Total Energy News and Insights

What to do when the weather is frightful With hurricane Matthew hitting the Caribbean and Accuweather publishing it's winter weather prediction for the country. Calling for frequent storms in the northeast it can lead some to wonder what they should do when bad weather strikes. In the event of a snow storm or a blizzard like what we saw in 2013 the most important thing to do is to stay inside once the storm starts. As we all know road conditions can deteriorate quickly, in most cases it is best to let the storm run it's course.  To prepare for a blizzard it's important to have an emergency kit for your home in the event that you lose power. The kit should include a flashlight, a first aid kit, non-perishable food, batteries, matches in a waterproof container, toothbrush and toothpaste, soap or body wash, paper papers and plastic utensils, water, sleeping bag, manual can opener, and pet supplies.  Now you many only be without for a few hours and all of these ...

New England Weather is Ever Changing. La Nina, El Nino's little sister, cousin, crazy aunt was and may still arrive for winter 2016, however it looks like there will be a much lower chance of it arriving. The NOAA also believes that it does arrive it will show up much later than originally thought. As the old saying goes wait a minute the weather will change, it seems like the same applies for the weather predictions. La Nina is the opposite of El Nino, where El Nino brought a warm water bubble in the pacific ocean. La Nina is suppose to feature a cold water blob in the pacific ocean, La Nina has not taken a step that traditional La Nina's do. The cooling of water in specific spots that affect wind patterns has not occurred yet and has lead the NOAA to reduce it's chances of a La Nina happening from 70% to 40%. The NOAA now believes that we will have a neutral pacific weather pattern, neither an El Nino or a La Nina. What does that mean for our winter...

What to do what to do to stay cool To be honest I started looking around the internet for Central Air units because of the massive heat wave/ heat index rise that has been floating over the Northeast. While I work for a heating and cooling company, I just bought a house that I don't want and can't do major work to, yet. That didn't mean I haven't asked around to figure what is involved. My home doesn't have ductwork as it is a forced hot water boiler heated home. I have baseboards in all the rooms that bring heat to the rooms, meaning that I can't just add central air conditioning to the ductwork in my home. That doesn't mean that I can't add ductwork to the attic of my home to get central ac. There are several different types of AC that you can have installed in your home, which we've talked about here before. Central AC, Mini-Split ductless AC, Window AC, and Portable (not even worth the hassle) each have their own benefits and downfalls. ...

There is a Strong Chance of a Weak La Nina This past winter we experienced one of the strongest El Nino's the planet has ever seen and it brought with it a much warmer than average winter. This was a nice rest for many homeowners after the past two winters that brought exceptionally cold weather and snow. Since the El Nino has ended meteorologists have been looking to see if a La Nina will arrive. La Nina is the cousin or sister of El Nino. Which is caused by the warming of water in the pacific ocean, La Nina is caused by the cooling of water in the pacific ocean. La Nina's have three different strengths weak, moderate, and strong and each has varying effects on the weather here in the Northeast. By all accounts we are looking at a strong chance of a weak La Nina starting in the Fall or Winter. A weak La Nina brings cool or colder area to the Northeast more inline with a traditional winter. It looks like we will also have to deal with more snow in the second have of the se...

This is Going to be one for the Record Books We've been experiencing a wide arrange of extreme weather over the past few years, from a year of monthly global temperature records, to record setting cold last winter to record setting warmth this past winter and a relatively mild summer last year.  This summer looks to be a more traditional hot summer for us in New England. The Weather Channel has published there 3 month temperature prediction for June through August and as you see above, we're in for a hot summer.  That will mean a lot of fans and/or AC's running to keep you cool. This could also mean a lot of time in the pool or by the beach. When it comes to keeping cool inside of your home, it's important to make sure that you're mini-split and central AC's are properly maintained. Like your heating system, your cooling system needs to be properly maintained to keep running at it's optimal level. Having your cooling system running at it's o...

We Could Experience much Warmer Temps this Summer Last year and even the year before that we talked about El Nino and boy did it come, we saw one of the mildest winters this past winter. Now what, El Nino is the warming of the waters in the pacific, but what happens after the water has warmed? After the warm has warmed, it naturally cools off this is called La Nina. Traditionally La Nina follows El Nino's and present the opposite effects of El Nino. Of course La Nina don't always follow El Nino's, in the past we've seen El Nino's that extend into the next winter or La Nina's that extend for several years. For this year most weather outlets are predicting that we'll see a La Nina arrive around Fall or Winter. To understand what we might see this summer we have to look at last year. For 2015 we didn't see the real El Nino until mid fall and it continued through mid winter, but its effects were seen during the summer.  It brought us unseas...

Only in New England Spring is rhere and it has felt like we've been in Spring off and on for the past couple of weeks. It sure has been an odd winter, like last year it was one for the record books. This winter we had the most days at 50 degrees or above during December, January, and February, but only in New England could you have a 50 degree day followed by negative 15... As for this Spring it is shaping up to be warmer than average, just like our winter.   While this is the average temperature is suppose to be higher than what we're use to, this doesn't mean that winter is going anywhere. We've seen temperatures this winter, since March is still winter, range from -14 to 75 here in New England. This weekend, as winter comes to its official end we could get a Nor'easter dumping a foot of snow on us.  Only in New England could we have one week where we see two days in a row in the 70's and most days in the week in the 50's and 60's and the fo...