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Posts Tagged ‘green home’

Saving Home Energy

Home Energy Consumption – Five Ways to Cut it Down

Secrets Of Saving Home Energy 

Making Home Energy Generation Systems

You’ve got been hearing all regarding it. It seems to be a massive drawback currently all round the globe. Energy crisis is one thing that folks can be blamed for. But it is too late now to point fingers to whoever committed the most important mistake. What you can do to try at] and do your share in serving to to unravel the root of the matter is by finding and using on the market various energy sources.

Shop around you. Amidst all the technological advancements, you will still be amazed at how nature provides for all the needs of mankind. But through the years, this has been overlooked and taken advantage of. This resulted to the energy crisis that we have a tendency to have now. But you will’t flip back the time to undo the damage. The best factor that you can do is to assist resolve the matter or scale back it even together with your own little means.

But 1st, do you know the available renewable sources of energy that surrounds you. It’s everywhere. Look up and there is the sun that produces solar power. The sun’s rays are converted into electricity through solar cells, solar thermal panels, parabolic mirrors and other medium.

Look underneath. Did you know that the heat coming from the ground will additionally be became energy resources? There are holes that are being drilled in bound regions to obtain out steam that are being made by the heat underneath. The steam is purified for use as power to electric generators.

Feel the air. The wind can even produce energy as this drives the blades of the wind turbines. This rotation produces {electrical} current which will be utilized through {electrical} generator. In 2005, it was reported {that the} capability of the wind-powered generators reaches up to 58,982 megawatts.

Hydroelectric energy comes from water. The later can be used for its kinetic energy or the tidal power to supply the energy. It can also be contained in an exceedingly dam that harness the gravitational fall of a river to become the energy source.

Crisis Alert Now more and more than ever is the time to act to create use of the available renewable energy resource prefer the abovementioned. Aside from the terribly fact that they are free, they can be accessible as long as you recognize how to care for your environment.

There are ways and studies being conducted by consultants worldwide to find ways that on how to enhance on the employment of those out there sources of energy. People must learn to slowly detach themselves on being too dependent on the utilization of energy sources that are non-renewable. In an exceedingly matter of years, the latter will decrease until they slowly diminish. Are you going to wait for that time to come when all along, if you’ll solely look around, you’ll discover how nature provided for everything that you just need. All you have got to check out at] and do is to search out ways on how to use them wisely.

Time to Care Upon finding the suggests that on how you’ll be able to make use of the available resources around you, the following factor that you have got to create bound of is how you’ll look after such. Once in an exceedingly whereas, it will be okay to pause from your busy life to seem back and give gratitude to where it’s due.

You’ll do your share of caring for these obtainable alternative energy sources by being a good citizen who cares for your environment. You’ll begin in your own easy ways in which favor not adding up to the pollution, planting plants and trees and supporting product that don’t contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment.

Most cleaners available at the store these days rely heavily on toxic chemicals that seriously damage the environment. They can also be bad for your health.

If you're thinking about not using these harsh chemicals, you could use an equivalent but more environmentally friendly cleaner. There are ways of cleaning your home while being gentler on the environment. Here are some ideas to consider:

Simple Green. Simple Green is an excellent industrial strength cleaner that happens to carry the Green Seal certification for environmental responsibility. This objective, third-party certification guarantees that a product meets strict standards of environmental stewardship in the way it’s manufactured and used. It also indicates a product that is easily biodegradable. Simple Green is versatile, extremely effective and will clean the toughest jobs. It’s quite strong off the shelf, so you should dilute it with one or more parts of water. This has the positive benefit of allowing you to control its strength when cleaning more delicate objects. Use it in your kitchen, your bathroom, to wash your car, or just about anything else--while being confident you're using a product with minimal impact on the environment.

