Smart Meters & What They Don't Want You To Know

Let's face it. Privacy like your parents knew is a thing of the past, moth-balled with the Commodore 64, Atari Games, and Corded Phones. What we have now is an information age, full of wonderment, and yes even bewilderment, to some of us who still remember what privacy once looked like. The race for information gathering is reaching a fevered pitch, with the likes of Google, Facebook, and your friendly National Security Agency leading the charge. Privacy expectations vary considerably depending on who you talk to. Some say we have barely begun to scratch the surface of what will be common-place 20 years from now. Frightening. Some say we have already long since left the reservation of traditional privacy, thanks to the very avenue through which you are reading these words, the Internet. Regardless of which side of the argument your opinion falls on, the following paragraphs may be of substantial interest.

Your electrical utility company wants to "get into the digital age" with what they call Smart Meters- designed to not only replace the infamous meter-reader, but to also gather information about your electricity usage patterns and even what appliances you use and when during the day you use them. Don't let the name fool you though; allowing your utility company to install one on your home or business may potentially be one of the worst decisions you could make. A quick search engine query for smart-meter fires will produce report after report like this one:

“Charles Phillips saw smoke coming from the transformer in his backyard one morning last November. When he went out to inspect the damage, he said he saw a Center Point Energy contractor at his meter box with a fire extinguisher. He told me it had caught on fire, Phillips said.”
“Inside Phillip’s home, two TVs were fried, his air conditioner and garage door opener stopped working, and all of the wires and cables hooked up to his electronics were melted from the jolt his electronics took when a fire sparked after the installer removed his old meter. Phillips was left with a total of about $2,500 in damages.”

Don't believe us? Here's another one and another one and another one.

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Reports from across the country also indicate there is a varying associated fee with the installation of these meters, to the tune of $150 to as much as $500, often requiring wiring and electrical service panel upgrades before the meter can be installed. There is now even a company that makes what they call a Smart Lock for "Dumb Meters". For $25 you can get what amounts to a lockable cage that fits around your meter and prevents the utility company from switching the meter out without your permission, but they can still read the appropriate information for billing purposes. Forewarned is forearmed!

So you already have one installed....now what?
Some make claims that the Radio Frequency radiation these meters use to communicate wirelessly to the utility provider can be harmful to humans and pets alike, even if they don't explode or attempt to burn down your house. While not scientifically studied to the point of certainty, preliminary trials show they may or may not have some grounds for concern. Until the experts reach a consensus all you can do is kindly request your utility company to replace your old analog meter, but good luck getting them to actually do it.

Conservation In The Water Closet

Water conservation seems to be all the rage right now. Not hard to imagine what our world will be like soon, if resources coninue to dwindle like they are. Especially for drought-ridden Austinites who have endured an ongoing drought for a few years now. Recent rains have provided some temporary relief, but the end of our local drought is no where in sight. So in the spirit of water conservation we bring you a discussion of Low Flush toilets courtesy of Plumbersdirectory.com:

In today’s environmentally conscious society, conservation has had an impact on just about everything --- including home improvement. Homeowners are building and remodeling their homes to conserve energy and save money; utilizing a slew of new products and methods to assist them in their endeavor. One such product is the advent of the low-flow toilet.
Low-flow and ultra low-flow toilets, mandated by the U.S. Department of Energy, have been a part of the home building process since the early 1990s.
Both low-flow and ultra low-flow toilets look just like regular toilets and measure the same size, however, they use only half the amount of water, averaging about 1.6 gallons per flush instead of the traditional 3.5 gallons per flush. This means less overall flushing power but more water conservation; prior to 1983, toilets were worse, using as much as five to seven gallons of water in a single flush.
The main difference between the low-flow and ultra low-flow toilets has less to do with cosmetic appeal and more to do with efficiency. In most cases, the tank still holds about 13 liters of water, but only six are flushed at a time. Additionally, some ultra low-flow toilets don’t have traditional flappers on them and offer the option of a half flush for liquid waste and a full flush for heavier waste. more

If you are interested in finding out more give us a call at (512) 442-6782!

