Georgia Magazine - June 2012 - (Page 42C)

Web exclusive 10 W Spring is a good time for a house safety check hen the last traces of winter fade away, many homeowners can’t wait to begin tinkering around the house. Georgia’s electric cooperatives urge all ambitious home improvers to heed these guidelines: Fundamentals hot tips for green summer cooking • One of the first places to look for trouble is the roof. Watch for loose or missing shingles and leaks around flashings. Don’t begin repair work unless you’re confident of your do-it-yourself abilities. Think about calling a professional. • Be sure to inspect your gutters before April showers begin. If they are clogged, rainwater will overflow onto the siding of your house and could cause moisture problems. Downspouts should carry rainwater safely away from the foundation of the house. If they pour water out on the ground, it could seep into the basement. • If your exterior paint job appears healthy, but it’s just a little dirty, don’t apply a fresh coat. If all your home needs is a cleaning, wash it. • A special reminder to parents: Never leave a container of liquid unattended near a small child. This includes wading pools, scrub buckets, toilets and bathtubs. The curious youngster can lean over to play in the water or drop something in a bucket and fall in head first. • Be sure patios, porches and driveways are free from cracks and holes. • Check for damage as you take down storm windows and put up screen doors and windows. • Trim broken tree limbs and prune shrubs. Remove dry leaves and debris from under porches, wooden stairs and window wells. Pick up all junk, cans and other litter. SOLAR COOKERS INTERNATIONAL BY JOHN BRUCE eep your cool this summer when preparing meals. You can save money and reduce your carbon footprint with these 10 easy tips for going green when cooking summer meals (and year ’round, for that matter). 1. Cook outdoors, when possible, to reduce the load on your air conditioner. Try a solar cooker or oven. They are, by far, the most energyefficient cooking appliances. They require no fuel, reduce unwanted Inventory the inside summer heat in • Clean off stairways and steps. your home by Check treads, risers and carpeting and replace worn coverings. taking cooking • Inspect your air-conditioning system and have repairs made now, outside and can before summer begins. Give the accommodate fireplace a thorough cleaning and Solar cookers are an energy-efficient close the damper. Consider calling any food a slow a chimney to a alternative sweep.conventional oven. cooker can. Some solar ovens can reach 500 degrees. To learn Sprinkler systems can save lives more, visit www.solarcooking.org. ost fire departments urge homeowners to install choose one that has a sprinkler system. 2. Toaster ovens, homes, or when they If you’re remodeling your home, sprinkler systems in new convection ovens and slow cookers remodel their existing homes. Fire spreads so quickly add system. get the job done with less energy athan conventionthat you could have as little as two minutes to escape The sprinkler system before it’s too late. A fire sprinkler system can buy you is when preparing al stovetops or ovens, especially installed behind your a few more minutes. walls, similar to smaller a fire, the When it senses meals. sprinkler system autoplumbing, and is matically spraysas small a pan, as little water and to your water on connected as little pre3. Use the fire willthe flames. Only the sprinkler closest to spray. home’s water supheating time as Association estimates ply. A plumber The National Fire Protection possible. that 90 percent of deaths in residential fires can be pre- should do the 4. Bake in glass or ceramic ovenware instead of vented by sprinklers. If you’re buying a new home, installation. metal. You can turn the temperature down by 25 March 2011 degrees, and foods will cook in the same amount of time. 5. Avoid thawing food in the microwave. Thawing food in the fridge is far more energy efficient, con- K M tributes to the fridge’s cooling and is safer than thawing food on the countertop or in the sink. 6. Don’t open the door and peek in the oven. Use the oven window instead. 7. Clean burner pans (the pans under the burners that catch grease) regularly. They’ll more effectively reflect heat to the cookware, if clean. Dirty burner pans absorb heat and reduce efficiency. 8. Use flat-bottom cookware that rests evenly on the surface of electric coil burners, solid-disk elements or radiant elements under smooth-top ceramic glass. 9. Use residual heat. Turn the stove or oven off before cooking is done to allow cooking to continue while reducing energy use. An electric burner element can be turned off two minutes before removing the cookware, since it remains hot. Ovens can be turned off 20 minutes before cooking is done. 10. Consider substituting one or more stovetop burners with an induction cooker. The typical efficiency of an induction cooker is 84 percent; gas stovetops are 40 percent efficient, according the U.S. Department of Energy. What’s more, induction cookers (which require magnetic cookware such as cast iron or enameled steel) produce as much heat as gas and are less costly to operate than a conventional electric burner. Visit www.theinductionsite.com to learn more. Sources: NRECA, U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Cookers International, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Exercise your right to vote Y our vote for president of the United States isn’t the only one you can cast this year. Your electric cooperative invites you to vote for members of the utility’s board of directors. A cooperative business like your utility is owned by the consumers who buy its products and services. So an electric cooperative’s owners include you, your neighbors and everyone whose electricity is supplied by the utility. That’s why your cooperative’s website and publications refer to the utility’s customers as “member-owners.” You are a member of the electric cooperative that powers your home or business. As a member-owner, you have a say in how your cooperative conducts its business. You can “speak up” in two ways: You can run for a seat on the all-member board of directors; and you can vote for the candidates who run for the seats on that board. How many of your other utility companies allow you to participate in the business by choosing its officers— or by becoming one yourself? Exercise your right to vote, both in this November’s presidential election and in the election of your cooperative’s board of directors. 42C June 2012 June 2012 More online at www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.solarcooking.org http://www.theinductionsite.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2012

Georgia Magazine - June 2012
Table of Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Wholesome Fun and Shaping Winners
Where to Stay and Eat When Visiting the Rock Ranch in the Rock, and Winshape Retreat in Rome
Take to the Road
Travel Guide
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Second Helping: Fish
Snapshot
Bonus Snapshot Submissions
Plant of the Month; Liberty Notes
Energy-efficiency Tips
June’s Online Trivia Contest

Georgia Magazine - June 2012