Baking Soda. Baking soda has great cleaning, deodorizing and scrubbing properties. It's also known to be eco friendly. It has a large number of uses, including many you may not have thought about. In addition to its popular use for removing unpleasant odors from the refrigerator, it can be sprinkled on carpets and rugs to deodorize them. You can sprinkle it on a sponge and clean your counters without scratching them. You can dilute it in water to deodorize your mop. It's a wonderfully versatile substance.

Tea Tree Oil. If you’re attacking mold, there are several natural ways to get rid of it. One of the best is to use tea tree oil, which is great against fungus and bacteria. Mix a teaspoon of it with two cups of water, spray it on the affected area and allow to dry. The scent may be strong, but should dissipate in a day or so.

Going green often requires sacrifice, but not when it comes to cleaning. You should not have to endure toxic chemicals when cleaning your home. You can get the job done right with a green cleaner that will spare the environment and won’t put your family’s health at risk.

How to Make a Green Home You Can Be Proud Of! by Anne Li

With global warming and other environmental concerns increasingly on the minds of Americans, you want to green your home do your part to save the planet. Here are some easy and fun (and cost-effective!) ideas to make your home more environmentally sound.

Chuck the incandescent light bulbs wherever possible. These standard tear-drop shaped bulbs burn out relatively quickly and use up lots of electricity — creating garbage and using up resources at the same time. Compact florescent light bulbs (a.k.a. CFLs) last many times longer than incandescent bulbs and use a fraction of the energy. They cost more per bulb, but money you save in energy will outweigh the price difference.

Give up on the bottled water. Sure, your Aquafina may taste slightly better than standard tap water, but the cost of bottled water to the environment cannot be underestimated. Bottled water takes energy to procure, distil, transport and package. Instead, buy a top-of-the-line sink filter or just keep a filtered water pitcher in the fridge. Not only will you protect the environment by cutting back on your consumption of plastic, but you will also save a bundle over the long-term on drinking water costs.

Recycle or give away (or sell on the cheap) your old furniture. Instead of trucking your old sofa or 1999 Sony T.V. to the dump, find your used furnishings a second home. You can use online give-away sites like Craigslist to find people in your local area who might want your furniture. You can also sell stuff on e-bay or give it away/sell it at a garage sale. Barring that, you can find an eco-friendly recycling center near you to dispose of your furniture with minimal damage to the environment.

Stock up on natural, organic products. Instead of installing a vinyl shower curtain, for instance, hang up a hemp curtain — it’s equally anti-fungal and does not release small amounts of volatile organic compounds every time you take a shower. Get rid of your harsh kitchen and bathroom cleansers and replace those nasty chemicals (which have been linked to all sorts of ailments and pregnancy-disorders) with safe compounds that won’t hurt you, your children, your pets or your environment.

Reduce your dependence on heating and air-conditioning. You can keep a temperate house without paying your local energy company an arm and a leg. Turn off the heat and air-conditioning when you leave for work for the day (or go on vacation). Use your windows and shades to adjust to the weather outside. If it’s super hot out, for instance, throw open the windows and turn on some fans. If it’s incredibly cold, pull down your shades and keep windows tightly sealed to avoid heat-leakage. You can also invest in thermally efficient windows and sealants to boost your energy efficiency.

Get a professional energy audit. You can find top rated independent energy contractors out there to come to your home and point out precisely where and how you are wasting energy. By following their tips to reduce heat waste, you will not only reduce your consumption of fuel, but you will also pad your pocketbook in the long-term.

Make it a habit to turn off electrical devices when you are not using them. Before you go to sleep at night, go around and turn off the lights, the T.V., the computer, and other appliances, which can drain energy while you sleep. Also, many electronics like DVD players and video consoles stay ‘on’ even when turned ‘off’’, so they continuously consume a small amount of energy – unplug them.

