DAILY CHRONICLE # 4 VOL 5

HOWARD’S DAILY CHRONICLE

NUMBER 4 VOL 5

NOVEMBER 4^TH 2007

WEATHER; NICE BUT COOL, LOW HUMIDITY, 53 DEGREES

21 MORE DAYS TILL OLD CHRIS CRINGLE, (SANTA CLAUSE TO SOME OF YOU) COMES LANDING ON YOUR DOORSTEP, HE HATES FLYING.

WE SPENT MOST OF THE DAY RUNNING AROUND TAKING THINGS BACK THAT DIDN’T WORK OR WE BOUGHT TOO MANY OF. WENT AND GOT THE OIL CHANGED IN THE ACCLAIM, I ACCIDENTLY PICKED UP SYNTHETIC BLEND THE LAST TIME I BOUGHT OIL. MY CHRYSLER BOOK DOES NOT RECOMMEND IT IN ENGINES WITH HI MILEAGE! OURS HAS A LITTLE OVER 300,000, THAT’S CONSIDERED HI MILEAGE IN MY BOOK. I NOTICED A LOSS IN OIL PRESSURE AND A NEW SOUND IN THE ENGINE ON ACCELERATION SUNDAY AND CHECKED THE LEVEL WHEN WE GOT HOME! IT WAS 2 QTS DOWN IN 245 MILES SO I KNEW I’D BETTER CHANGE IT AND GO BACK TO THE OIL I’VE BEEN USING, IT’S JUST FOR HI MILEAGE ENGINES. AFTER THAT WE WENT AND TOOK A PART BACK THAT WOULDN’T WORK TO O’RILEY’S, THEN GO PICK UP HALEY JO AT PRE SCHOOL, THEN TO HOYTE CHRYSLER TO GET A BULB RECEPTICAL FOR THE LICENSE PLATE LIGHT ON THE ACCLAIM, THEN TO HOME DEPOT TO EXCHANGE A SET OF CHRISTMAS OUTSIDE LIGHTS THAT WOULDN’T WORK, THEN TO SHANNON’S TO LEAVE HER A FLOOR TOOL MOM HAS TWO OF, THEN THANK GOD, HOME!

NOW FOR THE FORMULAS I PROMISED; THESE ARE FROM THE CO-OP LIVING NEWS MAGAZINE PUT OUT BY OUR ELECTRIC CO-OP; YOU CAN USE THIS FORMULA TO ESTIMATE AN APPLIANCE’S ENERGY USE;

WATTAGE X HOURS USED PER DAY X DAYS USED PER YEAR DEVIDED BY 1000 = KILOWATT-HOUR (kWh) CONSUMPTION PER YEAR.

FOR EXAMPLE;

PERSONAL COMPUTER (120WATTS), MONITOR (150Watts)L 120 WATTS+150 WATTS) X 4 HOURS PER DAY X 365 DAYS PER YEAR DEVIDED BY 1000 = 394 kWh/YEAR.

THEN, CALCULATE THE ANNUAL COST TO RUN AN APPLIANCE BY MULTIPLYING THE kWh PER YEAR BY YOUR LOCAL UTILITY’S RATE PER kWh CONSUMED.

394 kWh X $0.104 (CURRANT NATIONAL AVERAGE) = $40.98 PER YEAR!

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF NAME-PLATE WATTAGES FOR VARIOUS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES;

CLOTHES WASHER = 350- 500 WATTS

CLOTHES DRYER = 1800-5000 WATTS

DISHWASHER = 1200-2400 WATTS (HEAT DRYING FEATURE INCREASES ENERGY USE)

HAIR DRYER = 1200-1875 WATTS

MICROWAVE OVEN = 750-1100 WATTS

PERSONAL COMPUTER

CPU - AWAKE / ASLEEP = 120 / 30

MONITOR – AWAKE / ASLEEP =150 / 30 OR LESS

LAPTOP= 50 WATTS

REFRIGERATOR (FROST FREE, 16 CUBIC FEET) = 725 WATTS;

IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO TEST THE DOOR SEAL ON REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS, TO DO THIS IS SIMPLE, ON REFRIGERATORS START AT THE TOP OF THE DOOR, OPEN THE DOOR, PUT A DOLLAR BILL FLAT AGAINST THE SEAL AND CLOSE THE DOOR, IF YOU CAN PULL THE BILL OUT EASILY THE DOOR SEAL LEAKS, DO THIS DOWN THE FULL LENGTH OF THE DOOR, DON’T FORGET THE BACK SIDE OF THE DOOR! DO THE SAME THING ON A FREEZER, IF YOU DETERMINE THE SEALS LEAK YOU CAN MAKE AN EMERGENCY REPAIR TILL NEW SEAL (S) CAN BE BOUGHT. TAKE A ROLL OF 1” MASKING TAPE AND PULL ABOUT 2 FT OFF THE ROLL AND STICK IT TO THE SEAL AFTER WIPING THE SEAL DOWN WITH RUBBING ALCOHOL, NOT TO MUCH JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE THE SEAL HAS NO GREASE OR OIL ON IT. STARTING AT THE TOP OF THE DOOR GOING AROUND THE ENTIRE DOOR 2 FT AT A TIME PLACE THE MASKING TAPE ON THE SEAL PRESSING IT TO MAKE A GOOD STICK, NOT ON THE DOOR. BEING SURE THE ENDS OF THE MASKING TAPE DON’T OVERLAP CAUSING A BUMP WHICH WOULD BE A WORSE LEAK. REMEMBER, THIS IS A TEMPORARY FIX AND NEW SEAL (S) CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE MANUFACTURER, JUST GOOGLE THE NAME OF THE APPLIANCE ON THE INTERNET AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS BE SURE TO GET THE MODEL # AND SERIAL/PART # OFF THE I.D TAG LOCATED ON THE APPLIANCE, THE OWNERS BOOK SHOULD TELL YOU WHERE OR THE MANUFACTURER WEBSITE SHOULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION, YOU’LL BE SURPRISED HOW INEXPENSIVE THE SEALS ARE AND HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY THEY’LL SAVE BY NOT MAKING THE REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER RUN SO LONG TO DO THE JOB OF COOLING!

TELEVISIONS

27”= 113 WATTS

36” = 133 WATTS

53” – 61” PROJECTION = 170 WATTS

FLAT SCREEN = 120 WATTS

WATER HEATER (40 GALLON) = 4500-5500 WATTS

SOURCE; U.S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY- ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

NOW, THIS WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA HOW MUCH ENERGY YOU USE AND HOW TO CUT DOWN SOME OF THE USAGE1 YOU BE THE JUDGE!

THAT’S “30” FOR THIS ISSUE.

HOWARD