The march of consumer product efficiency continues. Modems, routers and other internet equipment are the latest items to get a bump in energy efficiency thanks to a voluntary agreement between manufacturers and trade associations. The standards mean that new equipment should use about 10 to 20 percent less electricity than the gear currently on the market. The bottom line – reduced energy bills for consumers.

Homes Across the Country

The change is ultimately expected to affect 80 million homes in the United States. Currently, the terms run through 2017 and require manufacturers and providers to make their efficiency data available publicly – ask an electrician if you need help interpreting the data or picking out the best model once the new equipment hits the shelves.

“DOE appreciates industry’s voluntary commitment to improving the energy efficiency of small network equipment, and looks forward to the progress they can make and verification of the impacts at the appropriate time,” Dr. Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency, U.S. Department of Energy, said in a press release. 

Preparing for the Internet of Things

The voluntary agreement was hammered out among the Consumer Electronics Association, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the companies that make the equipment. This efficiency upgrade comes at a crucial time – not only are modems and routers essential for internet access, they will only become more important as smart technology advances and more of your household systems are hooked up to the internet.

“This agreement will begin saving consumers energy and money – and do so long before any mandatory regulatory standards could take effect – while protecting innovation and competition,” Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, said in a press release. “By setting requirements for energy-efficient broadband equipment now, the agreement will lock-in efficiencies at the dawn of the Internet of Things, which depends on strong broadband networking.”

Following the Cable Box Lead

This agreement is similar to a voluntary deal worked out by manufacturers of cable set-top boxes, in which the companies worked with the U.S. government to set an attainable benchmark. The deals are voluntary out of practicality, because federal regulations can take years to take effect and can be quickly rendered obsolete by ever-advancing technology.

“Our industry has proven that voluntary, energy-conservation agreements are the best means of effectively improving energy efficiency, while recognizing the lightning-fast pace of tech innovation,” Shapiro said.

Similar to the set-top boxes, modems and internet equipment are nearly ubiquitous in U.S. households, and they draw power nearly all the time unless the family pulls the plug at night. That means there's a lot of room for cutting back on their electricity usage. If you aren't sure whether the energy savings are worth upgrading your modem or router, ask an electrician to help calculate your consumption and offer strategies on how to get the best return on your conservation investment.

As I’ve said before, I’ve spent years in the electrical business working hard to help people save money and keep safe.  But I’m not really any different from any other American.  At the end of the day, I get to lay down my work for a while and come home to my wife and children, and I want nothing more in all the world than for them to be happy and safe.  For me, that’s one of the places where being a parent and being a Top Garland electrician can come together.  I have the expertise from my trade to do what any parent would want to do; make your home safer for your family.  Which makes this story I’m about to share with you hit me even harder than it would otherwise.  I can’t think of anything worse than something like this befalling the people I love.

Not so long ago, a mother in Texas was bathing her five and six year-old children when disaster struck.  A hair dryer, plugged into an outlet nearby, was accidentally pulled off a nearby counter, and wound up falling into the bathtub.  The current from the hair dryer quickly passed into the bathwater.  Neither child survived.

What makes the story even more tragic is that the deaths of these children could have been prevented with an investment of less than sixty dollars in equipment and labor costs.   Specifically, installing a GFCI or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, could have saved the lives of these children. The home the family lived in was an older home, and as a result the circuit in the bathroom wasn’t equipped with this simple yet incredibly important piece of equipment.

A GFCI is designed to quickly interrupt the flow of electric current when it detects that the current is imbalanced, which is a sign that current’s passing through something other than what it’s supposed to, like a person.  This can be a danger when we’re dealing with outlets close to water; the composition and chemical structure of water make it an extremely effective conductor of electric current.  It doesn’t take very much water, either; unplugging an appliance with your hand in a small amount of spilled water on a counter top can cause you to suddenly complete a circuit to the ground, giving you a very nasty shock.

As you might expect, this means that a GFCI should (and by code, must) be installed anywhere there’s a electric device close to water. This isn’t limited to kitchens and bathrooms either; GFCIs should also be installed on outlets located in garages, near any counter top, near pools and hot tubs, and on any external outlets.

We don’t always think of external outlets as needing a GFCI, but they do; remember, any electronic equipment you use outside interacts with the elements.  Using an electric lawn care device, like a weed whacker or electric mower on wet grass can be dangerous, especially if you happen to run over the cord, which could create a circuit between the electricity and the ground through your body.

One of the most common issues I see where GFCIs are lacking, and could be potentially dangerous, lie where there is plenty of water:  your swimming pool.   Older pools, like older homes, may not have a GFCI installed on the pool light located under the surface.  Over time, the seal that keeps water out of the pool light can break down; if and when they do, it can turn your pool from a fun place to spend time to a place to get to get your goose cooked in the blink of an eye.

Although all outlets like the ones listed above must be equipped with GFCIs according to code, this hasn’t always been the case.  Older homes, like the one where those two children were killed, may have been built before these regulations were put in place.  If you have any question whatsoever I strongly recommend that you contact a Top Garland electrician as soon as possible to perform an inspection.

As we've discussed before on this blog, spring brings with it a few weeks of abnormally wet weather here in the Mid-Atlantic, which is evidenced by the current storms that are barreling down on the region. Basements throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. are regularly flooded as a result, potentially costing homeowners thousands of dollars in damage if they didn't prepare accordingly.

While most residents know the importance of having a sump pump to keep the water out, there are other precautions that residents need to take to avoid catastrophe when their basements begin flooding.

Many older homes often feature electrical systems that are outdated and not up to current safety codes. One particularly sensitive kind of wiring is the "knob and tube" design, which leaves a complete grid of crisscrossing wires exposed along the ceiling of the basement. Its been decades since this kind of layout was considered acceptable in residential structures, and homes that have them are more than likely dealing with wires that have seen much better days.

During extreme weather conditions, any number of events could result in a deficiency in the system that may either spark a fire or down a wire in homes that feature knob and tube layouts. If the wires in the basement either fall or are damaged in the event of a flood, they have the potential to expose electrical currents to a growing pool of water. This is an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal safety hazard for homeowners to contend with.