3 HOME IMPROVEMENT TIPS

A proven reality in owning a home is that the more you put off necessary repairs, the more costly it will get in order to get it fixed. Postponing the repair of that leaky roof, or that broken door will hasten the entire breakdown process. In other words, a tiny hole in the roofing will quickly develop into a big unmanageable waterfall unless you fix the problem at its onset.

This is also true for home maintenance – when you think you save money by doing it once in 5 years instead of 2, the costs to get all the small details fixed escalates to more than double. This is the first tip in improving your home – don’t postpone what is necessary. Replace what needs to be replaced; sacrifice a little now to eventually save big time bucks. Here are some more tips in home improvement:

The truth is, you have to spend money to save money. Start by replacing old appliances. Buying a new refrigerator will save you money on electricity. Why, because the motor of an old ref is outdated, using systems that are not energy-efficient. The newer, slick models are built in with motors that not only use  up less power – they also cool food faster, thus not making it necessary for the motor to be on  high gear for the majority of the day. It may be expensive to have it replaced, but when you compute the total money saved, after a few months, your initial investment is quickly re-covered.

Same principle applies to heating and air conditioning – these small sacrifices not only improve your home, they also improve the quality of your life.

Update your home. By update, we mean renovate, re-model to fit the current times. If you want the value of your home to escalate, the best way to do it is to have it renovated so that the look becomes current – not retro. Well, unless you’re trying to preserve the antiquity of your home (like those castles with moats reminiscent of the 17^th century), trying to sell a 70’s style home with green jalousies and floor-to-ceiling psychedelic wallpaper to a young couple may not be easy. The look of the current time is minimalist, with clean lines.

Nobody young and moneyed wants to buy a house with gargoyles along the driveway. Of course all of my examples are a tad exaggerated, but you do get the point – the more modern, efficient, current and fresh-looking a house is, the higher the re-sale value. Newly renovated homes are fitted with new furniture and fixtures which will very well last for a decade or two, with proper upkeep. If you can’t afford to update the look of your entire home, start with your kitchen – it’s the part of the house that gets old the fastest, plus a house with a beautiful and new kitchen is attractive to most house-hunters.

Two rooms to add if you want to improve your home – a new bathroom, and a new living or lounge area. What home does not need a new bathroom? Well unless you have 5 bathrooms but only 3 bedrooms (like we do), having an extra bath is practical, and quite a come-on. No matter how nice your house is, if people living in it need to take a number to be able to take a shower, then living in such a house becomes a disadvantage. Imagine all the time you will save by having an extra bath?

Another significant improvement is the addition of a lounge or living area. This makes a house more livable, and more conducive to stay-in nights. An extra lounge area can also serve as a temporary emergency guest room – just put in usable and comfortable sofa beds instead of the traditional bulky sofas.

Small pocket-type sections in your house allow occupants of different age ranges and interests some comfortable bonding time. The television and movie watchers may stay in lounge area 1, and the board-game enthusiasts in lounge area 2, and online gaming and noisy teenagers can have lounge area 3 to themselves. The whole point is – having several rooms opens the house to more opportunities – opportunities which are attractive even to a future buyer - should you ever decide to sell your old home to move into your newer mansion.

3 ENERGY SAVING TIPS FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Huge tall commercial buildings are energy drainers. Can you imagine how much electricity one entire building alone consumes, should all of the consumption be consolidated into one sole bill? Humongous, most probably.

Needless to say, if everyone occupying one part of a building does his own share in conserving energy, everything will add up to huge bucks – thus saving the environment from all the needless toxic fumes necessary in producing electricity.

Below are some ways on how building can help save energy. Remember, one watt saved matters a lot.

Control lighting. Admittedly, it’s cool to see a building so-well lit, that it becomes the source of light for the entire block. A well-lit building is seen from miles and miles away, and may stand out from every other building in the area. But is it really necessary that so much lighting be used even when it’s not needed? To save the environment, turn off all the unused lights. If you leave a room, turn off the room light. If you’re wary about having a dark unlit building, why not install motion-activated lights? This way, when the sensors see that no one is in a room, it automatically shuts down the bulbs and chandeliers.

