Nighlights can partially illuminate dark rooms and hallways. A tiny light plugged into an outlet in your child's bedroom is often all it takes to calm your child's fear of the dark. Nightlights also light the way if your child needs to get up in the middle of the night. While small and seemingly innocent, nightlights can pose hazards if they aren't used properly. Install your nightlights correctly to reduce these risks so you can provide your child with a reassuring amount of light until the sun comes up. Benefits Many children are comforted by the small amount of light a nightlight gives off, which means they're more likely to settle down and go to sleep without tears and exclamations of fear. A nightlight also makes your child's environment safer by lighting the way if he needs to get up and go to the bathroom or if he gets up to come into your bedroom when he has a nightmare. The light can prevent trips, falls and tumbles down the stairs, too. They can also prevent you from tripping or stubbing your toe if you need to get up and go into your child's bedroom in the middle of the night.

Types The most common nightlights contain a tiny light bulb and plug directly into the wall. They are inexpensive, but the light bulbs usually need to be replaced fairly often. LED nightlights give off more powerful light, but they are more expensive. You can also buy motion or light sensitive nightlights, which turn on if they sense movement or once it gets dark in the room. Color-changing or bubble nightlights are another option, but they contain methylene chloride, which is poisonous, and shouldn't be used around small children. Dangers Don't use nightlights near long curtains, drapes or bedding because that increases the risk of fire. Nightlights can also overheat, which can cause them to melt and catch fire. Children might also be burned by a hot nightlight bulb, so unplug them when it's not dark. You should also plug them in out of your child's reach whenever possible. Babies and small children can get a hold of a nightlight and play with it, which increases the risk that the light bulb will break or that he'll choke by putting it into his mouth.

Nightlights can also pose an electrical shock risk, if your child spills water onto them or tries to unplug or plug one in on his own, according to the International Association of Home Inspectors. Additional Considerations If you have children, only use cool-touch nightlights. These don't get as hot as other nightlights, which reduces the risk of burns. Don't use nightlights with cartoon characters or other kid-friendly designs. Best Place To Buy Curtains In BangaloreThese are more tempting to children, which can lead to injury if your child plays with one. T Shirt Made In 1951Pay attention to recalls. Can You Hang Grommet Curtains From RingsAccording to Consumer Reports, more than 200,000 LED nightlights were recalled in 2012 because they overheated.

The International Association of Home Inspectors notes that many nightlights are recalled each year because they pose burn, fire or electrical hazards. Only install nightlights directly into wall sockets in well-ventilated areas. : Make Baby's Room SafeConsumer Reports: 227,000 LED Nightlights Recalled for Overheating and Burn HazardsThe Safe Baby: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living; ECU fulfills its Mission in the delivery of electric service by owning and operating six electrical substations. These substations delivery power at a voltage of 12.47 kV and serve 21 circuits. The circuits run for a total of 394 miles and serve 14,000 customers. The 394 miles of circuits consist of 248 miles of overhead line and 146 miles of underground line. Seventeen electrical lineman maintain the substations and circuits that provide highly reliable electricity to ECU customers. See Electric Reliability Statistics for reliability results. ECU’s power supply is provided by the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (PMPA).

PMPA is a joint action agency made up of ten cities is the upstate that purchased a 25% share of Catawba Nuclear Station Unit 2, which provides 277 MW of capacity output. ECU also has an entitlement from the Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) that provides hydro-electric generation. Any power supply requirements above what is provided by PMPA and SEPA is provided by Santee Cooper through a supplemental power supply arrangement between PMPA and Santee Cooper. ECU’s generation mix is 82% nuclear power, 10% natural gas and 8% hydro-electric. ECU is proud to say that is has no coal fired generation in its generation mix. To measure system performance, the electric utility industry has developed several measures of reliability. These indices known as SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI, and ASAI, include measures of outage duration, frequency of outages, system availability, and response time. Below is the most recent five years of reliability indices for the Easley Combined Utilities electric system.

This information is maintained monthly by our GIS department. SAIDI: System Average Interruption Duration Index or, on average, the amount of time the electric system was out of service during the year, in hours. (The lower the better). SAIFI: System Average Interruption Frequency Index or the average number of outages a customer experienced in that year. CAIDI: Customer Average Interruption Duration Index or, if a customer experienced an outage that year, the average length of time the customer was out of power, in hours. ASAI: Average System Availability Index or the percentage of time the electric system was available for service in the year. (The higher the better). Q. Where does ECU get its power? A. ECU gets the majority of its power from the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (PMPA). Easley along with nine (9) other upstate cities own a 25% share of the Catawba Nuclear Station Unit #2. Any power needs that PMPA cannot provide to ECU is provided by Santee Cooper.

Santee Cooper power is generated by burning natural gas. ECU also has a hydroelectric generation entitlement from the Southeastern Power Administration. A breakdown of ECU’s power by fuel source is as follows: Nuclear (Catawba) 82% Natural Gas (Santee Cooper) 10% Hydroelectric (SEPA) 8% ECU is proud to say it does not have any coal fired generation in our portfolio. Q. Does Easley Combined Utilities allow residential solar systems on its electric system? A. Easley Combined Utilities encourages the responsible use of electricity and does have a residential solar program. Customers wishing to install their own “Customer Owned Renewable Generation” system can be seamlessly integrated with our electric system. They will then be compensated for their excess generations above their own load. For more information, please access our Net Metering Policy or call our office at 864-859-4013. Q. Is Easley Combined Utilities responsible if an electric outage causes damage to my appliances?

A. Unless the damages are caused by negligence on the part of ECU, the homeowner is responsible. When the damage is caused by an act of nature – such as storms, wind or lightning, or animals – Easley Combined Utilities is not responsible. Please check with your insurance company to see if these types of losses are covered by your policy. If you believe ECU was involved in a negligent act that caused damage to your property, please call customer service at 864-859-4013. Submittal of a claim is not a guarantee of payment. Q. If there is an issue with my electric service, who is responsible for the repair? A. Overhead Service - Easley Combined Utilities is responsible for the primary electric lines, the transformer and the service line to the customer’s weatherhead at the top of the mast. Once the service enters the weatherhead, the customer is responsible from this point on, including the meter base. Residential Underground Service - Easley Combined Utilities is responsible for the primary electric lines, the transformer, and the service line to the meter base.