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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The summer is winding down. The days are shorter and the temperature is dropping. So are all those leaves that have provided shade for you during the “dog days” of summer. Now is the time to look forward to turning all those leaves into
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Wherever you and your family reside you can start easing yours, theirs and family members as well into the “natural energy “picture right away. If you look through recommendations from solar , wind and governmental energy saving agencies you will notice that most of what is being done in this area of “alternate energy” and energies is for the most part completely new , complex and complicated and certainly not outside the boundaries of good old fashioned common sense. For the most part we are returning to good old proven and sustainable ways and means. The sun has been there for a long time – billions and billions of years. People have burned wood for heat since the dawn of man.
Add in the potential for heat from hot springs and geysers.
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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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Everyone likes to be a cool and comfortable cat at home. Yet it is often said that there is nothing more energy wasteful and consuming than an extra mass transit vehicle – be it train or bus. In the same way if a home air conditioning unit is going full steam – using and wasting electrical power and energy units and the fan is stuck or malfunctioning its of benefit to no one. No one, living or working areas are being cooled and energy is being thrown down the drain and the windows. All the while you and everyone else swelters in the heat. Read the rest of this entry »
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With more and more people becoming environmentally aware, consumers are thinking about the best rechargeable batteries to use. This is another area that impacts both human life and the environment. For example, it is much better to use rechargeable batteries than throwing away single-use batteries.
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How big a furnace – whether it’s solar or fossil fuel energy based to you need for your home, living or even agricultural barn needs? It seems to be a state secret, highly guarded by the priests of heating and energy trades yet all in all it’s fairly easy and simple to work out and calculate yet its not all too complex a concept or set of concepts to understand, how can you easily understand and reduce your heating and cooling energy needs and requirements.
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We all should do our part and parts in not only using less energy, being green but also in addition use energy efficiently – not to waste this limited , rare and vital resource. What we don’t use by energy savings is there for someone else today or in the future to use. One routine maintenance task that most home owners and apartment dwellers oft think of or neglect is the routine seasonal inspection of evaporator and air conditioning condenser coils both on central and window installed room air conditioners.
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Almost everywhere in the United States and Canada a home without air conditioning can be effectively cooled by a single, powerful fan, mounted on the floor joists of an attic and controlled most simply and easily by a switch downstairs in the home . The fan pulls cool, fresh air into the house through open windows and in return as part of the circuit pulls cool fresh air through gables and soffit vents. Much less expensive and much more energy saving and efficient than central or room air conditioners the fan costs a lot less thermal generated electrical or hydro generated energy to run. Read the rest of this entry »
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In summertime our air conditioners work overtime. Yet what can we do to lighten the load and save wasted power use when it comes to cooling our homes and reducing electrical power use and consumption with air conditioning units. After all the power that runs air conditioners is usually thermal generated from the burning of fossil fuels – coal mainly and some diesel. Hence it behooves us to make our coolers run as efficiently as possible and save the earth’s resources. True at some future point in time solar power will fuel these units and in addition in some areas of the world – Canada and especially the province of Manitoba have vast hydro electric power and reserves for the creation of hydro-electric power generation.
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Uncontrolled air flow through the “building envelope” which protects us from outside air temperatures is the major source of heat and energy loss from living areas of your home and in addition can subsequently result in a host of other humidity, building maintenance and health / allergy / mold problems and issues.
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We all need to do our part, and more, when it comes to energy conservation and limiting our profligate use of energy. So advises President Obama and his minions at the EPA first and foremost administrator Lisa P. Jackson. First of all – what is retrofitting a home or building?
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For many years we have lived in a “throw away” society. Fortunately, today, we are becoming more aware of our need to live responsibly. The “living green” philosophy addresses this in many practical ways. Here are 5 ways that we can “go green”.
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What did people do before air conditioning and mechanical air conditioners came on the scene and were installed in homes and offices? Somehow “people lived” and they got through long hot and humid summers – even the elderly and those comprised with breathing illnesses. Yet how did previous generations manage to cool their homes and buildings with little external supplementary energy and power sources?
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Are old style infant’s cloth diapers the best choice for green ecology and ecologists? We all want to do our part with the wisest use of the earth’s resources, energy utilization and non-waste and reduce landfill fill ups. No doubt about it – disposable diapers and their plastic – petroleum based pieces as well as other “disposable” throw away one use items are estimated to roughly make up 10 % of the weight and volumes of land fill “waste”. It used to be that newspaper – especially the large Sunday weekend edition newspapers were the lion’s share of what went one-way into landfills and incinerators. Luckily with e-books, the internet and Apple iPads we are reading more online and disposing of less waste newspaper and useless flyer ads. Read the rest of this entry »
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It was recently announced that Qatar has successfully won their bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar is a Middle Eastern emirate located close to the border of Saudi Arabia and its climate is typical of desert regions with an average sweltering temperature of 46 degrees Celsius during the peak of summer. The 2022 World Cup is being launched in the month of March but even during this cooler month, the average temperature high is 27 degrees C – that would be declared as heat wave here in the UK! Read the rest of this entry »
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Its a downright shame the things and volumes of items that we routinely throw in the trash. Where do we think these waste items are going ? What about the energy costs involved both in the production of these commercial products which serve us , the waste of limited resources on our globe senselessly and lastly the energy and energies involved to transport these items to the landfill or perhaps incinerate them. Its a one way sinkhole that few give much thought what so ever. Perhaps they should . Read the rest of this entry »
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We all have heard the phrase “His (or hers) heating budget is just up the chimney. What a waste of energy and the limited resources of the earth. Yet what if the chimney itself is defective or in poor repair and losing heat and energies becoming highly inefficient itself? Defects in masonry chimneys are often neglected because overall they cannot be easily seen or viewed. Yet unseen is neither unheard nor good for overall home energy usage and wastage. Such neglect can be dangerous as well as power and fuel wasteful.
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Most of us have heard about deforestation and while we understand what it is, few of us fully grasp the depth of its impact. Deforestation is to an extent, a fact of modern life. The world’s population continues to grow and every time a new life enters the world, the need for food and shelter increases. Read the rest of this entry »
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Most of us may give very little thought to the water that gushes out of our faucets every time we turn them one. The cost of the water we use only becomes apparent when a bill comes through our letter box at the end of each month. Water is a valuable commodity that we should not take for granted and here are 5 changes you can make that will help you save water and cut your bill.
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