You can also install dimmers – light switches which actually allow the user to adjust the wattage use based on need. Also use fluorescent lights instead of bulbs – they produce better lighting as compared to bulbs, thus decreasing the need to turn on more lights to compensate for the seeming darkness. If building construction allows it, undrawn the drapes, shades or curtains. Let in more natural lighting that actually does not use electricity.

Move the air. Unless you have a central air-conditioning system, turn off air-conditioners at areas where they are not being used. Turn down the thermostat, too. The less cool your cooling system is, the less power you consume. If you plan to leave the office at 5PM, then turn off the aircon at 4:30PM. All the contained cool air is enough to get you through the next 30 last minutes of your work day. Some companies also use electric fans to move the air. If some parts of your office are colder than others, don’t run to the building administrator and demand that more air vents be installed. Instead, turn on a few electric fans to distribute coolness. You end up conserving a load of power.

Turn off all office equipment when unused. This may seem like a small thing, but try to imagine 300 offices occupying one building and then turning off all equipment when unused – then this amounts to a lot! When conserving electricity, there’s always one rule – “Every little bit helps.” There’s no sense in keeping all 50 computer monitors turned on when only 30 report for work. When there is only one person in one huge room, then ask this person to use the computer beside a few other office mates.

Put computers, plasma monitors on sleep mode or standby mode, and maybe better – turn them off completely when they are not being used. When you leave the office, turn down the refrigerator thermostat, turn off the water cooler or coffee maker. Unless you plan on entertaining ghosts, you have no use for them. You not only save on electricity, you may even save your office or entire building from catching fire in case a fuse or connection explodes due to overuse.

Small things magnified translates to big things – do every bit of conservation, for the good of the planet.

HOW TO FIND A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN

With the rising cost of building one’s own house, one can never afford to risk letting their investment go up in flames. This means that homeowners should always check on their house’ electrical connections – ensuring that everything is always in excellent condition.  

Where matters of electricity is concerned, one can never be too stingy, so never try to do-it-yourself! If you plug in the wrong wire into the wrong socket, you just may find yourself in the hospital – with your eyebrows, fingers and toes singed – and your heart re-jolted just to get it pumping again.

This is when hiring a good and professional electrician becomes necessary. So how do you get one? Where should you look? Who shall you ask?

The internet. A professional electrician will most probably have his own website (especially if he has a business), or at least have his own Facebook page. Try entering the keywords “electrician” followed by your general area of residence, and presto, a search page will appear, and you can take your pick. Tip though – be sure to specify what type of electrical assistance you need (electronics, building, computer, general household), as electricians should have a field of expertise. Beware of the “all-around electrician” – especially if you are having major repairs made. A master of none would mean that this person “knows a little of everything,” thus giving you acceptable but not excellent solutions.

The yellow pages. A Community Business Directory can also give you a host of options, with the added benefit of a narrowed-down list of choices in your area. Especially helpful when already devoid of electricity (due to a tripped electrical connection), a non-internet-based list of good professional electricians will come in handy. Call the numbers listed, all of them if you are patient enough, and ask them is your concern is something they specialize in.

Referrals. Probably the best source of good electricians, a trusted neighbor or office co-worker’s referral is almost like a stamp of approval – you “almost” have verbal proof of their excellent past work. Of course unless you asked your arch- enemy, no acquaintance will refer a bad electrician to you unless they themselves have tried availing of his past services. Now that  you have the advantage of speaking with a past customer, you may also get a general idea about another thing to consider when hiring a professional electrician, which is costing. Ask if rates are reasonable. Ask also about quality of work and guarantee on a completed job. Inquire about materials used – if they are high-grade and reliable, or just cheap alternatives.

Ask building/home contractors – they would have an awesome list. One of the best people to ask are your contractor-friends. Who else would know about the best quality of work other than the ones who hire them most often? Again, ask for the ones who are in your area – as they are easier to contact in case another emergency takes place.

