Saving Electricity

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TURNING OFF ISN'T ENOUGH...UNPLUG!

September 12, 2011

If you leave your desktop computer plugged in when you’re not using it, you’ll pay around $5.40 a month for the power it uses. Your printer costs you about the same—even when it’s turned off. Your big-screen TV and microwave oven run $2 and some change when they’re plugged in but turned off. And phone chargers, cable TV converter boxes, modems and even power tools run up a tab if you leave them plugged in when they’re not in use.

The electricity they use is called “phantom power,” and it can add up to hundreds of dollars a year.

The reason: Any device with a timer or memory chip stays “live” when you turn it off so everything remains programmed correctly. Digital cameras, coffee makers, wireless phones—all use phantom power unless you unplug them when you’re finished using them.

So if you don’t need to leave an electrical device plugged in while you’re not using it, unplug it and save yourself some money.

Oak Breaks and Falls

We had about a quarter inch of rain early in the evening yesterday. It cooled things off a bit and I was reading on the porch before dark. I heard a little crack and leaf rustle like a limb fell. I got up and looked at the old red oak that stood at the far end of the house. It had provided shade and coolness for us the 25 years we have lived here. Lately (the last year) it seemed to me that it was leaning more than it should and I thought again how if it fell, it would take out the power line and hopefully fall away from the house.
 About 9 o'clock there was a muffled noise and then the lights went out. I knew almost immediately what it was. I went to the back stoop and shined the flashlight in that direction to verify that I was correct. Against the sky I could see the snag that was left standing.The trunk was rotten inside all the way to where the limbs started. I said a prayer of thanks that it had not fallen into the house. I did not go out to get a closer look as I knew the power line was down.
 I called TREC and about 3 hours later they arrived with 2 trucks and the gear that they needed to get the power back on. I am so thankful for the brave people who come so readily when called. I do not know how many there were but a number of people were wrested from their beds or at least they may have been thinking about bed, and  came to our rescue in the middle of the night,and put the power back on so that I could have my coffee this morning.
 Everything about this incident worked out the very best it could. The tree completely missed the house. It broke instead of pulling up out of the ground. If it had pulled out of the ground it would probably have damaged the septic tank which is nearby. No one was hurt in the incident, and TREC came and fixed the power problem right away. I went to sleep thinking what a lucky duck I am!!!
  I hope I am as lucky getting someone to clear the tree away. The last time a mere limb fell, I was scammed out of $200 and the huge limb left behind. My neighbor kindly cleaned it up for the firewood. If you know anyone interested in cleaning it up, please let me know. Also free firewood.
 You can click on these pictures to see them in a larger format.