Let the sun shine in

Using the sun to supplement the electricity you buy from your electric cooperative can cut your energy bill, but a full-blown, solar-energy system isn’t practical for most homeowners.

Try passive solar design, which combines the natural sunlight that shines into your home with heat-absorbent materials to lower heating costs.

Heat naturally distributes throughout a room, moving from warmer objects to cooler ones and erasing the difference in temperature. Passive solar home design uses this property of heat to make a room warmer without using the furnace so much.

Designing your home to use passive solar energy will take some renovations. The home will need a large, south-facing window area, with heat-absorbing glass panes to collect the warmth from the winter sun. And the sun should shine on a material with a high thermal mass—the ability to store heat—like a dark masonry wall, which will absorb the warmth and radiate it throughout the inside of the home. Once this heat collects, fans or blowers can help distribute it through the house.

Roof overhangs can deflect summer sun, which shines on the house at a different angle, to keep the house cool when it’s warm outdoors.

Passive solar home design can lower home heating costs and help you do your part to protect the environment.

For more information about how to use passive solar energy in your home, visit www.eere.energy.gov.

Look up for energy savings

Searching for an energy-saver that really stands out? Invest in a ceiling fan.

The ceiling fans of old were bland and rarely matched a home’s decor. Good news: Manufacturers have given their ceiling fans a makeover. Today’s ceiling fans feature stylish, oil-rubbed bronze finishes and exotic woods.

Add a light kit and the fan becomes any room’s main source of light.

In the summer, a ceiling fan can make a room feel 8 degrees cooler, so your air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard.

And if your fan has a “reverse” mode, you can run it in the winter to draw warm air down into your room.

For efficient airflow, mount your fan in the middle of the room 8 to 9 feet above the floor and three to 5 inches from the ceiling. Extended mounts are available for tall ceilings to keep the fan at the right height. For shorter ceilings, flush mounts are made to hold the fan directly against the ceiling, though they don’t operate as efficiently without the extra breathing space.

Don’t skimp when selecting a fan. Higher quality models have quieter and more powerful engines and a heavier motor housing for less vibration. Always buy an Energy Star-approved model, which uses 50 percent less energy to operate than other models.

Don’t neglect your covered patio when installing ceiling fans. A fan with a “wet” rating has sealed motors and weather-resistant blades for use outdoors.

One final tip: Operate the fan only when someone is in the room. Fans make people feel cooler, but they won’t actually cool the room, so there’s no sense in using electricity to run one in an empty room.

Power outages

CPSC warns of deadly CO dangers from portable generators

After the widespread power outages from storms in the Midwest, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about deaths from carbon monoxide (CO) when using portable generators.

Last year, 64 people died of CO poisoning from generators. Most of these deaths occurred during the winter months.

Portable generators are designed to be temporarily connected to selected appliances or lights. These generators should never be connected directly to your building’s wiring system. When using portable generators, remember these rules:

• NEVER use portable generators indoors or in garages, basements or sheds. They should always be used outside—well away from windows, doors, vents or any other opening to the home.
• CO from a generator is deadly and can kill you in minutes. One generator produces as much CO as 100 idling cars.
• Use a CO alarm in your home.
• CO is an invisible, odorless killer. Initial signs of CO poisoning are dizziness, feeling weak and flu-like symptoms.

Below are some links to additional information on the following topics:

• Portable generator safety alert, www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/portgen.pdf
• Home Heating—CO and fire dangers, including portable generators, www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07019.html

Also, exercise caution when using candles. Use flashlights instead. If you must use candles, do not burn them on or near anything that can catch fire. Keep burning candles away from drafts. Never leave burning candles unattended; extinguish candles when you leave the room.

For more information, contact CPSC at (301) 504-7908 or www.cpsc.gov.

Did you know?

The cooperative culture: Why cooperatives are special

Cooperative businesses are special because they are owned by the consumers they serve and because they are guided by a set of principles that reflect the best interests of those consumers.       

More than 100 million people are members of 47,000 U.S. cooperatives, enabling consumers to secure a wide array of goods and services such as health care, insurance, housing, food, heating fuel, hardware, credit unions, child care or utility service.