As we gear up for another winter, the Old Farmer’s Almanac warns it is going to be a rough one. Unfortunately, it isn’t supposed to be a wet one. However, bitter cold can make it difficult for the power grid to keep up with the demands of furnaces running everywhere. While the area typically has mild temperatures, there are times when a cold snap can result in widespread power outages. Many folks don’t have woodstoves to rely on and will be forced to ride out the power outage without their heaters. You can keep your family warm despite a power outage with the help of an electrician in Burbank. The team at The Electric Connection is ready to install a standby generator for your home that will ensure you have electricity on the coldest days.

A standby generator is a worthy investment. It can save you a lot of frustration and ultimately money lost by spoiled food and damaged electronics. A standby generator is essentially the same as a portable generator with the major difference being portability. The standby generator is wired directly into your house and is more of a fixture than something you bring out from time to time. Because of its more permanent setup, it is easier for the homeowner to use it when needed.

An electrician will go about hooking the generator up to your Burbank electrical panel. Depending on the size of the generator, you can opt to run the entire panel or a few select breakers. This is something you will want to consider carefully. The bigger the generator, meaning the more kilowatts put out, the higher the price. You will need a high-powered generator to run your furnace. Talk with your electrician or a generator dealer to learn more about the various sizes and what would work best for your needs. Give The Electric Connection a call today when you are ready to have your generator installed.

It has been six months since I started writing for the Light Reading blog, and boy has it gone by quickly. It’s hard to believe that I have written almost 50 posts! To mark this occasion, here are the six blog posts YOU liked best during my last six months of blogging.

1. via Strobel Design Build

In retrospect, I can see why this has been such a hit with the Light Reading readership. I mean, when it comes toMinions Web

This post was one of those visual, inspirational posts that I enjoy reading on other blogs. Instead of giving step by step instructions, this blog post shows you a bunch on interesting things that people have done with LED Matthew Danser Photography

This was my first blog post for Pegasus! In it, I interview Austin, TX photographer Matthew Danser to find out how he “paints” with light in his photos. We learn some interested photography tricks – tricks that I try out in the next most popular post.

5.

In this post I take some of Danser’s suggestions and experiment with “light painting” in my apartment at night. There’s lots of fun stuff here, and things get a little weird with my designs, but hey! It was an experiment! No stuffed animals were hurt during this photo shoot.

6.

Why slave over a hot stove to provide healthy meals to your family when you could be saving time and money by using a microwave oven instead? In many cases, the microwave will use less energy than your range or oven and still create a delicious meal.

Radio Wave Technology

Using a microwave can save you anywhere between 30 to 80 percent in energy compared to your stove, according to the California Energy Commission. The devices work by using radio waves to excite water molecules in food, heating it from within. For many food items, that's a lot faster and more cost-effective than applying heat directly via a range or oven.

For example, the Energy Center provides a comparison of the average cost of cooking a casserole using various methods. The microwave is by far the quickest and cheapest, finishing the job in 15 minutes for a cost of 3 cents in energy. Meanwhile, the standard oven is actually the least efficient cooking method, taking an hour and burning up 16 cents in energy costs. A few cents might not sound like a big difference, but over a year the savings add up.

Great for Small Meals, Defrosting

The microwave won't save you energy in every situation, but they're perfect for small portions like side dishes and leftovers. If you try to make a large meal in the microwave, however, you can end up cooking it unevenly or not getting the desired texture, and the more food you heat at once, the less efficient microwaves are compared to the stovetop. For specific tasks like defrosting a piece of meat, on the other hand, a microwave is a great solution.

There’s another bonus with using a microwave in the summertime: it won't heat up the kitchen, so you don't put extra stress on your air conditioner to offset the rise in temperature.

For safety's sake, make sure you only use microwave-safe containers, and never put metal in the microwave.

Choosing a Microwave

Unfortunately, the federal Energy Star program does not certify microwaves at this time so you have to do a little more research to discover the most efficient models. Energy usage is fairly consistent across different brands. However, you can cut down on consumption by purchasing the smallest model that will meet your needs. Look at the wattage label, which will tell you exactly how much electricity it draws, and try to find one at 800 watts or fewer.

New microwaves are also far more efficient than older models. Look for devices that have variable power settings, temperature probes and sensors that can tell when the food is done cooking.

Microwaves aren't a perfect solution for every meal, but they are an important tool in the arsenal of any energy-conscious homeowner.

Call local Mister Sparky® for more energy-saving tips.