The severe weather has now mostly died away, with Civil Defence and local councils left to assess the damage and continue with the cleanup. While thousands of homes still remain without power, crews are working hard to repair the lines.

Do you have any information,photos or video of the storm? Send them tonews@tvnz.co.nz

1.32pm A tree rests on a house in Arkles Bay, Auckland, after it was brought down in last night's storm:

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12.43pm Slips have trapped residents at Okiwi on Great Barrier Island:

12.40pm AA Insurance says it has already received over 100 claims for home, contents and car damage following the storm. Most are from Auckland but some have come from Canterbury following yesterday's floods. The AA expects this number to rise over the next few days as the storm heads to central and eastern parts of the North Island.

12.30pmA car is trapped by fallen trees in Herne Bay:

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Live Updates: Wild weather hammers parts of North Island

Originally published June 17, 2014 at 5:20 PM | Page modified June 18, 2014 at 6:16 AM

In the middle of the night, when most Americans are sound asleep, their lights and appliances off, a power hog is wide-awake and running at nearly full throttle: the boxes that operate their cable or satellite television service.

The seemingly innocuous appliances all 224 million of them across the nation together consume as much electricity as produced by four giant nuclear reactors, running around the clock. They have become the biggest single energy user in many homes, apart from air conditioning.

Cheryl Williamsen, a Los Alamitos, Calif., architect, has three of the boxes leased from her cable provider in her home, but she had no idea how much power they consumed until recently, when she saw a rating on the back for as much as 500 watts about the same as a washing machine.

A set-top cable box with a digital recorder can consume as much as 35 watts of power, costing about $8 a month for a typical Southern California consumer. The devices use nearly as much power turned off as they do when they are turned on.

I could yank the power supply cord, Williamsen said, but thats not a very consumer-friendly way to reduce energy consumption.

The boxes have been at the center of a battle between the cable industry and conservationists who believe the devices could be far more efficient.

It is a classic case of market failure, said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission. The consumers have zero information and zero control over the devices they get.

The industry agreed recently to voluntarily reduce the power consumption of new devices, which it said would save consumers $1 billion annually. But experts say the deal will provide only a fraction of the potential gains and take years to realize.

The fight over set-top boxes is a stark illustration of the difficulty of wringing energy efficiency improvements even in an era when Americans are trying to reduce their energy footprint over concerns about global warming and family budgets are strained by rising electricity prices. The recent announcement by the Obama administration of plans to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent and reduce electricity costs to the nation by 8 percent will require unprecedented improvements in efficiency.

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Cable TV boxes a huge drain on home energy bills

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In the middle of the night, when most Americans are sound asleep, their lights and appliances off, a power hog is wide awake and running at nearly full throttle: the boxes that operate their cable or satellite television service.

The seemingly innocuous appliances _ all 224 million of them across the nation _ together consume as much electricity as produced by four giant nuclear reactors, running around the clock. They have become the biggest single energy user in many homes, apart from air conditioning.

Cheryl Williamsen, a Los Alamitos, Calif., architect, has three of the boxes leased from her cable provider in her home, but she had no idea how much power they consumed until recently, when she saw a rating on the back for as much as 500 watts _ about the same as a washing machine.

A set-top cable box with a digital recorder can consume as much as 35 watts of power, costing about $8 a month for a typical Southern California consumer. The devices use nearly as much power turned off as they do when they are turned on.

"I could yank the power supply cord," Williamsen said, "but that's not a very consumer-friendly way to reduce energy consumption."

The boxes have been at the center of a battle between the cable industry and conservationists who believe the devices could be far more efficient.

"It is a classic case of market failure," said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission. "The consumers have zero information and zero control over the devices they get."

The industry agreed recently to voluntarily reduce the power consumption of new devices, which it said would save consumers $1 billion annually. But experts say the deal will provide only a fraction of the potential gains and take years to realize.

The fight over set-top boxes is a stark illustration of the difficulty of wringing energy efficiency improvements even in an era when Americans are trying to reduce their energy footprint over concerns about global warming and family budgets are strained by rising electricity prices. The recent announcement by the Obama administration of plans to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent and reduce electricity costs to the nation by 8 percent will require unprecedented improvements in efficiency.

Electricity demand is growing far more slowly today, thanks to conservation over the last decade. But total use is still projected to grow 29 percent by 2040, according to the Energy Department. Slower growth could reduce the pressure to build new gas-fired power plants as the nation retires low-cost coal-fired generators that cannot meet pollution standards.

