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IT'S BEEN COLD!!!
There's no question it has been cold lately. Forecasters report the longest stretch of cold weather in over 30 years settled into North Carolina in December and January. According to weather data, the low temperatures from December 16 through January 16 show 29 of 32 readings below freezing.
In 2010, the first two weeks of January were particularly cold, with lows hovering in the upper teens to low 20's and highs in the mid 30's to low 40's. Compare that to the average low for January which is 29 degrees and the average high which is 52 degrees. The National Weather Service reports that a cold snap of this duration was last seen 33 years ago in January 1977.
The number of heating degree days (HDD), essentially an index of how much energy is needed for heating purposes, is a good way to measure the severity of temperatures during a particular period of time. The high the cumulative number of heating degree days, the more extreme the temperature and the more energy consumed to provide heat.
There were 905 Heating Degree Days from December 15, 2009 through January 15, 2010. Compare that to 546 HDD for the same period last year. Essentially, it was 66% colder from mid-December to mid January 2010 than it was during the same time period in 2009.
The combination of frigid temperatures, over such a long period of time, caused customers to use more energy to heat their homes. As a result, their bills were higher than normal.
It's difficult to predict the impact to customers' bills because of a number of factors. Bills vary because of different lifestyles, the age and capacity of heating units, condition of duct systems, size and thermal efficiency of the home, "air leaks," thermostat settings, etc. Evan a two or three degree difference in the thermostat setting can have a dramatic impact on the amount of energy used.
The efficiendy of a heat pump is reduced in severely cold weather, forcing the back-up heat supply to come on more often. This back-up heat could be three times more expensive than the heat pump alone.
And, it's not just heating that's affected, but hot water as well. With low temperatures, the water coming into the hot water tank is colder. When the tank sits in the garage, carport or other unheated area, it takes longer to heat up the water and uses more electricity. Also, some people have a tendency to take longer, hotter showers in the winter than they do in the summer
Information provided by Greenville Utilities, Greenville, NC www.guc.com
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SWINE FLU
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The Swine Flu – What can you do as a home owner to minimize your risk?
With the recent coverage of the latest emerging flu strain (the so-called swine flu, H1N1), home owners are scrambling to see what they can do within their home to mitigate the risk of possible infection.
What is H1N1?
This particular strain of influenza, H1N1, is being called the swine flu, but it’s actually a combination of swine flu, avian flu and the common flu. According to industry experts, in its current form, H1N1, it isn’t particularly robust. However, viruses have a way of mutating and getting stronger, and this could become more evident as time passes. The term “Pandemic” simply describes the fact that the virus is showing up in several countries across the globe at more or less the same time. Although the term sounds bad, in fact it does not describe the virus’s strength, it is more of a geographic indicator. The CDC – Center for Disease Control is in a cautious – yet hopefully prepared mode.
How does it Spread?
H1N1 has been shown to spread like the common flu, via small airborne droplets (like those generated by a sneeze). Thus – we need to take the general precautions of washing our hands frequently, and being acutely aware of the risks associated in public areas. Should someone come in direct contact or physically transmit the virus (i.e. sneezing, putting their hands in their mouth or eyes), there is no help as transmission has occurred. But prior to direct contact, once a person sneezes – the virus and saliva atomizes in the air – and it now becomes airborne.
So how do you kill this flu?
According to industry experts, UV systems for air treatment and Whole House Air Cleaners would have a preventative effect on the environment. This is where technology can really help. The airborne contaminates can be spread through your home HVAC system – BUT with UV lights and IAQ equipment (whole house air filtration) your risk can be minimized. Killing and capturing the virus before it can be spread.
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HISTORY of AC
The idea of air conditioning started before a machine was created to produce the cooling effect desired. The first attempt at building an air conditioner was made by Dr. John Gorrie (1803-1855), an American physician, in Apalachicola, Florida. During his practice there in the 1830s, Dr. Gorrie creating an ice-making machine that essentially blew air over a bucket of ice for cooling hospital rooms of patients suffering from malaria and yellow fever.
In 1881, when President James Garfield was dying, naval engineers constructed a box-like structure containing cloths saturated with melted ice water, where a fan blew hot air overhead. This contraption was able to lower a room by 20 degrees Fahrenheit but consumed half a million pounds of ice in two months' time.
A close ancestor to the modern air conditioner units was first made in 1902 by an American engineer by the name of Willis Carrier. The machine at that time was called "Apparatus for Treating Air" and was built for the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Co. in Brooklyn, New York. Chilled coils were used in the machine to cool air and lower humidity to 55%, although the apparatus was made with enough precision that the humidity level desired was adjustable.
After the invention by Carrier, air conditioners began to bloom. They first hit the industrial buildings such as printing plants, textile mills, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and a few hospitals. The first air-conditioned home was that of Charles Gates, son of gambler John "Bet a Million" Gates, in Minneapolis in 1914. However, during the first wave of their installation, Carrier's air conditioner units were large, expensive, and dangerous due to the toxic ammonia that was used as coolant.
In 1922, Carrier had two breakthroughs - he replaced the ammonia with the benign coolant dielene and added a central compressor to reduce the size of the unit. The next advance was when Carrier sold his invention to movie-theater operators, with a notable debut in 1925 at the Rivoli on Broadway in New York City. In a short amount of time, air conditioners were installed in office buildings, department stores and railroad cars. The United States House of Representatives had air conditioners installed in 1928, with the Senate, White House and Supreme Court following suit in the years after. After World War II, window units air conditioners appeared, with sales escalating from 74,000 in 1948 to 1,045,000 in 1953.
Today, air conditioners have been said to be a partial cause for the changes in the South, and for most of us who have experienced its cooling benefits in times of searing heat waves, it is an invention that is hard to live without.
Source: Jones Jr., Malcolm. "Air Conditioning". Newsweek. Winter 1997 v130 n24-A p42(2).
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DID YOU KNOW?
MYTH: It's more efficient to leave the air conditioner running at a lower level during the day than to shut it off and have to re-cool the house again later.
FACT: The less you use the AC, the less electricity you use. When the AC is running regardless of the level, you are paying for it, when it is off, you're not. Keep your windows closed while the AC is off to keep out additional humidity, a well insulated home should only drop a few degrees throughout the day while you're not home.
MYTH: Opening the registers in all rooms and leaving the interior doors open will circulate cold air throughout the house more efficiently.
FACT: Closing doors, vents and ductwork to unused rooms makes better and more efficient use of an air conditioner. Cold air goes where the heat is. If there is a hot unused room, the air conditioner will work to cool it off. By closing that room off to the rest of the house (by register or even more closing the duct work leading to that room), your home will stay cooler more effeciently.
MYTH: To cool off a house faster, you should crank the thermostat 5-7 degrees cooler than the desired temperature until the home cools off.
FACT: Lowering the temperature on the thermostat does not make the air conditioner work any faster when cooling off your home. An air conditioner extracts the hot air in a home and replaces it with cold. An air conditioner only replaces a given amount of hot air with cold in a particular time frame.
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TIPS FOR SAVING
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Tips for saving on your utility bill. |
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WOULD YOU?
Would you drive your car 20,000 miles without changing the oil, checking the tires, or giving it a regular tune-up? Of course not. No car owner would drive a car for that many miles without proper maintenance. It has to do with safety, reliability and fuel efficiency.
So, why do you ignore your air conditioner? Regular tune-ups will keep it running more effeciently longer. This can save on repair bills and even cut utility bills.
Call us today for a quote on an Energy Savings Agreement that can save you money on your utility bills.
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