Safety Tips If You Have an Emergency Power Generator

Power outages can be inconvenient and pose a risk to your health, as essential appliances like a heating and cooling system, medical equipment, and refrigerators stop working. While an emergency power generator can power all your necessities and provide comfort and safety, they pose life-threatening risks like electrocution and carbon monoxide poisoning. Here are some crucial safety tips to help you avoid potential dangers.

Use Outside Only

When your run an emergency power generator inside your house, shed, or garage, the carbon monoxide levels in its exhaust can become lethal in minutes. Don't run the generator indoors, even with an open door. Choose a location that's 20 feet or more away from your house. Also, ensure the exhaust doesn't blow against a neighbor's home or your home.

Purchase the Right Outdoor Extension Cords

Buy and use outdoor extension cords that match the generator outlet you want to connect them to. Use a 20-amp extension cord for a 20-amp outlet. Use 3-wire cords.

Don't Back-Feed

Back-feeding occurs when electricity flows in the reverse direction. When using an emergency power generator, back-feeding occurs when you use a generator power cord to plug into appliance outlets, such as your range or dryer. Back-feeding energizes your whole house, and the generator most likely can't handle that type of load. Electricity can also travel back through the main panel to the transformer.

Back-feeding poses a safety risk to you, your family members, neighbors, and utility workers. Therefore, don't back-feed.

Place It on Level Ground

The lubrication systems of many small generators scoop oil and then splash it onto the moving parts. Placing the generator on a slope can make some parts of the engine run dry because of the crankshaft dippers not reaching all the oil. Place the generator on a level spot.

Allow the Generator to Cool Down Before Refueling

A minor spill when refueling a hot generator can cause a fire. Wait for 10 or more minutes before refilling to allow the generator to cool down.

Unsafe use of an emergency power generator can lead to a tragedy. For your generator to be the lifesaver it's supposed to be, make sure you always use it correctly. If you're looking for an award-winning HVAC and plumbing contractor in Broken Arrow, contact us at Air Assurance.

Power Outage Preparation Tips

While you can’t prevent a power outage, you can lessen the discomfort and damage it may cause by preparing ahead. It doesn’t take long or require an investment to protect your home and family and ensure a greater degree of comfort.

• Sign up for text or email alerts when outages occur, especially if you’re away from home on a routine basis.

• Have an adequate supply of candles and matches, as well as fresh batteries for flashlights and radios.

• Invest in a phone charger for your car if you rely on a cell phone for communication. You can charge a low battery by driving or idling your car in the driveway.

• Prepare a list of emergency numbers, especially if you or family members have any health issues.

• Keep extra canned food in the pantry that’s easy to heat to avoid opening the freezer or refrigerator. Never bring a gas or charcoal barbecue into the garage or home to cook or provide heat. Both emit dangerous levels of carbon monoxide (CO).

• Have a professional inspect your fireplace annually. It can provide heat during a power outage but must be clean to prevent chimney fires or deadly CO from entering your home.

• Test your CO detectors monthly and replace any weak batteries. Smoke detector batteries should be checked at least once a year.

• Turn off your heating system at the circuit breaker when the power goes out, even for a short period. As utility workers restore the power, power surges are common that can damage your equipment. You can also add a surge protector to its circuit to automatically shut it off to prevent serious damage.If you have a heat pump, ask your HVAC contractor how to start it if there's been an extended outage. The heat pump needs to warm its lubricants before starting the heating cycle, whose length varies depending on the heat pump’s size.

The pros at Air Assurance can help you protect your home and HVAC system during a power outage. We've provided top-notch HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners for more than 30 years.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Vectors. 1/Shutterstock”

How to Protect Your Oklahoma Home From Power Surges

If your home is vulnerable to power surges, this could cause immediate damage to your appliances or have a cumulative effect that might eventually contribute to system failure. Surges are created by lightning strikes, when the electric provider switches from one grid to another, or whenever power is being restored after an outage.Fortunately, there are a few options for protecting all of your electronics, whether you do it individually for each device, or as a whole-house system.

• Before you purchase or use a power strip, verify that it is, in fact, a surge protector. The packaging should state that it's a surge protector, an interrupter switch, or a fused strip. The best surge protectors carry the UL 1449 standards rating. Some surge protectors let you plug incoming cable or internet lines into them to minimize the risk of higher voltage electricity going through these low-voltage wires.

• Use single plug-in protectors for appliances that use more electricity, like your refrigerator, washer and dryer. Look for the devices that have a light that shines when the plug is working. When the light goes out, it's time to replace the plug.

