been hard to get since so many people are interested in them. 
One little-discussed aspect of choosing a generator is the maintenance issue.  One major brand has you check/set the valve clearance after 50 hours of use.  Another had hydraulic lifters that are self-adjusting.  This makes a difference in the life of the generator but I doubt shoppers are aware of it.

Trying to help

With the 'flood' of calls, you soon realize that you can't help everyone.  We worked to have answers for as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.  Our emergency line was overwhelmed.  We'd be on one call, and be getting 3 more.  A few times, I would be helping people, but I'd actually say "I'm going to rush to solve your problem quickly so I can get to the next call.  I'm know I'm being brusque and not listening to your full story but I need to help more people".   I am impressed with how most people understood the need for priorities and the lack of firm scheduling

Got fans?

Most people know if their ceiling fans work.  But if your roof  fan isn't working, sometimes you only notice that you're hotter and the a/c is running more.  You should be able to hear it running quietly on a hot sunny day.

Shut-off switches and breakers

We've had several calls about problems we were able to solve by phone.  
Partial power out in the house:  We have details in the Helpful Hints section of our website: How to check and/or reset circuit breakers.   With the hot weather, people have overloaded their circuits.  Resetting all the individual breakers often solves this. (It it makes noise and trips again, you have a serious problem for us to fix.)
No central a/c working:   Again in our Helpful Hints section, A/C checklist:   check all the shut-off switches: thermostat, top of the basement stairs, on the furnace/air handler.   

Click here to go to the Helpful Hints page.

New Newsletter

We just emailed, and posted online our Summer newsletter: tips for a/c issues, water (from different sources) and smoke detectors.  Click here to read it.

Light bulbs are hot!

Breaking news: Light bulbs are hot.   What's the big deal? When it's as hot as it's been, simply keeping the lights off can make it cooler.  Yes, the a/c can overcome their heat, but ceiling lights can make you feel hot just because you're closer to them and their heat has not yet affected the thermostat.