Landscape in an eco-friendly manner. Put out drums to catch rain water to hydrate your plants or garden (if you live in an area that’s relatively drought-prone). Landscape with plants that are native to your region and soil type. If you try to keep tropical plants alive in an arid environment, you’ll inevitably use up an unseemly amount of water and natural resources keeping the plants healthy. You might also want to use your garden to grow organic vegetables.

Look for products and services to boost your green mission. You can find expandable foam to seal up drafts in your insulation. You can get screens to put in your windows to block out some of the solar radiation in the summer and thus help you save on air-conditioning costs. You can purchase eco-friendly power strips to reduce your energy bill and general power consumption. You can buy hemp grocery bags to transport your food (and thus save the planet from having to countenance hundreds of plastic and/or paper bags a year).

Get your family and friends into the green act. You can’t do it alone. Teach your family about the value of the environment and establish “rules of the house” to conserve resources and treat your local habitat with respect. Remember that greening your home can be a fun and educational process. Keep up to speed on the latest greening technologies by contacting local environmentally concerned groups or government agencies.

ARI Green Energy is a manufacturer of wind generator technologies. Visit them today for a full line of wind turbines and solar technology solutions. Think green.

Article Source: Sustainable Living Articles

Focus on Green Homes – Heating Your Green Home
By Kimberley Ward

Methods used to heat a green home are cleaner, more efficient, less expensive and more comfortable than conventional methods. The heating systems are simple for the home owner to operate and maintain. However, since the system is basically custom-designed for each home, it is very complicated for the contractor to calculate the exact heating needs of every home and is based on an enormous amount of variables. A green home takes a lot of things into consideration when it comes to heating your home.

For example, variables such as the direction the house faces, how many windows are in the home, what is the solar heat gain of the window, the amount of shade, the insulation value of the home, and the ceiling height of the house need to be taken into consideration. Then owner preferences about the type of system desired are factored in. Choices include forced air heat, radiant heat (hydronic systems), gas, propane, or electric.

Third, another consideration in designing your heating system should be how clean the system is. For instance, radiant floor heating has a couple of major advantages over forced air, since it more efficient than forced air and does not circulate air back and forth spreading germs and bacteria throughout your home.

The efficiency in radiant floor heating comes from three sources. First, a thermostat on a forced air system might be set at 72 F while a radiant floor heat system thermostat may only need to be set at 65F or less and still maintain the level of warm comfort. Imagine your entire floor of your green home warm all the time! Second, heat rises. By heating the floor, the heat rises over the entire length of your body keeping you warm no matter where you are in the home. No more cold corners or freezing cold bathroom floors.

The last source of efficiency for radiant floor heating comes from the source of the heat. What does the heating of the water for this type of system? There are lots of options, some more efficient than others. One option is using a boiler or hot water heater, however efficiency is sacrificed. The best option is a secondary heat exchanger plumbed off a very high efficiency water heater. Another option is using a geo-thermal ground loop with a heat pump. Currently this option is too expensive for affordable green homes.

When considering your heating system for your green home, it is important to look at the pay-off time for your system. Some systems can be extremely efficient, but costly, costing tens of thousands of dollars to install. Why pay a dollar to save a penny? By carefully designing and building an affordable, practical green home, you can save utility costs immediately since it will not cost more than a conventionally built home.

Kim Ward is Marketing Director for Green Earth Energy Homes at http://greenearthenergyhomes.com

Green Earth Energy Homes offer affordable, practical, LEED and Energy Star certified homes. Save thousands on energy costs and qualify for thousands in government tax incentives and benefits. Contact Kim for more information about our green homes or to view our model.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberley_Ward
http://EzineArticles.com/?Focus-on-Green-Homes—Heating-Your-Green-Home&id=1759139

Focus on Green Homes – Hot Water Systems
By Kimberley Ward

Most home use a lot of hot water and heating that water is usually expensive and inefficient. In this third in our ‘Focus on Green Homes’ series, we look at how water is heated, kept hot, and delivered to your hot water faucet in a green home.