• Service entrance protection devices will protect your entire home from power surges. They must be installed by a licensed electrician to prevent electrical device damage. They can also protect all of your switches, outlets and wires from any power surge damage.

• Using whole-house surge protection can prevent damage to your HVAC system, along with other valuable and indispensable appliances. During a storm, your power can go out unexpectedly, and when it comes back on, a surge my occur. A surge can damage the components inside your HVAC system, taking it out of commission until it's repaired or replaced.

To learn more about preventing power surges, contact Air Assurance. We've been providing HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners for more than 30 years.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Andrew Scherbackov/Shutterstock”

Surge Protectors: The Most Reliable Way To Guard Against Power Failures

Surge protectors are common devices in many households, and for good reason. Surge protectors are the most reliable way to protect your sensitive appliances and electronic devices against power failures and surges. A power surge is an increase in voltage in a circuit, and this can result from a number of different causes.

• Lightning strikes might be the most familiar cause of power surges, but they are actually one of the least common.

• Power surges are more often caused by using high-powered electrical devices.

• Surges are also caused by power outages. When the power is restored to your home after an outage, the returning electricity can create a powerful and potentially damaging power surge.

Surge protectors work by redirecting the excess voltage from a power surge away from your appliances. Some appliances are more sensitive than others, so it's important to know what needs to be protected and what doesn't.

• Simple appliances like lamps and fans generally don't need protection. The worst a power surge can do to a lamp is burn out the bulb.

• High-end electronics, including stereos and entertainment equipment, should be protected. Surges can shorten the lifespan of these devices.

• Computers are at the greatest risk, and they should always be connected to a surge protector. Surges not only shorten the lifespan of your computer, but may wipe out all your data.

• The most potentially costly appliance needing a surge protector may be your heating and air conditioning system. New, high efficiency models have control boards, compressors, and motors that are unprotected from surges and are not cheap to replace.

• Any appliance that contains a microprocessor should be protected.

When you look into purchasing surge protectors for your home, you have a few options, so it's important to choose the right surge protectors for your home's needs. Your options include:

• Surge protector strips

• Wall-mount surge protectors

• Battery backups

• Whole-house surge protectors.

The first three types are point-of-use surge protectors, meaning they serve as sort of an intermediary between your appliances and your wall outlets. Whole-house surge protectors are installed on your main electrical panel, and can protect your entire home from most surges.Air Assurance offers specific surge protectors to cover your heating and air conditioning systems.  They are backed with insurance coverages, that should they fail to prevent damage, in most cases the surge protector company will pay for your deductable if needed in order to cover those damages.For more information, contact Air Assurance. We've been serving the Broken Arrow area for more than 30 years.Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Air Assurance services Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our current promotions and get started today!     

A Cold-Weather Power Outage Can Be A Real Hardship -- Are You Prepared?

The climate in Broken Arrow often means colder winter weather and the possibility of a power outage. Enduring a power outage is a hardship that most homeowners aren’t prepared to endure. In order to get ready for one, follow the steps below to make the experience as comfortable -- and safe -- as possible.One of the main concerns homeowners have during a power outage is their food supply. During longer periods without power, it’s critical to maintain a safe food supply. In order to do so:

• Purchase a few disposable coolers to store cold items.

• Have a supply of ice on hand. When the power goes out, you can fill your fridge with bags of ice to keep food cold, and use ice for items in the coolers, too.

• Keep a thermometer on hand to take check the temperature of food during long power outages to ward off food poisoning.

It’s also critical to have a sufficient amount of water on hand, particularly important during longer outages, but also necessary even for just a couple of days. If a storm is heading your way, fill the tub, several sinks, and any empty buckets you have with water. You’ll need a drinking supply, and a few buckets to flush the toilets.Putting together an emergency kit will also be helpful when enduring a period without power. Your kit should include:

• A large supply of batteries

• A flashlight

• A radio that can be powered by batteries

• First aid supplies, including Band-aids, gauze, etc.

• Seven days worth of any medications that family members may require

• Hygiene supplies

• Contact information for family members and friends

• A full gas tank for your car

• A stand-by generator, or a portable device kept on hand for emergency situations

Make sure you’re ready in the event of a power outage. If it happens, you’ll be glad you took the time to prepare. If you’d like help with getting your home ready for cooler weather, or ensuring efficiency throughout Broken Arrow’s long winter, call the home comfort and efficiency experts at Air Assurance Heating, Cooling & Air Quality today!Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  Air Assurance services Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our current promotions and get started today!