Posts Tagged ‘Florida’

The Significance of a Generator in Your Florida Home

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Florida natives have to face the threat of hurricanes every year during the season which as you may know is already on. One of the first infrastructural casualties of a hurricane is power. And without power, the human race is handicapped. We need light and power. It’s hard to imagine to be without light during night even at the best of times, the situation becomes compounded many times over during a hurricane. Home-owners need to have a generator installed and see that it is in working condition, especially when hurricane season arrives. You will be using it for light, for cooking purposes, for running the refrigerator, and maybe the radio, charging mobile phones, and sundry other uses. A generator capable of keeping these gadgets running as and when you want them is very necessary.

A wall-mounted generator may serve you better than a portable generator. At this point it is worth mentioning that you should also have a supply of torches and batteries. Eat such that your use of the refrigerator is minimized; if you choose canned food your cooking needs will be minimized and you may have to use power only to boil water in order to purify it. When choosing a generator, add up the wattage of all the items to get an idea of energy required. If the startup wattage is higher than running wattage then consider that instead of running wattage. Portable generators too are not without their benefits; you can move them around; maybe even take them to a safe camping site to wait out the hurricane. Avoid using matches and using gas for cooking. Do not touch power lines and try to maintain hygiene. Non-electric can openers and chlorine bleach should be kept handy.

A $600 generator should be of immense help to see you through the hurricane season.

What Hurts More – Wind or Water? – Part One

Monday, July 11th, 2011

As the hurricane season approaches; it is time to understand a few basic things about hurricanes. The Atlantic Hurricane season begins to take shape in August / September and yet if one was to go by the word of hurricane shutter companies, business is slow? Why? Could it be because people have forgotten the damage from earlier hurricanes or they are betting on this year being a safe one. According to observers, a scare is perhaps the only way to jog people out of their lethargy and when a scare actually comes along, supplies often fall short and many people are left struggling to purchase and install hurricane shutters and generators in their homes in time before the storms come.

When wind and water both combine to lay waste our habitat the least we can do is to be as prepared as we can. But what hurts more? Statistics show that a storm surge is easily the most deadly aspect of a hurricane. It is not as frequent as floods that come with the heavy rains but when it happens, it is a real killer and destroyer of property. This single biggest cause of fatalities is a clear danger to all cities along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. Tropical cyclones can lead to drownings both in the sea and inland. And if you check the figures, then storm surges account for half the losses since the past 40 years.

This is not to say that floods are to be treated lightly. Inland river systems can swell and flood very fast in case of a heavy downpour. If you’re caught in such a situation, your best bet is to get out before the river, lake, stream really swells up. When winds hit speeds of 110 miles per hour, then even securely anchored boats can capsize, make no mention of those unmoored boats in the sea. Often people seem to be unaware of their own vulnerability, which perhaps leads them to venture out in spite of storm warnings.

If you are living in an area that is at risk from storm surges, then you need to do more than just have hurricane shutters installed. Keep rations for five days ready, do not venture close to water till the storm warnings are lifted.

Manalapan Impact Hurricane Windows

Friday, April 15th, 2011

The city of Manalapan Florida is an exceptional place of rare beauty and wonderful quality of life. It is a quaint and tranquil community on the Eastern shore, and they have controlled development there to preserve the beauty of the natural wildlife and Florida land. But like any other place in Florida, no matter their peacefulness, they are vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms.

Preparation, planning, and protection are the three P’s for surviving hurricanes. You prepare for the storm, you plan for all eventualities, and you protect your home to the best of your ability. You should have an evacuation plan that the whole family knows about and can execute, you prepare food stuffs and emergency supplies, and you protect your home by reinforcing the places that wind and wind borne debris can enter and destroy it.
One of the best ways to protect your home from the wind, rain, and missile impacts of objects thrown by the wind is to install impact hurricane windows. These windows don’t even need to be covered by shutters during a storm – the state of Florida says so, and they are the experts on emergency management and hurricanes. These windows pass and exceed wind rating tests and rigorous missile impact tests. They take everything the rating and review people throw at them, and they come out safe and sound at the end. And if they pass the tests, they can help you survive a hurricane or tropical storm.

The impact resistant glass of impact hurricane windows is double paned and because of the special finish on the glass, they don’t fall out of the frame when they crack. The finish is the same type that is used on car windshields, and just like windshields, if they break, they keep you from being injured by flying glass, even during high winds and rain.
Hurricane impact windows are a great investment for Manalapan property holders – not only do they keep you safe, but they can save you money and keep out noise. They also don’t darken your home, and if you are a fan of the Florida sunny days, that is a plus. Impact hurricane windows require no putting up or taking down of hurricane shutters when a storm is coming or has passed, and are very good protection against storms. They will keep your home and family safe, and help you preserve your quiet Florida lifestyle.

