From Our Readers: A Surprise visit from a Great-Aunt

Everybody’s Day

I was stunned when I read about the Everybody’s Day Parade (“I Remember,” November 2016). Included in the picture is my great aunt and great uncle, Callie Blair and Grady Leach! My grandmother, Hattie Tomlinson Millis, was their half-sister. Awesome picture!

Rosemary Palmer Berry, Fayetteville

A Thanks for Albemarle EMC

I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the service you provide for all your customers.

We moved on what used to be the Nine-Foot Brick Road before electricity came here.

We used to pump water and used a washboard to wash clothes, used kerosene lamps to see and read by.

It was a happy day when you all brought the lines to our home. That road is Foreman Bundy Road now. Two of our sons live on that road.

Your linemen are the best. Not very many times have we been without lights. Thank you.

Thanks again for the service you provide for your customers. Keep up the good work.
God bless all of you and keep your workers safe.

Stella W. Jemigan, Elizabeth City, a member of Albemarle EMC

Support a Local Nuthatch

We’ve received many calls from readers who would like to obtain the birdhouse retrofits mentioned in our August issue (“Sheltering Our Feathered Friends,” August 2016). Audubon North Carolina is offering the excluders for free — the small metal pieces fit over larger bird box holes to “reserve” the space for a Brown nuthatch in need.

Email nuthatch@audubon.org with your mailing address to request an excluder, or call Audubon NC at 828-265-0198.

“Remember, it is OK to put up your boxes after nesting season,” explains Audubon NC director of conservation Curtis Smalling. “This helps the birds locate nesting sites for next year and gives them the chance to roost in the boxes overnight throughout the year.”

Winter Rotation

My wife and I have been with EnergyUnited for some time, and I have a question about air circulation in the home. We have ceiling “in” vents and low returns on the first floor. Second floor has floor “in” vents and high returns. What is the proper rotation of fans (clockwise or counter-clockwise) during winter and summer? Thank you for your service and magazine.

Peter & Gracie Young, Huntersville, members of EnergyUnited

Editor’s Note: EnergyUnited shared this tip from energystar.gov in response to Peter and Gracie’s question: In the summer, use the ceiling fan in the counterclockwise direction. While standing directly under the ceiling fan you should feel a cool breeze. The airflow produced creates a wind-chill effect, making you “feel” cooler. In the winter, reverse the motor and operate the ceiling fan at low speed in the clockwise direction. This produces a gentle updraft, which forces warm air near the ceiling down into the occupied space.

Remember to adjust your thermostat when using your ceiling fan — additional energy and dollar savings could be realized with this simple step! Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms. If the room is unoccupied, turn off the ceiling fan to save energy.

Tomato Waste Wattage

“Vine Ripe Fuel” mentioned that “10 milligrams of tomato waste results in only 0.3 watts of electricity.” This is the equivalent of saying a gallon of gas got me 30 miles an hour. Instead of watts you need a unit of energy such as watt-seconds.

Bob Gailer, Hillsborough, a member of Piedmont Electric

Editor’s Note: Thanks for pointing that out, Bob. The initial statement was missing an important element when measuring energy: Time. For clarification, we reached out to the lead author of the tomato waste study, Dr. Venkataramana Gadhamshetty at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. “A 12-ounce sized reactor fed with 3.5 milligrams of defective tomatoes can sustain 72 watt-hours of electricity over 10 days (0.3 watts x 240 hours = 72 watt-hours).”