Fox Service Radio Spot May 2012

Fox Service Radio Spot May 2012



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QR Codes- The New Coupon Without The Clipping

(link to http://www.foxservice.com/austin/current_promotions/index.asp)

(QR Code approved by Fox Service Company)

According to Wikipedia the QR Code was invented by the Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process, the QR Code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional bar codes.^[2] It was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.^[3]

Unlike the old bar code that was designed to be mechanically scanned by a narrow beam of light, the QR code is detected as a 2-dimensional digital image by a semiconductor image sensor and is then digitally analyzed by a programmed processor. The processor locates the three distinctive squares at the corners of the image, and normalizes image size, orientation, and angle of viewing. The small dots are then converted to binary numbers and validity checked with an error-correcting code.

So why is this cool, or important, or even relevant? Because this technology turns the (even less than) average Smartphone into a bar code reader with a simple application download. As long as the phone has an on board camera to 'scan' with, and supports one of the many applications out there (mostly free) you are a 'QR Code Reader' waiting to happen. The trend in using these codes has recently exploded from what was once only an exclusive automotive manufacturing tool, to just about every other industry's next big thing.

Fox News recently did a story about a Headstone manufacturer that was embedding them in in their headstones for funerals. The QR Code, once scanned, takes the user to an interactive memorial page for the deceased. But their use has not stopped there. In March 2011, Capital Metro, Austin's public transportation system, announced intentions to use them at bus stops and light rail terminals.  They are in use in restaurants, shopping malls, state parks, and the future possibilities for use are as endless as the imagination.

If you haven't yet begun to see the bigger picture in how these codes might benefit you in your everyday life, let me point out a few, at the risk of overstating the obvious:

Discounts, Savings, Specials, and Exclusivity-
While this coding system has been around for some time, it's recent popularity with public commerce has lent this 18 year old technology a rebirth as the new interactive marketing message. Due to it's still relative obscurity, only tech-savvy individuals are in-the-know about them. This lends the code a somewhat secret identity, masquerading as some little jaunty extra piece of art on a napkin to the unwary, but to those who are initiated in their use, you are subject to find some great deals hiding behind that unassuming little pictogram. Because business owners are finding such varied use for the QR Code, they are pushing them to the public at an alarming rate. In fact, I bet those of you who are new to this topic begin noticing them all over the place, and sometimes in the most unlikely of settings. New technologies are always slowly adopted by the mass public, so while the traffic is still light businesses are offering some whopping savings just for recognizing and using their QR Code.

What's to worry?-
Well like most burgeoning technologies, there are ways to subvert the QR Code's inherently benevolent properties, to do the bidding of hackers and other technologically-inclined malcontents. According to this story reported by Fox News, QR Codes can be maliciously created to direct the user to a potentially dangerous site. The safe thing to do is not scan any QR Code unless it appears to be from a reputable source. As the article mentions anyone could alter a posted sign's QR Code, at a bus stop for example, but printed promotional or marketing materials from a known or reputable source (like Fox Service Company) are probably safest. So keep your eyes open, you're bound to start spotting them all over the place. Bring on the savings!

The $20.2 Billion Dollar AC Bill

That's the amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan; $20.2 billion, according to a former Pentagon official...bet you thought your bill was high! Small beans to a military this size? Not hardly, that's more than NASA's entire budget. Or more than BP paid for the oil spill. Of all the different emotions this certainly conjures for we Americans, I'm going to skip over the obvious ones like tax payer outrage, or a biased media justification, and focus solely on the energy consumption factor. For one because it's the least politically charged topic, but secondly because it's the one we as HVAC professionals can most positively effect.

