El Paso Electric Rebate.

I received a poster today from El Paso Electric. It states "Recycle your old fridge and get a $30 reward. El Paso Electric customers should call 1-877-643-1956 or visit epelectric.com. Well pick it up and recycle it for FREE." El Paso Electric. Not a bad deal if your in the market. Get rid of the old refrigerator in the garage. Move your newer one from the kitchen to the garage. Buy a new one for your kitchen. That old appliance in your garage is costing you a lot of money to run. Just a side note, if you have a refrigerator or freezer in your garage, don't use an extension cord to plug it in. Also keep in mind that the plug in your garage is GFI protected and will trip, killing power to your appliance, usually when your out of town.
www.sobellas.com

Refrigerator tips

•Clean the door seals with warm, soapy water. Check for stiffness or cracking in the seals. Replace as needed.
•Wipe the exterior with a good disinfectant periodically, paying particular attention to the door handles.

Refrigerator Condenser Coil Cleaning Brush
•Wash the drip pan periodically, especially if mold grows there. The water should evaporate, but in damp weather, water can linger, promoting mold and bacterial growth.
•Wipe down the interior as needed to keep odors and bacteria down. Microbryte Appliance Cleaner and All Purpose Appliance Cleaner and Polish, are both very good all-purpose cleaners. Keep some Fridge Aid Refrigerator Deodorizer or Kleen-Air in your refrigerator to curb odors in the refrigerator.
•There are coils behind and under refrigerators. These can accumulate dust, lint, and pet hair. The accumulation of deposits on these coils will make your refrigerator work harder. You need to periodically unplug the unit and use a coil condenser cleaning brush and/or a vacuum to clean these areas well.

Clean your refrigerator condensor

We have received numerous calls over the last couple of weeks from concerned customers stating that their fridge is not cooling. Its getting hot outside. This means that your refrigerator is working overtime to keep the food cool. You should clean your condensers at least once per year. A dirty condenser will greatly effect the performance of the refrigerator. This holiday weekend is a perfect opportunity. This same principle applies to your air conditioners also. Yearly maintenance on your appliances will greatly extend their life. 915-585-2811 www.sobellas.com

Schools almost out

As the hub-bub of the school days are almost over and people
are beginning, once again, to tackle that ever growing
to-do list, we begin to receive many calls from clients
complaining about a ‘gassy’ or ‘kerosene’ smell on
clothes as they are removed from a gas dryer. If the
caller is questioned about whether there is any painting
or furniture stripping (or related activities) being
done in the home, the smell is almost always traced to
the combination of a gas dryer and paint fumes in the
home.
The fumes from the paint or other materials – sometimes
nearly imperceptible to a person’s nose – drift
about the house including the laundry room. These
fumes mix with the open flame of the gas clothes
dryer (sometimes a gas water heater) to produce a
kerosene-like smell on clothes.
The smell always dissipates as the paint cans are
closed, painting projects finished and the house is
thoroughly aired out. Washing any ‘smelly’ clothing
again will also take care of any remaining odors on
the affected clothes.

GE is First User of ZigBee for Smart Appliances

GE Appliances & Lighting said it became the world's first appliance manufacturer to achieve ZigBee Smart Energy certification for its "smart" or smart grid-enabled appliances. The protocols will enable GE's smart grid-enabled appliances to communicate wirelessly with utility companies via smart meters. This will help consumers better manage electricity usage and utilities better manage overall power consumption during peak usage times. This in turn will reduce the need for more power generation and help consumers save money in areas where utilities have time-of-use (TOU) pricing.

"The ZigBee Smart Energy Profile is emerging to be an important protocol for smart grid communication," said Kevin Nolan, Vice President Technology for GE Appliances & Lighting. "With this technology, both consumers and the utilities will have more information and be able to make better decisions than ever about energy usage."

ZigBee is a wireless communication protocol that helps smart devices in a home, such as appliances and thermostats, communicate with the smart grid through the smart meter. The ZigBee Smart Energy Profile is an open standard for communicating pricing and demand information into the home developed by the nonprofit ZigBee Alliance, an association of utilities, manufacturers, and other organizations.

Certification testing of the GE technology was conducted by National Technical Services (NTS), an independent organization authorized by the ZigBee Alliance.

"We want to provide assurance that when consumers purchase GE smart grid-enabled appliances, they will 'future-proof' their investment and homes, and the appliances will have the ability to communicate with the Smart Grid," said Nolan.

GE smart appliances include washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, ranges, microwaves, and the GeoSpring Hybrid Water Heater, the first commercially available smart appliance that is on the market now. Other smart grid-enabled appliances in the suite will be available later in 2010.

Dishwasher tips

If your family uses the dishwasher like most of us, it is very likely that
plates don’t get scraped as well as you might like most of the time. This
extra ‘stuff’ from the dishes can pose a few problems inside your dishwasher
that can affect results. While there is no need to wash and completely
pre-clean the dishes before loading (that’s why you have a dishwasher!),
large food particles can get stuck in the wash arm holes and decrease
water flow. Inspect these holes carefully and clean out with a
toothpick or pin. Finally, run a full cycle loading only a cup of plain
white vinegar sitting on the lower rack to remove mineral deposits.
Some other smart dishwasher ideas:
• Instead of pre-rinsing dishes, just scrape thoroughly. This can save
up to 20-gallons of water.
• Run only full loads. Why waste energy on a partial load when the
energy used is the same – full or almost empty?
• Air-drying dishes uses less energy than a heated-dry option and little
difference in quality outcome.

ASTI Announcement

United Servicers Association
is pleased to announce the
2011 ASTI at the
Town & Country Resort & Convention Center
San Diego, California
February 8 - 12, 2011.


Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Registration and schedule details coming soon.
Save this date in your calendar
www.asti.us