Take control of your heating. Consider turning down the thermostat controlling the temperature of your room or house by 1°C. You will have either a single control at a central position such as in the hall, or thermostats attached to the individual heaters or radiators. Read the rest of this entry »
Turn down the temperature of your hot water at the central heating boiler, at the immersion tank (if your water is heated by electricity), or on your instant water heater. Don’t waste energy heating water only to have to add cold water so that it is not too hot to use! 60°C / 140°F should do it. Read the rest of this entry »
Select the correct saucepan size for the heating element or gas flame.
Cut food into small pieces before cooking — it will cook more quickly.
Put a lid on top of the pan when you can; your meal will cook much more quickly, and you won’t be wasting energy. Read the rest of this entry »
About 20 percent of the energy used in the home goes to heat water. If your water heater feels warm to the touch, it probably needs to be insulated. Fiberglass blankets for water heaters are available in kits at most hardware and building supply stores, or you can use leftover insulation. Just remember not to cover the top of a gas water heater or you’ll block the air to the flue. Also, be careful not to block the airflow to the gas burner at the bottom of the heater. Read the rest of this entry »
As with any other kind of solar heating, solar water heaters are at an advantage when planned for a new home, because the design can incorporate them efficiently.
In the passive house at lower right, for example, the water heater’s design benefited from the house’s design flexibility, and vice versa, to their mutual advantage. The dormer on which the collectors are mounted lifts the roofline of the house, allowing extra headroom in the second-floor family room behind it. Read the rest of this entry »
Next, check the dryer cycling thermostats as the possible cause for no heat in the dryer. The types of thermostats most commonly used in dryers (gas or electric), are the bimetal fixedand adjustable thermostats. Their primary function is to break the circuit to the gas main burner or the heating element when a certain temperature has been attained in the dryer drum. You can easily check these thermostats by removing one lead from the suspected thermostat. Set the volt/ohmmeter on the RX-1 scale. Place one probe of the volt/- ohmmeter on each terminal of the thermostat. You should see a continuity reading on the volt/- ohmmeter scale of approximately 0 ohms, or full- meter deflection. If the thermostat does not show continuity, replace the defective thermostat to restore the dryer to proper operating order. Read the rest of this entry »
If the heating element tests OK, you should next check all the electrical wiring from the dryer timer assembly, thermostats, and drive motor. Electrical wiring in a dryer becomes brittle and burned because of the excessive heat. To locate defects in the wiring, use a volt/ohmmeter to make continuity checks on wires that you suspect are faulty.
The problem of no heat in the gas dryer is much the same as the electric dryer, except that instead of checking for a possible defective heating element, you must check the gas ignition circuit. A sure and simple test is check voltage to the gas burner wiring harness. Read the rest of this entry »
Specific failure symptoms include: 1) An unusual smell in the laundry room. 2) The top of the dryer is very hot to the touch. 3) The clothes are extremely hot and wrinkled at the end of the cycle.
When a dryer is overheating, the first concern should be whether the heater element is cycling (turning ON and OFF). An easy check is to set the heat selector to a heat position and turn the timer to the ON position. With the dryer running, turn the overhead lights OFF. Check the back of the dryer (with the back panel removed). On left-hand side of cabinet there should be a visible glow from the heater box. This glow would indicate that the dryer is heating and has the required voltage. After a period of four to six minutes, the heater should cycle off and the glow should fade. If not, then probably the dryer cycling thermostats or adjustable thermostat is not functioning properly. You will have to replace the defective thermostat(s) in order for the dryer to operate properly. Read the rest of this entry »
The home repairmen should be very cautious when it comes to repair of the household refrigerator. They should be aware of the fact that they are dealing with a very expensive product, and one that contains a very delicately balanced cooling system. One small error could damage the system beyond repair.
Replacing a faulty compressor requires special vacuum and freon filling equipment that only professional technicians can handle.
The refrigerator cooling system is not like the family automobile air conditioner. You can’t simply attach a hose and add a little freon when it isn’t cooling properly. The refrigerator is a carefully balanced, sealed system, and normally should not have a freon-loss problem. If the unit is not cooling properly, and you have determined that the compressor is running, then there are several electrical components in the system that could be at fault. Read the rest of this entry »
The components of a typical household refrigerator are described below:
The heart of the refrigerator system is the compressor. It is made up of a pump and an electric motor and is contained in a sealed dome through which the refrigerant travels.
