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The service should be at least
100 amperes for the average three-bedroom house. If the house is large
or if air conditioning is added, the service should be 200 amps. If the
main distribution panel has room for circuits, additional circuits can
be added to supply power where there is a shortage. Otherwise another
distribution panel may be added.
If any armored cable or conduit is badly rusted, or if wiring or cable insulation
is deteriorated, damaged, brittle or crumbly, the house wiring has probably deteriorated
from age or overloading and should be replaced.
At least one electrical outlet on each wall of a room and two or more
on long walls is desirable but may not always be necessary. Ceiling lights
should have a wall switch and rooms without a ceiling light should have
a wall switch for at least one outlet.
GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER
The ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI or sometime GFI) is a device that protects
you from electric shocks.
A GFCI monitors the amount of current going to and coming from a receptacle (or,
in some cases, an entire circuit). Whenever the amounts of incoming and outgoing
current are not equal....indicating current leakage (a "ground fault")....
the GFCI opens the circuit instantly, cutting off the electricity.
The protection value of a GFCI lies in its' quick response and sensitivity. GFCIs
are built to trip in 1/40 of a second in the event of a ground fault of 0.005
ampere.
DEGREE DAY
AND FUEL CONSUMPTION
The degree-day was developed by the American Gas Association and other
interested groups in the early 1920's as a means of estimating fuel requirements
accurately...especially in the case of home heating units.
Research conducted at the time revealed that heat is not actually required in
the average home when the temperature is below 65 degrees, however, heat is required
in an amount directly proportional to the difference between 65 degrees and the
outside mean temperature. (The daily mean temperature is half the sum of the highest
and lowest temperatures that occur during the 24 hour period beginning and ending
at midnight.) Each degree that the mean temperature is below 65 degrees is called
a degree-day. Thus, if the mean temperature for a given 24 hour midnight-to-midnight
period is 60 degrees, you have 5 degree-days. And your heating system will require
half as much fuel as it would if the figure were 10 degree-days. But, you still
need to know just how much fuel your system requires for a given number of degree
days. The best way to find out is by observation.
The fuel degree-day relation is called the "K" factor. In residential
oil heating, it is the number of degree-days that add up during the time it takes
for your burner to use one gallon of oil. (The same method can be applied to other
fuels.) In some fuel-calculating systems, especially where large amounts of fuel
are involved, the method is reversed and based on the number of gallons used for
each degree day. Either way, the factor is constant for each home or building.
Once the "K" factor has been determined by observation, you need only
add up the degree days and apply the factor to determine how much fuel has been
used over the period covered. The following example shows how it works:
Assume that in a particular area the heating season ends with a total of 4000
degree days recorded. And, let's say our house heating system consumed 1000 gallons
of fuel oil during that season. This gives it a "K" factor of 4 (4000
divided by 1000). So, we know we need 1 gallon of oil for each 4 degree days.
Thus, if the mean temperature for a 24 hour period was 25 degrees, giving us 40
degree-days for that period (25 degrees is 40 degrees lower than 65) we would
burn 10 gallons of fuel. One gallon for each 4 degree days in the total of 40.
The fuel-oil dealer, knowing that
the "K" factor for that particular house is 4, can also determine in advance just
when more oil must be delivered. If, for example, he knows from a previous delivery
that the tank contains 200 gallons plus a reasonable reserve on a specific day,
he need only multiply the 200 by 4 (the "K" factor) to determine that 800 degree-days
must accumulate before the 200 gallon will be used up.
APPLIANCES
ESTIMATED
LIFE OF VARIOUS APPLIANCES:
| Years |
Appliance |
| 15
to 20 |
Ranges |
| 12
to 18 |
Ovens |
| 10
to 15 |
Microwave
Ovens |
| 8
to 15 |
Refrigerators |
| 7
to 11 |
Disposals |
| 5
to 10 |
Compactors |
| 7
to 12 |
Dishwashers |
| 7
to 11 |
Dryers |
| 5
to 10 |
Washers
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Obviously, abuse and lack of maintenance
will shorten the lift of any appliance. And most appliances will require replacement
of belts, times, motors and other parts at various stages during the life of the
unit.
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