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Cable TV boxes become 2nd biggest energy users in many homes

As temperatures rise, energy costs usually follow suit.

With temperatures soaring into the 90s this week (with heat indices moving past 100) and summer around the corner, Kinston residents are looking to find ways to stay cool without paying outrageous power bills.

One resident, Bertha Moore, said she was going to make adjustments anywhere she could.

Im literally going to have to go with the A/C at times, unplug and turn off appliances that arent being used, Moore said. Any way we can, we should put in the effort.

Kinston resident Amber Jones said she planned on using alternative methods to keep her home cooler and save energy.

Im probably going to cut off the air conditioner, use ceiling fans and raise the windows. Jones said.

Gary Jones, store manager of Big Blue, said he receives plenty of questions from concerned customers during the summer about ways to bring power bills down while still being able to live comfortably.

One of the main things they can do is to change the filters in the air conditioner every 30 days, Jones said. Another thing is using insulation around doors and windows to keep hot air outside. We also sell foam insulation to fill up cracks and crevasses, which can help.

Kinston Public Services Director Rhonda Barwick said during the summer, the ideal temperature to set the thermostat should be 78 degrees.

Each degree below 78 percent increases energy costs by 3 percent, Barwick said. We just try to make people aware of that, and some people are more comfortable below 78 degrees. One issue is when citizens drop the temperatures very low. For example, if the outside temperature is 90 degrees and your thermostat is 70, the unit has to work that much harder to drop 20 degrees, which can cause bills to rise.

Read more from the original source:
Summer energy-saving tips essential in lowering monthly bills

By Katie Krall | Published 06/15/14 11:04am | Updated 06/16/14 3:46am

Westphalia, Mich., resident Brian Arens assembles a grid system to construct a ceiling June 11, 2014, in the School of Packaging. Brian has been working with MSU Facilities for 16 years. Corey Damocles/The State News

May through August are busy months on campus forInfrastructure Planning and Facilities, or IPF, with maintenance projects scheduled throughout the summer.

An overnight cleaning at Ramp 5 near Trowbridge Road last week was one of many projects to take place this summer. Crews are responsible for power washing the stairwells and cleaning the decks in each ramp.

Gum and graffiti are removed as needed throughout the year, but deep cleaning happens when most students leave for the summer.

Crews cleaning the decks of a ramp start from the highest level and work their way down, first street sweeping the concrete and then putting down environmentally-friendly products to break up oil stains and other chemicals left by parked vehicles throughout the year.

An oil separator is hooked to the drains in the ramp and the crews come back through with a power washer to rinse each level.

Project manager Adam Lawver said each ramp takes at least five full working days to clean and crews have to adjust their schedules from day shifts to shifts that start around 3 a.m.

Were really fortunate we have a good, dedicated crew thats willing to work those hours, Lawver said.

Crews are made up of full-time staff and seasonal staff, all employed by IPF. Lawver said while it used to take six employees to clean a ramp, new procedures have been put in place for efficiency, leading to the number now being two employees.

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Crews work begin work at 3 a.m. to maintain campus

UK may have to take 'last resort' measures to keep the lights on this winter The UK's spare energy capacity could decrease to two per cent next year World Cup win could see the highest ever energy surge

By Rachel Rickard Straus

Published: 08:48 EST, 10 June 2014 | Updated: 09:24 EST, 10 June 2014

Television sets and household lighting will not cut out if England wins the World Cup this summer, the energy secretary has assured the country, despite a predicted power surge as millions tune in to watch the match.

Ed Davey said he has been assured by National Grid that the UK can generate enough electricity to meet what would likely be the highest domestic energy surge ever if the England team made it to the final of the football World Cup in Brazil.

If England were to reach the World Cup Final - listen, just stay with me for a minute - if that were to happen, Grid's data suggests it's possible we could see the highest domestic electricity demand surge ever, he told the Economists UK Energy 2014 conference.

Blackout fears allayed: If England wins the World Cup again, National Grid is confidence we will all be able to watch it on the box without risk of a blackout

Now you've got the picture: can you imagine what would happen if, at a crunch moment, perhaps when England are beating Brazil three nil, and our brave boys trot off for half-time, there was a mass blackout?

The peak of all peaks, ever, arrives, and our electricity system falls over.

He added that he had spoken to National Grid about this: And I can report that National Grid have assured me that the UK has enough electricity generating capacity ready to meet any World Cup spike - through the group stages and beyond to history.

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The lights won't go out if England wins the World Cup, says Ed Davey

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