South Bay Florida Impact Hurricane windows

Friday, April 15th, 2011

In South Bay, Florida, sunny weather and water activities are the norm. But do you know what else is normal for this beautiful city? Hurricanes and tropical storms are normal for Florida. Hurricane season comes every year, and Florida is the state most hit by hurricanes in the United States, and residents know that it is best to well prepared in the event of a hurricane strike. Even an indirect hit or brush by a tropical storm or hurricane can cause devastating damage. Have you ever seen photos of a hurricane aftermath, and notice one or two homes standing in amongst those all destroyed? Chances are, those homes were well protected against hurricanes, and their owners were more prepared than those whose homes were destroyed.
One of the best things that you can do to protect your home is to install impact hurricane windows. They are insulating, they keep out wind borne debris thrown by storms, and they keep pressure changes that happen during hurricanes from destroying your home or damaging its structure.
Impact hurricane windows have two panes of glass, strengthened by an inner layer between the two panes. This is a major factor in reducing energy loss and heat and cold transfer from the windows. Reduced energy loss equals insulating effect, giving you the added benefit of saving money on your utility bills. They are also heavily framed with strong aluminum, and they fit tightly, reducing air loss around the windows, as well. This is another insulating factor, and another reason for installing these kinds of windows. You know what the Florida summers are like – hot, muggy, and with daily rain showers that only make it more humid. Keeping your house cool with no extra effort and with less money is a great bonus.
Impact resistant windows resist breakage, and they don’t shatter when they do break. They can’t fall out of the frame when broken, and they don’t rain down shards of sharp glass during a storm, like standard or regular windows can. They’re wind rated and missile impact tested to the most stringent standards that Florida puts out. Because they don’t shatter, and because they’re three layers of strong material, when the pressure outside your house is much higher than the pressure inside, it has no way to enter and rip apart your home. Pressure changes that happen abruptly during hurricanes can damage the structure of your home, rip off entire roofs or walls, and leave you exposed to the elements.
All these benefits are the reason that smart South Bay residents install impact hurricane windows on their homes. They’re smart protection that can save you money, and keep you safe from the storms.

Riviera Beach Impact Hurricane windows

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Riviera Beach bills itself as the best waterfront city in which to live, work and play. And they’re right – Riviera Beach is a wonderful place. It’s a harbor city right on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Florida, and boasts some of the best beaches in the state. They have a year round average temperature of 75 degrees, and it’s a popular retirement spot, vacation spot, and all round good place to live. There’s a mix of ages, ethnicities, and occupations in Riviera Beach, and it’s a fun mix.
But if you’re considering a move there or you already live in the area, because it’s right on the water it is vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms. During hurricane season you must be prepared, both with a plan for your family and protection for your home.

One of the best ways to prepare your home for the hurricanes and tropical storms that plague the area is to install impact hurricane windows. The only window accepted by the state of Florida that can be left uncovered by shutters during a storm is impact resistance windows of this type. They are a safe alternative to hurricane shutters, and can eliminate their need entirely. You don’t have to rush outside when a storm is coming to put up shutters or close the ones permanently installed. Impact hurricane windows are already there, giving you daily protection.

They have a special finishing process that makes them shatter resistant, two panes of glass with an inner strengthening liner, and a heavy weight, heavy duty aluminum frame. They’re tightly sealed, and that keeps out wind and rain and debris thrown with the force of a missile during storms. They are very hard to break, and even if this happens, the glass stays in the frame. No flying glass during a storm, and no holes that water and wind can use to enter your home. The pressure that happens during hurricanes cause enormous outside pressure on the structure of your home, and a broken window can let that pressure inside your home. Your roof can be ripped off by pressure changes in the home, walls can be torn down in seconds, whole sections of your house can be torn away. No holes or entrance uncovered into your home means no abrupt pressure change, and that means you are safer, and your home is safer.

Impact hurricane windows are something you should consider for your Riviera Beach home. They keep you safe from the storms that are sure to come, leaving you free to enjoy your Florida lifestyle.

West Palm Beach Impact Hurricane Windows

Friday, April 15th, 2011

West Palm Beach is a well known night time hotspot, and people come from all over the country to visit there. It has everything you want in a vacation site – warm, sunny weather, palm trees everywhere, a historic district and shopping district, and access to the water anytime you want it. It’s like heaven on earth to visit West Palm. But if you live there year round, you know that you must be prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms. Paradise comes with a price, and that price is the yearly hurricane season.