Now there are the ones to avoid:

Electricians who go door-to-door. Funny? Not so much. Now what would prod any professional electrician to desperately seek work by going door to door? Poor work; no referrals; ineffectiveness; a bad record. Beware of the last one (bad record) the most, though. Remember that you would need to invite an electrician into your home. Make sure he is trustworthy, and not the type who would pocket precious stuff lying comfortably around the house, like small gadgets, money, jewelry and even your silverware. Don’t laugh, because this is a reality. An electrician will have access into your home – assign someone to be with him at all times. Another tip – beware of the electrician who uses his obscure celphone camera to take pictures of your home. These are proven ways scrupulous individuals can case your home. Be vigilant!

Those who hand out flyers at the street corner. Although flyering is one inexpensive way to market a business offline, there’s also no way you can check the credentials of the electrician you are hiring. You may hire someone who does not charge much, but may very well end up wasting money, because of the numerous times the cheap labor had to be repaired… or because the materials used were low quality.

In hiring a professional electrician, ask for the following always:

•      Certification / electrician’s license
•          Insurance
•          Warranty on service
•          Experience
•          Education
•          References

These things separate the professional electrician from the average all-around neighbourhood handyman.

SAVE ELECTRICITY DURING THE HOLIDAYS

It’s the season of abundance, and while everyone is busy trying to make their homes look nice for the holidays, they lose sight of the amount of power they use to make their surroundings prettier. You can employ several techniques to help avoid having a heart attack when you get your next electricity bill. Remember that the less amount of power used, the greater your contribution into greening up the planet.

Use LED lights. LED Lights are much safer than regular lights. They do not heat up – which is great especially if you’re going to twirl them around your real Christmas tree. LEDs use up 90% less electricity, and can last up to 100,000 hours. Imagine using the same lights for 500 years? The average usage per household each year is 200 hours, thus – you, as well as your children can  save Earth for the next 500 years.

Use Fiber Optic Decorations. Fiber optic decorations are thin plastic-like wires where light can pass through. They are great for decorations, as it most probably only requires one small source of light, strategically positioned at the base. Since light passes through the wires, the effect is one fascinating display of light that can be altered in various shapes, are these wires are thin, pliable and bouncy. Use them a centerpieces to save on electricity.

Limit the time the lights are kept on. Of course, you must wait for it to grow dark before you turn on your Christmas lights, and you also must turn them off maybe at midnight – or before you go to bed. NEVER leave the lights unattended as your house might end up like one huge fireplace.

When the Christmas tree is lit, turn off the room lights. Those Christmas tree lights always look better when the surrounding area is dark – so kill the lights and stare at your beautiful tree.

Why not use candles? Try to stand out from the rest of the neighborhood by lighting small candles alongside your walkway – the effect is some traditional vintage Christmastime in the countryside. Nice, actually.

Buy gifts that are not battery nor electrically-run. Save the environment by lessening the amount of garbage/batteries you dump into the garbage. Imagine also the amount of money you save by not buying battery-run toys? Opt for energy-free toys and gifts.

If you can’t avoid batteries, then buy rechargeable batteries. If you need to save money, then use rechargeable batteries for your gifts. At least, you can use the batteries over and over, and end up wasting less money. When you do recharge the batteries, unplug the charger as soon as the batteries are fully charged.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

ELECTRICAL TIPS FOR THE SUMMER

The incidence of fire is greater when the weather is at its hottest, so avoid accidents by following a few tips:

This Christmas Season, don’t plug in too many lights into one single outlet. This will cause your system to overload and explode. Purchase outdoor lights for outdoor use, and purchase low-consuming series lights for indoor use. Also use the best Christmas lights to decorate your tree. 

Remember that the tree is highly-combustible. Therefore, one light exploding might cause your entire house to burn down. Especially in the hot summer weather, a small fire spreads much faster, so be mindful – and keep that fire extinguisher ready at all times.