So what does $1 Billion look like? A great example is in the graphic above. Each of those  representative pallets equates to approx $100,000,000 ($100 Million on each pallet). Now let's put that into perspective a little further: the U.S. military spent 202 of these pallets of money on air conditioning alone for the troops. If you read the linked article further you are told that this figure includes the fuel and logistics of supporting these massive encampments, that have air conditioned tents for the troops. Now don't get us wrong, our soldiers overseas deserve any creature comforts that are reasonably providable, and the 125 degree temps that are experienced in Afghanistan & Iraq are nothing to scoff at, but the method of cooling  and the associated efficiency of these systems certainly can be. With a little more ingenuity or forethought this figure could be drastically reduced with tried & true weatherization methods. But hey it's the U.S. military; they have a blank check to purchase $45 cases of Coca Cola and $85,000 oil filters, however I digress.

Fox Service Company has promoted weatherization as an energy conservation measure since 2008. It is a proven and accepted fact that up to 40% of your monthly electric bill is created by your air conditioning system.That's right up to $.40 cents of every dollar you pay is for your HVAC system's operation! To worsen matters even further, utility companies across the nation are raising utility rates; in Austin for example, we can expect anywhere from a 12%-24% increase over the next 3-5 years according to Austin Energy. Regardless of your national geography, you have either heard about or experienced rolling blackouts due to the excessive loads placed on the electrical grid each summer & winter (Enron aside).

All of these factors will play into your future with varying importance, but one thing becomes very clear: an efficient HVAC system has been, and will be ever more so important as the years progress. Technology can only progress so fast. So the answer? Weatherization and other associated Energy Conservation methods as recommended by Fox Service Company. Give us a call at (512) 442-6782 or go online today to schedule a Free Energy Conservation Audit.



    

Its Weatherization Time!

"Weatherization is more than just a fad for Austin Residents, it's a necessity"

April brings more than just the Easter Bunny for Texans. It signals the sometimes all-too-quick rise in outdoor temperatures as well as a return to leisure activities. But the reality is we all need to eventually return to the oasis of cool comfort that awaits us in our homes, provided by the unsung hero in our story, the HVAC system.

Last October we began a 7 part weatherization series designed to remove the mystery around what the devil weatherization really is and how it can drastically improve your comfort, indoor air quality and energy usage.

Here's a recap:
Weather The Storm: Part 1- Home Weatherization Overview
Weather The Storm: Part 2- Attic Insulation
Weather The Storm: Part 3- Radiant Barrier
Weather The Storm: Part 4- Duct Sealing/Replacement & IAQ
Weather The Storm: Part 5- Attic Exhaust & Ventilation
Weather The Storm: Part 6- Solar Screens
Weather The Storm: Part 7- Weather Stripping

The easiest way to start 'weatherizing' is by contacting Fox Service Company for a FREE Energy Audit. This will allow us to identify problematic areas in your home and adequately correct the problem using a wide range of weatherization products to battle the outdoor elements relentlessly trying to infiltrate your living spaces. No two homes are exactly alike and weatherization applications can vary equally. Even though your neighbor may have a similarly built house, nature, living habits, and construction variances can play out differently even in two similar structures mere feet apart from each other. With Austin Energy trying to hike energy rates at every turn, the only resort for comfort minded Austinites, is weatherization. Weatherization is one of the few home improvements that keeps on paying dividends year after year, and there is no such thing as "buyer's remorse". In fact, with current tax rebates for weatherization, it can be one of the cheapest and most effective home improvments you can make. If you'd like to know more about our weatherization, hvac replacement or maintenance, electrical or plumbing services, give us a call at (512)442-6782. We Can Fix That!

GUARDIAN AIR by RFG

From cooking smells and pet odors to removing pathogens from your living space, RFG has you covered! Check out this short video explaining the science behind their revolutionary air quality enhancement products. Fox Service Company is a licensed dealer of RFG products and has the decades of experience to consult on any type of air quality product that best suits your individual needs. We proudly carry the Guardian Air product line and would love the chance to show you how it can change your environment, one molecule at a time!