Happy Veterans Day everyone and a sincere thank you to those who have served or currently serving.
Weather Related Outages/Blinks
You may have blinking clocks when you get home. The gusty winds with today’s cold front is certainly finding all of the loose limbs in the trees and generally giving the breakers on the power lines a workout. As always, the lineworkers are taking care of any outages as quickly and safely as possible. They do have warm coats but I don’t envy being on a pole or up in a bucket truck with the cold and wind. Kudos for making it work out there!
You can always track outages and see restoration progress in the outage center at tvec.net.
Capital Credits – Reminder
TVEC will return just over $5 million in capital credits to members from 1991-2018. If you know any former members who no longer receive service from TVEC, they should check to make sure we have a good address for their refund check. Current members will receive a credit on bills mailed in December.
Heater Safety
With the first extended bout of really cold weather coming up, safety is the first concern.
Space heaters can be a go-to for spot warmth, and of course you don’t want to put them near anything flammable. But the amount of electrical current they draw can cause real problems as well. They are intended to be plugged directly into the wall. Most extension cords and power strips are not designed for that kind of sustained load and can heat up to dangerous temperatures.
Here is a quick video showing how that can happen..
On the efficiency side – there are a couple of things to think about for space heater use. While they can be effective for smaller areas, they are not efficient for keeping a house warm. Running multiple high-wattage space heaters can run up electricity usage remarkably fast. For the easy math, remember that a 1,500 watt heater will use 1.5 kWh each hour it runs. When it has to make up for a 30-40 degree difference from the outside temperature, it can run for quite a bit of the time. Do that for multiple heaters and the usage can add up very quickly.
If you are shopping for a heater this week, Consumer Reports made this video showing some things to think about for getting the most heat for the money.
And – the best efficiency investment is often weather sealing around the house. Air drafts carry the heat away and make a cold day feel even colder.
Weather Outlook
The front really made a dramatic entrance today and dropped temperatures in a hurry.
Expect more of the same for the week ahead with night time temperatures in the 30s until the weekend.
Don’s Random Things on the Internet
While you are on that site – get a visual on how you use your day
Bridges in northeastern India formed from living tree roots.
I need some new brake pads on my truck. Geek out with me to see.. Is there a difference between cheap and expensive pads?
And… Internet memes often start with a simple photo of a person, and that must be a surreal experience for the person in the photo.
