Archive for DIY Projects
December 15, 2011 at 1:59 pm · Filed under DIY Projects
What was that rustling in the bushes near the pond? It sounded like pebbles or twigs falling through the leaves, yet the air was still. The curious noise stopped me as I walked to the barn. Looking up, I could see something shaking a topmost branch of the butternut tree. Then I spotted the red squirrel knocking butternuts from the twigs and letting them fall down through the branches and brush to the ground. Later he will gather them one by one to store under the stonewall or perhaps in a tree trunk.
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December 12, 2011 at 9:13 pm · Filed under DIY Projects
Most of the information that is available on being “green” reflects actions that you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. These recommendations focus on things like recycling, being more responsible in selecting products and using less energy. One that is often neglected is family disaster preparedness. This is an area of being “green” that we all need to spend a little time on.
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December 9, 2011 at 1:02 pm · Filed under DIY Projects
Whether you like it or not, the bad weather is coming, and it’s going to arrive hard and right in your face. If last year’s winter is anything to go by in the UK then we will be in for more heavy snow, ridiculously low temperatures and high winds. The country was fairly caught out last year and many roads and railways were disrupted. Read the rest of this entry »
November 23, 2011 at 2:36 am · Filed under DIY Projects, Off Grid
When it comes time to designing your new home – its not as easy as you might think in 2011 to be fully green and to plan to take full advantage of energy saving practices and technologies that are available. We do not all live in San Diego or Vancouver BC where not only the climate is most temperate – but also we may not encounter the most progressive and knowledgeable government officials, tradesman and contractors. It can be like one giant circus or being at Sea-World as you try to explain to these miscreants. Read the rest of this entry »
November 19, 2011 at 11:36 pm · Filed under DIY Projects, Green Tech, Off Grid, Wind Power
Windows are a mixed blessing. No doubt they are great for admitting light and making your home – be it condo , house , apartment bright and cheery while admitting light, providing a view of the out-of-doors as well as collecting some solar energy during day light daytime hours they are not good – indeed horrible – insulators against nighttime heat losses. In fact , in the heating and windows trades it is both well known and held as a truism that single pane glass acts as a heat exchanger to the outdoors – allowing about 10 times as much heat loss per a square foot area than an insulated wall would.
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November 18, 2011 at 6:50 pm · Filed under DIY Projects, Off Grid
Loose fill (pour type) fiberglass, mineral wool and cellulose products are easy to install in unfinished attic areas. These materials also can be blown into walls. However they do settle over time – reducing their insulation values and make for drafty, cold patches of space. Read the rest of this entry »
November 17, 2011 at 6:09 pm · Filed under DIY Projects, Green Tech, Off Grid
A penny invested in installing and upgrading insulation materials in any building is it your home or office building – your property or an investment group of properties is many KW of electrical power, volumes of fossil fuels saved. Here are some things to consider before you go shopping at your local building equipment store to help you choose the type of insulation materials that you do the renovations and upgrades with. Read the rest of this entry »
November 16, 2011 at 6:26 pm · Filed under Bio Fuel, DIY Projects, Green Tech, Off Grid
Unless you have a need of a special material or materials, select insulation and insulating materials based on its cost per net square foot for a given R-value. As an example suppose that you want to upgrade your home’s energy insulation to both save you heating fuel costs and reduce your carbon footprint. Suppose you want to upgrade the values to an R-value of 19. You would or could then price out one kind of insulation that has a calculated and labeled R-value of 3.2 per inch of thickness and costs merely 7 cents per square foot at the 1-inch thickness. Another type, for this calculation exercise, has an R-value of 3.7 per inch of thickness yet costs 8 cents per square foot. Which is the better overall buy?
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October 25, 2011 at 9:48 am · Filed under DIY Projects
Composting is the best way to achieve two noble ideas into practical action. Of course, a kitchen compost bucket and other similar containers are necessary. Basically, a kitchen compost bucket can be anything from a simple manual bucket with a tight lid to an electronic device with a turning mechanism where the raw materials for compost can be mixed. Many dedicated do-it-yourself enthusiasts can make their own kitchen compost containers from scrap materials like old pails although many homeowners will also want to purchase ready-made composting containers for convenience. These ready-made kitchen compost buckets can be purchased from online sites and gardening supply stores. Naturally, online shopping comes highly-recommended.
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October 23, 2011 at 6:08 pm · Filed under DIY Projects, Ecology
The sight of nature is such a stress buster that many of us are longing for that nature trip. Well, if we weren’t limited by our budgets, people would not be playing virtual farming games on the Internet just to get their dose of nature. And unlike what you see in Farmville, you really don’t need hectares of land to cultivate nor a special education on agriculture. Some have turned to their own backyards for a relaxing and nurturing activity which is home gardening. Not only it is a great hobby to get into, but it also makes any yard appearance priceless. And just like your online farm, they could be equally easy to grow and understand.
