Joy of Medina County Magazine | February 2022
15
BUSINESS: FROM A TECHNICAL MIND
BUSINESS: THE NETWORKER
Amping Up Watt Knowledge
Power in Lower Numbers
by Tyler Hatfield
by Bob Arnold
As cold weather starts amping up, it is a good time to take a look at the technological side of keeping warm and fire safety. Many people use portable space heaters to provide additional warmth throughout their living spaces. While portable heaters have built-in safety features, that does not make them perfect. To understand how to operate these heaters safely, it helps to understand the basics of electricity. In North America, the power grid works on a dual-phase 120volt system that can fluctuate slightly, depending on load. In simpler terms, wall outlets provide 120 volts to anything plugged into them. Voltage is like the pressure of water flowing through a pipe: the more voltage, the more pressure in the system. Everything plugged in will use that voltage at a certain number of amps, depending on how much power it needs. Amps are like the width of the pipe, with larger pipes capable of carrying more water. Amps also are what a circuit breaker regulates, usually at either 15- or 20-amp loads for homes. Circuit breakers are an essential part of safety as they help to ensure that the wiring in walls does not carry too much of a load and overheats. If too much water is pushed through too small a pipe, the pipe may burst. In this case, the breakers act as regulators that shut off excessive loads to prevent overheating. However, this is where the first issue arises. Extension cords often are rated for 3 to 9 amps. Because of this, they can be heavily overloaded without tripping the circuit breaker. Most portable space heaters are rated for 1500 watts, regardless of size or supposed capacity of the heater. To determine how many watts a breaker can handle, take the breaker’s amps and multiply by 120 (the voltage of the system). A 15-amp breaker would be 15 multiplied by 120, equaling 1800 watts. This means that a circuit with a small portable heater cannot handle much else. Using that same formula, an 8-amp extension cord can carry 960 watts. If a 1500-watt heater were plugged into that extension cord, the cord could easily overheat and start a fire. One reason extension cords are not recommended for use with space heaters. Misuse of extension cords and similar products cause approximately 50 percent of U.S. house fires, based on National Fire Protection Agency research. For more safety tips, go to https://bit.ly/3qcSMMz
Once upon a time, there was a networker who thought he knew exactly what he was doing and looked forward to all of the positive results from networking. This networker attended a networking event hosted by his local chamber and proceeded around the room, passing a business card to each person in the room. When finished, he looked around the room and felt a definite satisfaction with his efforts. “Surely, this will bring some clients my way!” he said to himself. Over the next month, as he expectantly waited for calls from the 108 cards handed out; there were none. At the same event, another networker made sure to meet five new people and started conversations with each one. This networker asked questions of each of the five and made sure to get the business card of each one. The networker also set up a coffee time with two of the new meets. By the end of the next month, he had met with the two, plus one more. One of the five became a promising prospect. Two of the five had needs he could help fill. Three months later, this second networker had helped three people, met with four people and had one strong prospect from the five people he had met. The first networker still had no calls and realized he had none of the cards of those at the event. What is the lesson? Pushing a card into someone's hand is not effective networking. Asking questions and meeting outside of the event is. People do business with people, and people who push cards into other people’s hands do not come across as people; they come across as irritating. No one wants to do business with an irritating person. We tend to think volume is the key to success; it is not, quality is. Be a quality networker and engage with five new people at your next networking event. You will be glad you did!
Tyler Hatfield has a passion for technology that he would like to someday turn into his own business. He runs a small media group, https://www.hatsmediagroup.com/ , and works on computers on the side. He can be contacted with questions and for recommendations at hatsmediagroup@gmail.com
Bob Arnold is the founder of ONward Networking and the international best-selling author of “The Uncanny Power of the Networking Pencil,” which can be purchased at https://amzn.to/2KSy3Xm. More networking tips are available at “Bob’s Pencil Points” blog at http://onwardnetworking.com/ or by contacting Arnold at theNetworkingPencil@gmail.com
If you treat your employees like gold, they will treat your customers like gold.
