As your household increases its use of electronics, it seems that the clutter of cords associated with them tend to pile higher and higher. You are constantly stepping over cords or tangling them together behind entertainment centers. There are cords from your tablets, smartphones, TVs, video game consoles and laptops. It seems that you may drown in the clutter of cords before you can find a way to get them organized.

Declutter with Washi Tape

Science Daily just recently reported that kerosene lamps have been discovered as a large source of black carbon. Black Carbon is responsible for warming the earth by absorbing the heat in the atmosphere and reducing the earths ability to reflect sunlight. With the use of kerosene lamps in more than a billion homes today, even in well developed countries like the United States, the use is alarming and damaging to our planet.

If the electricity costs continue to rise as projected, that number may actually grow. The fact that more than a billion people are using kerosene has given rise to some serious concerns about green house gases because the black carbon from these kerosene lamps has been overlooked in greenhouse gas estimates and with such a widespread use, they are a real issue.

Field and lab testing that was recently conducted says that about 7 to 9 percent of the kerosene which are used in these lamps is being converted into carbon or black carbon. When compared to things such as wood, it is more than 7 percent higher since only about one percent of wood converts to black carbon.

The hazards of using kerosene for lighting your home or even a camp or cottage are many, when it is viewed in this way. One kg of black carbon can make as much of a change in warming as 700 kg can produce in 100 years. Kerosene offers a higher level of greenhouse gas than nearly any other kind of lighting fuel.

This and other information just now coming to light tells us that we may need to find a better way for those who live in developing countries or homes using kerosone to obtain light for their homes.

Black carbon is not only harmful to our health but to the health of the children who are living in the household.  According to Tami Bond, who is the associate professor for environmental engineering at the University of Illinois, “The orange glow in flames comes from black carbon, so the brighter the glow, the more black carbon is being made.”

This information comes directly from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is an important warning to all of us. Using kerosene for lighting can not only cause health problems with breathing the black carbon, but can also be a causative factor in fires and now, is being viewed as an agent in global climate change. With so many other methods of lighting, the use of kerosene it not the healthiest or safest choice for your family or our climate.

Converting to cleaner methods of lighting the homes in still using kerosene would not only offer the climate a much needed rest, but may also provide for better health of those who live in homes that use the fuel for a light source or heat.

83.6 million sleep deprived people are shuffling around the U.S. at any given moment – so it makes sense that businesses are investing in products and technologies that focus on ways to get a good night’s rest.

When recent update to iOS 9.3 introduced Night Shift, a feature that takes its cues from the sun (or more specifically, your device’s clock and geolocation) to gently shift the color temperature of your display to the warmer end of the light spectrum at night which may help you get a better night’s sleep.

You must have heard how it’s important to unplug your mobile device chargers when they aren’t connected. That’s because these chargers continue to drain electricity. While this is a fact, the truth also is that the amount of power that mobile phones and other similar devices draw, is minuscule compared to the amount of power that larger electrical appliances and equipment in your home or commercial premises use.

The electronics we are referring to are the modern, advanced ones that have standby settings; they significantly escalate your utility bills even when they aren’t being used. These energy guzzlers can easily account for up to 10% of an average-size home’s energy consumption.

As mentioned at the start, mobile phone chargers are a very good example of energy guzzlers as they don’t perform any function when they aren’t charging the phones; and there is absolutely no downside to and ensuring they are unplugged most of the time. One more classic example is the microwave that uses more standby energy compared to a mobile device’s charger; this is because the former powers a digital clock.

But it’s common for people to leave that plugged in, as many people tend to use it to check the time when they are in the kitchen. These types of devices don’t account for sizeable energy wastage; however, video games, computer, flat screen TV and home theatre systems are entirely a different story. These appliances are becoming increasingly sophisticated and use advanced technology and over the years manufacturers have begun focusing more on the amount of time it takes for these machines to start up.

That is how the “standby mode” came into existence. That isn’t an “off” mode; when a device is in the “standby mode” it continues to draw power to keep various components and processes working; this helps “wake them” very quickly once you want to use them again. In most cases, the default standby settings aren’t the most energy-friendly, but you can customize them to suit your requirements. You will be able to find more information in the product manuals that come with these devices; alternatively, you can look in the device’s settings menu for the different power options.

Though these advanced technology electronics can be an energy-drain, the simplest and fail-safe method of preventing this from happening is to pull the plug. The sure-shot way to stop devices from driving up your utility bill is to disconnect them from the devices. If you find this too inconvenient, you can utilize power strips. When you hit the main power button on the power strip, the power gets fully disconnected even when you leave the strip plugged in.

The other way to add to the energy-efficiency of your home is to look for devices with higher energy star ratings when you are purchasing any new appliances and equipment. Check on which devices use less power when they are in standby mode as well. If you have any energy-efficiency concerns about any appliances and installations in your home, call Allround Electricals today.