Living in Southwest Florida comes with certain inherent problems, one of which is power outages. They can be caused by a number of different scenarios, storms, hurricanes and frequently just the electrically charged lightning strikes that are often around, despite a lack of a storm.

It is always prudent to have an alternative means of power during those situations, preferably a generator, whether it be for the whole house or partial. A generator will take a lot of the inconvenience out of the equation when an outage occurs, but you need to access your needs and correctly match the generator with those needs.

A good way to start is to decide what you are going to want to power when your electricity goes down. Unless you are doing a whole house backup generator, you can generally forget running your air conditioning system during an outage. You will need to go around your home and choose the essential items that need to be backed up, such as a refrigerator and other appliances, certain lights and maybe a TV, radio or computer so that you can stay in touch with the world. You lighting will be determined by wattage, (see chart here,) while your appliances will generally have a label with their power requirements. Unless it is a whole house unit, do not expect your generator to run everything

Once you decide what you are wanting to have running, you will then have to choose a generator that produces more power that will be drawn than the total of the appliances and lighting, etc. You will also have to take into consideration the initial power surge at start up. I would also suggest hiring an electrician to put in a sub panel off your main panel, so that the generator will run the equipment from that sub panel and not from the main panel. During an outage, the main power panel is shut down and the sub panel will then take over, with a cord run from that panel directly to your portable generator. Never hook your generator up directly to your home’s wiring!

Taking action in advance of an outage will save you in the long run and make life less stressful knowing that you have an alternative power source.

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I consider myself extremely handy, when it comes to fixing things around the house, and since we own a rental income property, as well as our primary here in Naples, Florida, I guess that I had better be handy. There is always something that is need of repair between the homes, plus I have done a significant amount of work for listing clients, whose homes are needing minor work to get them in shape to sell.

Over the years and with all the properties that we have had, as well as the properties that I have listed, I truly cannot think of anything that I haven’t had my hand in with regard to replacing or fixing. I have installed electrical outlets, ceiling fans, and hot water heaters, although I have to tell you that electricity isn’t my favorite thing to mess with. I have done my share of plumbing work, fixed tons of pipe leaks and installed countless toilets. (The things that we do for not only ourselves, but our clients as well!)

Well I recently met my match in a Kohler toilet in one of the guest areas in my home that needed a new flapper. While trying to remove the old flapper, I broke off one of the nipples on the side of the fill valve that holds it. No problem, I’ll just run out to Sunshine Ace Hardware, our local hardware store about 2 miles away and buy a new fill valve with flapper, ($6.00). I love our Ace Hardware because there is always someone to help you and even the gals are as knowledgeable as the guys…it’s amazing!

So I return with the new fill valve, (I have the toilet tank off from the base,) and in a matter of minutes, I have the new valve installed. I bolt the tank to the toilet, I check everything, (it all seems fine,) fill the tank, flush it and and we are good to go. All of a sudden realize that I’m hearing a small leaking sound as the water is slowly draining out of the tank.

No problem, I’ll just un-bolt the tank and re-do everything again, reset the seal and bolt it all back together. Well after six different attempts, (and several trips to the local plumbing supply house because I kept breaking or tearing the tank to bowl seal,) I decided that I’d had enough. I was hot,sweaty and very angry that I couldn’t get it right. I finally called a plumber and in less than an hour he had it operating correctly.

Along the way, I learned a few things. First, Kohler Toilets require Kohler parts to operate properly and second, sometimes it’s best to just let a professional take care of it. Despite the fact that I think I’m pretty handy, in this case it would have saved time, aggravation and even money!

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In the case of Florida, your air conditioning system is an important investment and will account for some 44% of your energy use. In the case of a resale home purchase, it is imperative that the system be thoroughly inspected, prior to the purchase of the property by a thoroughly qualified inspector.

Maintaining your system following a purchase and keeping it top shape will help it to deliver maximum performance. My suggestion is that you have your A/C contractor on a scheduled maintenance program twice a year. When he is working on the system, I would ask a lot of questions, so that you are totally familiar with your system.

I would want to know things like, if I add another room to the home, is my system adequate. I also want to know the specific capacity of the unit. In the case of air conditioning units, more is not better. In other words, if you have too much tonnage for your home, it is just the same as if you have too little. You need to have just the right amount for your square footage.

If eventually you need to replace your unit, remember the more efficient, the more money. But in the long run, if you purchase a super efficient unit, it will save you a lot of money over time. A/C units are now rated by Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER). The higher the number SEER, the more efficient. In the old days, (in the early 1990s), new construction required a minimum of 10 SEER. Today that number has risen to 13 SEER. If you want to have even greater saving, you might want to consider going as high as a 19 SEER unit.

Again, with the high cost of energy today, it’s a small price to pay to keep your unit running efficiently!

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With temperatures rising virtually everywhere, it’s time to think about the different ways that we can limit our energy and air conditioning costs. Some of the ways to save money range from the simple to the complex, but, all in all, it’s a good idea to do what you can to improve your energy costs.

The time to replace an air conditioning unit is when it is 10 to 15 years old. Units of this age often start to operate improperly, usually unbenounced to the homeowner. In many cases these older units will often use up to 20% more energy that a newer unit. So the bottom line is that today’s new air conditioners will save you a lot of money in the long run, because they are far more energy-efficient.

When replacing an air conditioner, one of the big misconceptions is that buying a bigger unit is better. In many cases, this can be a huge mistake. Buying a unit whose output capacity is too much for the space to be air conditioned will actually cost you money, rather than save you money. You wouldn’t normally think so, but by doing that you are decreasing the efficiency.

Another thing that people often neglect is having a professional service their unit on an annual basis. No matter what the age of an air conditioner, it needs to be properly serviced and cleaned. The filtration systems often get clogged with normal air particulates and will operate inefficiently, if left unserviced thereby drastically increasing your energy bill. While having the unit serviced, it is also very important to have the ductwork checked as well, at least once every five years. Often times the seals will fail at the joints, causing a massive loss of air.

If you live in Florida and are serviced by FPl (Florida Power and Light), you can take advantage of a program, where they install a load management device, free of charge, in your house so they can turn off certain power elements during different periods of the day or night. The turn-off times are only for short intervals and not noticeable at all. The savings can be about $200 per year, and with energy costs increasing, that is significant. (We have one in our home, and not once have I ever noticed that the power to the A/C was not available, which means that they are most probably doing it as we sleep).

Anything that we can do to control energy usage can be effective, not only for ourselves, but for others as well!

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When roofing becomes an issue and all the attempts at patching aren’t working, it just might be time to look at a metal roof as a replacement. Metal roofs are getting quite commonplace here in southwest Florida, and actually help to add to a home that is wanting to achieve that old Florida look.

There are distinct advantages to a metal roof, that other types of roofing cannot provide. The primary advantage is that it is extremely durable and will sustain itself in all kinds of weather. Another advantage of a metal roof is that it, in most applications, is considerably lightweight and will come with the highest fire rating. Naturally, there are different types and gauges of metal and that will certainly affect the overall weight, but all in all, it is far lighter than the standard shingle roofing. Stainless steel is the most common metal roof very high end homes, you will find copper, which changes its color with age.Just like shingle roofing, you can now find metal roofing in a wide array of both colors and different patterns as well.

If one of your concerns is possible noise from some of the torrential storms that we often get here in southwest Florida, don’t let that be a deciding factor. With a metal roof, in many cases, it can be put down right over the existing shingle roof without a problem, thereby adding another layer of insulation, as well as an added noise barrier.

A metal roof will cost more, but one thing is for sure, should you decide to invest in one, it will most likely be the last roof that you ever buy!

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