Always use surge protectors. Some house fires start because electricity sometimes fluctuates (especially during summer). Surge protectors guard the appliances plugged into it from sudden surges of electricity, thus protecting your electronic equipment from exploding.

Although it is summertime, the incidence of rain is high. Protect your house and electronic devices by installing lightning rods. Some of the power surges are caused by lightning strikes, and must therefore be prevented by installing the proper protection devices.

When the summer rainstorms cause a flood, even before the water level rises, turn off the main switch. I cannot stress this well enough, but water reaching your live sockets will cause the rising flood water to electrocute anybody who steps into the water. When evacuating to higher ground, never go barefoot, because the incidence of electrocution is greater when one does not have any rubber-soled footwear on. Also try to avoid metal objects from coming in close contact with sockets that have been immersed in water. Always call your electrician before plugging anything back into a socket that has been submerged in water. Flood and electricity is a deadly combination!

Especially during the hot summer weather, never touch any electronics with bare wet hands (and feet). Wear rubber slippers and gloves if you want to avoid electrocution. Never ever forget to dry your hands before plugging or unplugging anything – no matter how small it may seem to be.

Enjoy the summer, but be careful also. A few flames can explode into a huge uncontrollable fire if you are not careful. Hot weather makes the air humid. Summer may be nice when you’re enjoying your fun outdoor activities, but it also poses some dangers.  

TIPS TO AVOID ELECTRICAL FIRES

Electricity is probably the greatest discovery to date. Can you imagine if we still had to use fire to light up our homes and charcoal for cooking? The earth’s forests would most probably be barren because wood will be used all the time for each and every basic function.

Our appliances and electronic gadgets will be useless if there is no electricity to make them work!

But although electricity is extremely helpful and vital to life, it can also be the source of several accidents. So to prevent any mishaps from taking place, remember the following electrical tips:

Always unplug appliances when not in use. Aside from saving on electricity, unplugging unused appliances prevents short-circuits resulting from sudden fluctuations in electrical voltage. Most especially true when electricity is turned back on after a power outage, sudden surge of electricity directly into your plugged appliances might cause them to short-circuit or malfunction, thus resulting to fire.

Try to keep electrical appliances away from fluids/liquids. Keeping a plugged electric hair curler near your bottles of flammable nail polish is a sure way to set your dresser on fire. Flammable liquids, like alcohol, hair spray, nail polish remover and other oil-based cosmetics or food (like cooking oil) quickly burst into flame when exposed to  really hot objects, like a lamp bulb, stove, oven, grill, or even a hot television or laptop. Keep plugged hair dryers and curlers as far away as possible from a bathtub or sink – unless you want to be “fried” while taking a bubble bath.

If you detect a “burning smell” emanating from electrical outlets, have an electrician check on them, before plugging any appliance into the outlet.

In cases where electrical outlets or appliances have been exposed to rain or flooding, always ask an electrician to inspect and dry the affected outlet or appliance. Wires imbedded in walls change color (they usually turn darker) after prolonged exposure to water. Remember, wires are made of metal, and metal either corrodes or become very brittle and unsound.

Avoid using octopus plugs (an adaptor that is plugged into an outlet where you can plug in 2 or more electrical plugs). There is a huge chance that the outlet will overload. If  you have limited wall outlets, use an extension wire with a voltage regulator. Make sure that the total number of wattage from all of the appliances plugged into the extension cord is equal or under the indicated maximum wattage the extension cord can accommodate (check the packaging - it should be clearly indicated).

Use extension cords manufactured by reputable companies. Most of the time, it pays to pay extra for items which are made of high-quality materials.

Make sure that no flammable cloth or material (like curtains and varnished furniture) cover electrical outlets where appliances are plugged in. An outlet must always be free “to breath,” and must never be covered by anything that may cause it to overheat.

Unplug the refrigerator when lights are flickering. This is an indication that there are power surges (especially during storms), thus causing your ref to have a short circuit.

Like they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. It always pays to be careful. Don’t wait for mishaps to happen before you take heed.