There are even apps that can work with your mobile device on how to nurse dying plants to health which is one of the most discouraging scenarios for new gardeners. So fret not, use your modern gadgetry for nature and check out the following apps that are all you need for a green thumb.
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October 18, 2011 at 6:51 am · Filed under Bio Fuel, DIY Projects, Green Tech, Off Grid, Solar, Wind Power
Add-on solar systems are another possibility as an auxiliary source of heating energy. Air heaters, to provide at least a portion of the needed winter space heat, built along south facing walls can be constructed of relatively inexpensive materials Solar water heaters can take much of the load off of conventional water heaters – on a year round – winter , summer , fall, springtime basis.
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October 15, 2011 at 5:45 am · Filed under DIY Projects, hybrids, Off Grid
The tightest door does not save much heat when it is wide open. Your grandmother may have well told you – when the home may have been heated by wood or by an old fashioned “oil burner” with bunker fuel oil – “Why are you heating the outside”.
It’s sort of pointless now – in our days of global warming. Why waste the energy.
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October 15, 2011 at 5:24 am · Filed under DIY Projects, Off Grid
Most homes, apartments & condominiums can save energy – indeed there are numerous opportunities to abound to save energy if we only look around and do a little legwork and money.
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October 11, 2011 at 6:02 am · Filed under Bio Fuel, DIY Projects, Off Grid, On Grid
With winter’s chill soon upon us we should do all we can around our homes, offices and properties to take steps to reduce our carbon footprint and fossil fuel use. After all a watt of power saved now – is energy down the line that is not used and saved for future generations and others in less fortunate areas of the globe.
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October 10, 2011 at 4:58 am · Filed under Bio Fuel, DIY Projects, Green Tech
With winter soon approaching as responsible green consumers we should be doing all we can to decrease our energy use and usages and save fossil fuels for the next generations and indeed the world. Here are some additional heating tips and energy conservation measures that you can easily employ you don’t have to live in northern Canada or Manitoba with its 40 below zero January winter temperature climates to reduce your energy waste by following these tips and procedures.
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October 2, 2011 at 2:32 am · Filed under DIY Projects, Green Tech, On Grid
When it comes to saving energy and power units in home settings you would think that with all the light and lighting emanating from our homes that electrical fossil fuel driven, nuclear and hydroelectric power would be a great energy waste and cost in our homes. Yet it’s a case of the squeaky wheel (or well lit one) getting the attention.
Fully 95 % of energy from old light bulbs is wasted as heat - heat your tea
photo source : http://nexgadget.com/images/Use-the-of-Your-Incandescent-Light-Bulbs-Waste-Energy-to-Heat-Your-Tea-Concept_ELetd_0.jpg
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September 28, 2011 at 9:51 am · Filed under DIY Projects
As the winter months lie ahead temperatures can be expected to plummet, meaning high utility bills for homeowners as they try to minimize chattering teeth and goose bumps. With constant rises in the cost of electricity and gas it’s important for homeowners to try and keep whatever heat they produce within the four walls of their home so they don’t essentially, burn money. Practicing good insulation techniques can help to reduce the amount of heat lost, making for a warm home at a lower cost. Read the rest of this entry »
September 17, 2011 at 6:50 am · Filed under Activism, DIY Projects, Off Grid, Solar, The Politics
Energy used to be cheap so overall most people became wasteful of energy even to the point of energy hogs. Whether it was that electric power bills were minor or that you could drive from Winnipeg to Minneapolis return on $ 13 of gas conserving, saving and not wasting fuel and energy was essentially a non-issue. At least in North America most commercial buildings and even homes were built in these pre-1973 oil crisis times of the 1960’s and 50’s when cheap energy ruled the roost and there was power and gas to “burn”. Yet no doubt times have changed, not only in terms of prices and pricing but also in addition in terms of our values and norms when it comes to the using of excess energy and energy conservation.
Don't Be an ENERGY HOG !!
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September 16, 2011 at 9:38 am · Filed under DIY Projects
Start with an energy “audit” to save & conserve energy at home and work. It’s best for the earth and your pocketbook as well as overall energy utilization. Do you still have those power and heating bills handy or perhaps available for easy reference scanned on your pc or on-line? What did you spend last year for heat and electricity overall?
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September 10, 2011 at 7:35 pm · Filed under DIY Projects, Green Tech
An electric KW saved is a good chunk of coal or fossil fuel not burned. Home electric or natural gas / propane clothes dryers are convenient. Yet we should use them sparingly using solar power and warm temperatures outside on a clothes rack or wire to dry out laundered clothing and bedding. Still if there are times of the year – say in a 40 below zero Winnipeg prairie January winter season then we should ensure that our appliances use as little electrical power as possible to reduce and conserve our energy usage in 2011. With some simple and basic home appliance procedures we can well work to this goal of reduced and minimal energy usages and less power wastage.
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