Hurricanes come in five categories:

Category One Hurricanes (Sustained winds 74-95 mph)
Very dangerous winds will produce some damage. People, livestock, and pets struck by flying or falling debris could be injured or killed.

Category Two Hurricanes (Sustained winds 96-110 mph)
Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage. There is a substantial risk of injury or death to people, livestock, and pets due to flying and falling debris.

Category Three Hurricanes (Sustained winds 111-130 mph)
Devastating damage will occur. Hurricane Ivan is an example of a hurricane that brought Category 3 winds and impacts to coastal portions of the United States.

Category Four Hurricanes (Sustained winds 131-155 mph)
Catastrophic damage will occur. Hurricane Charley was a Category Four hurricane.

Category Five Hurricanes (Sustained winds greater than 155 mph)
Catastrophic damage will occur. Think Katrina. Remember the damage done to New Orleans?

Impact hurricane windows can lessen the damage done by hurricanes, and can keep them from happening at all, depending on conditions. They are specially made to keep out wind and rain and windborne debris thrown at high speeds, making them the best choice for hurricane protection. They have a heavyweight aluminum frame that fits tightly, and they have two layers of glass, specially coated for strength and shatter proofing, with an inner liner between the two layers. This means that the storm must go through three layers of protection in order to get into your home, and the glass won’t come out of the frame even if it breaks. It will stay in the frame, and no glass will be able to fly around your home and injure someone you love.
Impact hurricane windows are the best protection that you can give your West Palm Beach home. Enjoy the Florida lifestyle, but make sure you stay prepared and safe from the storms that are a part of this. Preparation for the storm

Palm Springs, Florida and Impact Hurricane Windows

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Florida is probably not the state you think of when you hear the name Palm Springs. But this town has it all over that other Palm Springs – who wants to live in the desert, when you can live in sunny Florida, with access to beaches and the warm waters of the ocean? It’s a great place to call home, the town council says, and they are right, but only if you’re prepared for hurricane season.

Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th each year, and Florida is the state most often hit or brushed by tropical storms. Whether it’s a storm or it turns into a hurricane, the high winds and torrential rain can mean damage to your home and property. And that’s not even mentioning the tornadoes that often come with hurricanes and storms. These can come up suddenly for days after the hurricane passes.

So what should a Palm Springs resident do to protect their home? They should make sure the points of entry into their home are protected. One way to do this is to install hurricane shutters – but a better way of protecting your home is to install impact hurricane windows. Impact hurricane windows are rated and approved by stringent Miami-Dade codes, and Florida state codes. They can withstand very high winds – think 150 and above – and missile impacts from debris thrown at high speed by wind gusts during the storm. They won’t shatter, and they won’t shower you with shards of glass flying through the air. The glass in these windows is coated with the same type of thing that is used on car windshields; but impact hurricane windows come in two panes of glass with a strengthening lining between the two layers. You can’t beat that kind of storm protection – shatter proof and three strong layers between your home and the storm.

The most common damage to homes during hurricanes is water entering the house – impact hurricane windows keep this from happening, and they are a great barrier. Not only will they not let water through the glass, the heavy duty aluminum framing fits tightly in the space, keeping out water leakage and air leakage around the window as well.

There’s no better kind of window than an impact hurricane window, and the federal government agrees: that’s why they’re giving you a tax credit just for installing these types of windows on your home. You can get up to $500 right off your yearly taxes when you install these energy efficient windows. Make sure to ask your dealer or contractor for you tax credit paperwork when you buy them for your home.

Impact Hurricane Windows in Palm Beach for Energy and Emergency Management

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Palm Beach is a barrier island, and it is sixteen miles long. It’s located 65 miles from Miami, Florida, and is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the Intracoastal Waterway. This keeps Palm Beach separate from West Palm Beach and Lake Worth. It’s close to the Gulf Stream’s warm water, so the landscaping is rich and natural, there are beaches galore, and the water activities are popular and many. The city of Palm Beach wants to protect their remaining open spaces and manage their redevelopment, and they want to improve energy management and emergency management. Emergencies in Florida most often mean hurricanes and tropical storms.

One of the ways to both improve energy management and emergency management during hurricanes is to install impact hurricane windows. There is no better protection against flying debris and high winds and they’re the only type of window not required to be covered by hurricane shutters in the event of a storm. That’s a Florida law – uncovered impact resistant windows are still covered by insurance. That’s how strong they are – they are protection on their own, without being shuttered. And their unique qualities not only protect your home, they keep you from losing heat or cold air from around the windows, and reduce heat or cold transfer from inside or outside the house. That saves energy, and saves money. Less energy used equals less money spent on utility bills. They are Energy Star qualified and marked as such, and you can take a tax credit right off your taxes when you buy and install them. The government recognizes their energy saving properties, and give you money back – up to 500 dollars.