The starting relayis an electromechanical switch used to start the compressor motor. As electricity flows, the starting relay energizes the start winding of the refrigerator compressor motor until the motor is almost up to speed. At this point, the relay breaks the electrical circuit to the start winding and the compressor motor continues to run on its run (or motor) winding. Read the rest of this entry »
Specific symptoms include: 1) Food not remaining at the desired temperature. 2) Fridge cools intermittently. 3) Food in freezer section thaws out and then refreezes or is only partially frozen.
When a fridge has intermittent cooling, it is known as “spot cooling.” Spot cooling is a situation where the fridge does not cool the food adequately for a period of time and then mysteriously returns to proper operating order. The erratic behavior in the fridge is caused by one of two things: a defective defrost timer, or a moisture restriction. First, check the defrost timer. Read the rest of this entry »
Unplug the Fridge power cord before servicing the Fridge. Move the Fridge out from the wall. Use care when moving the Fridge, because the metal feet can tear or damage the floor.
Open the freezer door and remove the plastic breaker strips at the front of freezer section. NOTE: When removing plastic breaker strips, heat them with a low- wattage (40-60) light bulb for 5 to 7 minutes. Heat will make the plastic more pliable and less susceptible to breakage. Read the rest of this entry »
Specific failure symptoms include: 1) Frost build-up on back wall in freezer section of Fridge. 2) Fridge ice maker not making ice. 3) Food not remaining at the desired temperature in both the Fridge and freezer sections.
When the Fridge starts to build up frost in the freezer section, you can assume that something is preventing the Fridge from going into the defrost cycle. You will have to check the components of the defrost circuit. Move the Fridge out from the wall and unplug the Fridge power cord. Check the components in the order listed below. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t stick your finger in a electrical socket or use an electrical shaver while in the bath. You thought you knew all the electrical safety precautions didn’t you (well maybe the above mentioned two) but here are a couple electrical safety precautions that you may not have thought of, until you yourself ran out of the house with a fancy hairstyle. Read the rest of this entry »
These operate at elv (extra low voltages) between 3 and 12 V. The single bell, buzzer and many models of chimes are powered by dry batteries but the more powerful chimes and intricate bell systems have to operate from mains transformers. Usually a transformer is preferable for any bell or chimes. Where an illuminated bell push is used a mains transformer is essential as the lamp of the push would exhaust a battery in a day or so. Read the rest of this entry »
The water supply that is controlled by a water inlet valve enters the mold cavity of the compact icemaker. The water then freezes in the icemaker mold. An electric heater thaws the frozen ice crescents so that they can be ejected from the mold. An electric motor then drives an ejector blade through a cam assembly, which frees the released crescents. The crescents revolve in a clockwise rotation and tumble into the ice storage bin. Read the rest of this entry »
The amount of light given out or produced by an electric lamp — bulb, striplight or fluorescent tube — depends on the type of lamp and its wattage. The light produced is measured in lumens and a bulb or tube of a given wattage produces an average output of so many lumens. This will continue throughout most of its life.
Equally important is the number of lumens produced for each watt consumed, so it is usual to say, when comparing types, that a bulb or tube produces so many lumens per watt. The more the lumens per watt, the higher the efficiency of the lamp. Read the rest of this entry »
Unplug refrigerator power cord. Using hand tools, remove the icemaker from the freezer section of the refrigerator. Remove the front cover from the icemaker. Remove the front component plate that is secured to the ice maker support housing. Remove the screws that secure the cycling thermostat to the icemaker support.
Remove electrical wires from the terminals on the support housing, and carefully remove the thermostat. Read the rest of this entry »
Unplug refrigerator power cord, open the refrigerator freezer door, locate the compact icemaker and place your hand on the ejector blade. Turn it slowly in a clockwise direction. If the icemaker ejector blade continues to turn unaided, the problem is a defective icemaker holding switch. The icemaker holding switch can be checked with the volt/ohmmeter. First, set the ohmmeter to the RX-1 scale. Next, place the probes of the volt/ohmmeter on the terminals of the holding switch. With the switch button depressed, you should see full-scale deflection (continuity), on the scale of the volt/ohmmeter. No reading on the ohmmeter means the holding switch is open and must be replaced. Read the rest of this entry »
Socket-outlets situated off the main route of the cable do not have to be connected to the actual ring cable. Instead they are usually supplied from spur cables branching off the ring. These spurs are wired in the same size cable as that used for the ring.
Fixed appliances which may be connected to a ring circuit include skirting heaters, wall heaters, small water heaters and any non-portable electrical appliances having individual loadings of not more than 3000 W(13 A approx.). Read the rest of this entry »
