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Power Problems

GFI OutletReceptacles Controlled By Switches

In some homes and offices, a receptacle (outlet) on the wall is controlled by a light switch near the entrance to the room. This allows you to plug a lamp into the receptacle and turn it on and off with the switch.

If an appliance that is plugged into a receptacle has no power, first turn on all the light switches in the room. Sometimes the device will come on, which means that it’s controlled by a switch.

Read more …Power Problems

Energy Savings

1. Replace traditional incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) that have the ENERGY STAR® label. You might think of these as the little swirly guys that look like soft ice cream cones. These days, you have many choices of shapes, sizes, and colors of light. CFLs cost little up front and last up to 10 times longer than a regular incandescent light bulb.

2. Replace traditional bulbs or your CFL’s with LED bulbs. Your energy savings will be greatly enhanced; the 50,000 hours of life expectancy is a bonus.

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs create savings on your electric bill. Up to 20% of the average home’s electric bill goes for lighting. Because CFLs use up to 75% less electricity than a traditional bulb, they lower your bill and provide a quick return on investment.

If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR CFL, in one year enough energy would be saved to light more than 3 million homes. This would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road. CFLs also reduce mercury emissions to 1/5th of those generated by the use of traditional incandescent bulbs.

  • Install dimmers on your lights so that when you wish less light, you can reduce the amount of electricity your bulbs draw. We can install dimmers for you and also timers, motion-detector switches, and photo-sensitive switches that automatically turn off lights when you feel that they’re not needed. Ask us about the variety of dimmers and switches that will save on your electric bill, reduce carbon emissions, and save energy.
  • Install a programmable thermostat to keep your house comfortably warm in the winter and comfortably cool in the summer. You can program the thermostat to “remember” to turn off or reduce heating and cooling when you’re sleeping or not at home.
  • You can shave 25% off your energy bills by replacing older appliances like air conditioners and furnaces with models that carry the ENERGY STAR label. ENERGY STAR appliances meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

    While Energy Star appliances may be slightly more expensive, the extra cost will be more than paid back through reduced utility bills. You will also be helping the planet.

  • Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
  • Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
  • Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).
  • Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120°F.
  • Take short showers instead of baths.
  • Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
  • Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.

Visit www.energysavers.gov for more energy-saving ideas.

Portable Generators

Generator Tutorial

Dalpe Electric – Your New Hampshire and Massachusetts Generator Experts!

Telephone Power

When power goes out in your home, remember, YOUR CORDLESS PHONE WILL NOT WORK IF THE PHONE’S BASE UNIT HAS NO POWER. However, if this happens you can still use any telephone that is plugged directly into a telephone outlet.

Garbage Disposal Power

If your garbage disposal stops working you should:

1. First, make sure the power is turned off to the garbage disposal unit by ALWAYS making sure the switch to the garbage disposal is turned to the OFF position.

2. Clear out anything inside the garbage disposal which might be jamming up the motor and stopping it from working.

3. Briefly flip on the switch to the garbage disposal. Do you hear a humming noise? If you do, then there is power going to the disposal and the problem is that the disposal is broken or there is something stuck in it.

4. If you turn on the switch to the garbage disposal and you do not hear any humming noise, locate the small button that is somewhere on the disposal and press it to “re-set” the disposal. Then try turning on the disposal again.

5. Finally, try re-setting all the circuit breakers in your electrical panel to see if you can get power back.

To learn how to do this click here to see How To Reset Circuit Breakers.

If none of this works, it’s time to call a good electrician.