Preventing Electrical Shocks

According to about.com these are the most sensible ways to prevent shock:

1. Be Safety Conscious
Working with electrical circuits can be dangerous if you don’t take certain safety precautions. Electrical shock can not only injure you but also kill you. Practice safety when working on any circuit and slow down! When you hurry through a project, there is a greater chance for an accident to occur.
2. Shut the Power Off
Always shut off the power to a circuit or device that you will be working on. This is the first thing you should do before working on any electrical circuit. I don’t know anyone who has been shocked by a circuit that is not energized.
3. Test the Circuit
After turning a circuit off, it's a good idea to check it with a tester to be sure that, indeed, it is off. Never assume that the circuit is off!
4. Ladders
Ladders are necessary to accomplish some electrical jobs. Never use an aluminum ladder on any electrical project. Always use an insulated fiberglass ladder to keep you safe.
5. Wet Locations
Avoid wet areas when working with or on anything electrical. If there is a reason that you have to be in that situation, wear rubber boots and gloves to lesson your chance of getting shocked. Tools and appliances should be plugged into a GFCI outlet or GFCI extension cord.
Don't forget to dry your hands before grabbing any cord to plug it in or unplug it. Wet hands and a frayed cord don't mix. You reach down to grab the cord and just like that, you've been shocked! Believe it or not, it happens.
6. Warning Labels
Finally, if you are working on the service panel or a circuit, be sure to place a warning label on the face of the panel. This will warn someone not to turn on the circuit that you are working on. There’s nothing worse than turning off the power, checking that it’s off and starting to work on the circuit, only to have someone come behind you and turn the circuit back on. Always think and ask questions before turning on a breaker that is shut off. Maybe someone is working on the other end.

Source: http://electrical.about.com/od/electricalsafety/tp/sixwaystopreventshock.htm 

Energy News: Green Homes

According to a study conducted by UC Berekeley and UCLA researchers homes that were labeled green by LEED, GreenPoint Rated and Energy Star sold for 9% higher than nongreen label homes.

Source: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/green-homes-sell-9-percent-more-study-says-17199

According to stopwaste.org there are many things you can do now to green your home without spending any money:

A:  First, before doing any construction and spending any money, you can immediately startoperating your home in a green fashion.

Save energy by:

1. turning off lights, TV, or stereo when you are not in a room
2. using ceiling fans to cool yourself, but turning them off when you are not in the room
3. don’t overheat or overcool your home, and adjust your system for when you are not home

Save water by:

1. not running water from any fixture when you are not using it directly
2. checking your timing schedule on your irrigation system and only running it when needed
3. washing only full loads of laundry or dishes, or setting the water level to the appropriate depth

Improve indoor air quality by:

1. taking your shoes off when you enter the home or using a sturdy welcome mat as this is how most of the dust and particles come into your home
2. running your bathroom and stovetop exhaust fans to remove humidity and fumes
3. keeping cleaning materials, pesticides and other hazardous chemicals safely stored in the garage rather than inside the home near the children. When you do buy these materials next time, try buying ones which are less toxic.

Lead a green lifestyle by:

1. preventing waste before it starts, only buy what you need
2. being conscientious about recycling and reusing as much as you can
3. start trying to compost some kitchen and yard wastes

Why Electric Vehicles?

One of the many reasons electric vehicles were created was to reduce carbon emissions.

1. The only way to release almost no emission while driving can only happen with vehicles that run on electricity.
2. Biofuels couldn't achieve zero-emissions and require massive amounts of electricity and fossil fuels to be created. 
3. Only electricity is infrastructure-ready.
4. Cost per mile is cheaper with electricity.
5. Electricity generation and distribution is publicly regulated. Public and citizen involvement in pricing and rule-making is not possible with petroleum or bio-fuels.
6. Electricity generation will be ever more renewable,cleaner, diversified, distributed, redundant, and secure.
7. Ensure that electricity generation will be more renewable, cleaner, diversified, distributed, redundant, and secure.
8. Plug-in hybrids and electric cars offer a difference in kind rather than just degree.

Source: http://www.pluginamerica.org/why-plug-vehicles/-case-electricity

How to Tame Your Summer Electric Bill

Your summer electricity bill does not have to be ridiculously high in the warm months.

A part of keeping the electricity bill down has to do with how hard you work your air conditioner. If you use heavy drapes on windows you can keep the house cool by not letting the summer sun intrude into the house. You can also use the energy saver option on your air conditioner or a thermostat to control the temperature when you're not around the home. When you turn off your air conditioner the temperature in your house will rise and your air conditioner will have to work even harder to cool down your house again. If you can make sure you have the most update air conditioning that way you know your air conditioner is working efficiently unlike many of the older models.

If you can limit the use of your air conditioner you can drastically cut down your electricity bill in the summer time. Ceiling fans and window fans use much less electricity than air conditioners. These are great to use at night or during the day to keep air circulating in your home.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Programmable Thermostats

Did you know that you can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling by turning your thermostat down 7 to 10 degrees Farenheit for 8 hours a day where you would normally set. With a programmable thermostat you can schedule the times that you turn on the heating or air conditioning. This prevents wasting energy so that the heating and cooling is not running while you are not at home.

In the summer time you can save money by automatically turning up the air conditioner at night or when you're away from home.

(photo credit)

Source: energysavers.gov