This is partly because of the special impact resistant coating on impact hurricane windows. It is strong and durable, and doesn’t shatter. If cracked, it stays in the frame and doesn’t assault your home and family with flying fragments of glass as regular or standard windows can do when they break during a storm. The glass of these windows comes in a double layer, with a strong lining between the two of them, and debris thrown by the storm with the force of a missile, wind, or rain can’t get through the three layers of these windows to enter and destroy your home.

Impact hurricane windows are your best bet for home protection if you live in Palm Beach – they meet two of the categories that Palm Beach promotes for itself as a city. They manage energy consumption, and they help with emergency management during a storm. That’s first class protection for your home.

Ocean Ridge Hurricane Impact windows

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Ocean Ridge, Florida offers residents a great place to live. Sunshine and warm weather in a genial atmosphere are hard to beat – but Ocean Ridge doesn’t try to pretend that nothing bad ever happens in Florida. That’s why they offer an entire range of hurricane preparedness services, to help their residents and visitors alike be ready in the event of a storm. They cover everything from preparing your home to after-disaster services, and they want you to know what to expect during and after a storm passes through.

One of the things that you must do to protect your home when a hurricane or tropical storm is coming is protect the entrances of your home. From windows to glass doors, they must be covered by shutters during a storm, or they must be made of impact resistant glass. Impact hurricane windows are the only type of windows that don’t have to be covered during a severe storm. That’s not an opinion, it’s a Florida law – they’re the only window that is not required to have further protection in order to be covered by your insurance policy. The impact resistant glass is so strong and so resists breakage, they don’t need additional help to protect you.

Hurricane impact windows are made to both protect your home and be energy efficient at the same time, making them a great choice during home makeovers or for installation. They have a heavy duty aluminum frame that fits tightly in the space provided, leaving no air leaks around them. Air loss through and around windows is the likeliest place in your home to lose energy, and impact hurricane windows take this worry away. They have two panes of glass, specially coated with a special glazing for shatter proofing, with an inner layer between the two panes. This means no heat or cold transfer from the outside or inside of the house, making them energy efficient in that way, as well. You won’t lose heat or cold air, and the inside of your house won’t heat up from the rays of the sun. The special coating also blocks out ninety nine percent of the harmful UV rays of the sun, making sun damage to the furnishings and curtains inside your home happen very slowly, if at all.

Ocean Ridge residents who want to save money and protect their homes should have impact hurricane windows installed on their homes today. They’re the best protection that you can have on your home, and they’re well worth the initial cost.

Energy Savings and Home Protection with Impact Hurricane windows in Lantana, florida

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Lantana Florida doubles by half again during tourist season. They are ready for visitors, and they know that tourism is big business and should be a priority. What is also a priority in Lantana is sustainable energy. Lantana was recently awarded a grant to install several types of energy-saving equipment to convert an old building and help pay for projects that reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce total energy use, and improve energy efficiency throughout the city. The grant will pay for a system to generate electricity, a solar water heating system, and energy-efficient windows. Any unused electricity they generate can be sold back to a utility company.

The energy efficient windows that they are installing in Lantana are impact hurricane windows. These windows are so energy efficient that the United States government is giving a tax credit back to consumers just for buying and installing them on their homes. Up to 500 dollars per consumer is allowed to be taken off their taxes. So this Florida town is doing the smart thing by installing them, and they’re going to save money and reduce their energy costs and usage.

If it’s good for the government of Lantana Florida, it is good for the residents there, as well. Installing hurricane impact or impact resistant windows is the best way to both protect your home from storms and save energy and money on utility bills. The special triple layer – two layers of specially coated glass and a strong lining – keeps the storm out and stops energy loss from your home. No air entry means less cost to heat or cool, and the tight framing with heavy duty aluminum stops loss around the window as well. Savings and protection, all in the same product – you can’t beat that kind of practicality.

These impact hurricane windows eventually pay for themselves – the tax credit and the monthly savings on utilities and energy use are great, but they aren’t the end of the story. Most insurance companies give you a break on your monthly premiums when you install them. The average savings in Florida after installing impact hurricane windows is 20%, though the savings can be more than that, up to 40% in some cases.
Impact hurricane windows are the best thing that you can do to protect your home from the storm and save money. Ask the government of Lantana, Florida – they’re putting them in their buildings, and they’re looking forward to the protection and savings they will reap.