Heating the Water – A standard water heater has a major flaw. A conventional gas water heater has a tank with a tube in the center of it and a burner under it. The hot gas from the burner travels up the tube and heats the tube which in turn heats the water surrounding the tube. Now we come to the flaw. The problem is that the water heater is very inefficient since the gas entering the tube is very hot and remains very hot even as it leaves the top of the tube. However, when the gas reaches the top of the tube it is no longer heating the water. A new generation gas fired water heaters overcomes this flaw by using all the hot gas to heat the water.

Another way to heat water is solar water heating. Have you ever taken a drink from a garden hose during a very hot summer day and burned your mouth because the hose had been laying in the sun so long? If so, you have just experienced solar hot water heating. Similarly, a special solar panel (one that heats water rather than making electricity) can separate water into tiny little lines and run the water across the panel, heating the water. The sun heats the water very quickly and the result is pumped back into a larger line that leads to a water tank in the house that stores the hot water until it is ready to be used. On a cloudy day, the tank reverts back to a conventional water heater. Solar heating is only cost effective for very sunny areas of the country.

Keeping the Water Hot - Insulation is the key to keeping the water hot. The more insulation surrounding your water tank the longer the water stays hot.

Getting Hot Water to Your Faucet – To get the water to your faucet while it is still hot, an alternative to copper pipes is needed. Copper pipes conduct heat, removing heat from your hot water while on the way to the faucet. Using materials that don’t conduct heat as well, such as inexpensive Pex tubing, is one way to solve this problem. In addition, a smaller line can get the water to the faucet faster. Pex tubing can be used in green homes to get the water there now, while increasing the efficiency of the entire hot water system in your green home.

Kim Ward is Marketing Director for Green Earth Energy Homes at http://greenearthenergyhomes.com

Green Earth Energy Homes offer affordable, practical, LEED and Energy Star certified homes. Save thousands on energy costs and qualify for thousands in government tax incentives and benefits. Contact Kim for more information about our green homes or to view our model.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberley_Ward
http://EzineArticles.com/?Focus-on-Green-Homes—Hot-Water-Systems&id=1762682

Focus on Green Homes – High Efficiency Windows
By Kimberley Ward

What do windows have to do with a green home? Windows are a big part of your green home, since most of the heat lost from your home is lost though the windows. A set of inefficient, leaky or badly installed windows can defeat any efforts at energy savings or conservation. How can we stop the money from flying out the window? In this ‘Focus on Green Homes’ edition, we explain how to keep the windows from allowing the heat out of your home.

Through new technological breakthroughs, techniques are now available to build attractive, but energy efficient windows that retain heat a lot better than the old way of building a window. First, energy efficient windows have two panes of glass instead of one. And, in addition, newer windows have had the air space between these two panes of glass filled with argon gas that dramatically slows the heat transfer through the glass panes.

Heat is also lost through the air space between the window frame and the window space in the wall. Most people have had the experience of feeling a draft from leaky windows and doors. This gap around the window frame should be filled with quality insulation to reduce the amount of heat escaping from the home. There are several ways to apply the insulation. One effective way is to fill this gap with expandable foam and then cover the nailing flange of the window with special tape to seal the gap completely.

By doing all these steps, you can greatly increase the energy efficiently of the traditional window. Usually windows cannot be eliminated or reduced in size due to building codes and builder’s rules of thumb. Windows are pleasing to the eye and provide ventilation and safety features that are important to any home. Therefore, windows have to be made more efficient in order to make your home truly green.

When choosing windows for a green home it is a good idea to look at many window manufacturers and their window prices because the most expensive windows are not always the most efficient. Calculating the energy pay-off time is an important tool for choosing the most efficient windows for the money.

Kim Ward is Marketing Director for Green Earth Energy Homes at http://greenearthenergyhomes.com

Green Earth Energy Homes offer affordable, practical, LEED and Energy Star certified homes. Save thousands on energy costs and qualify for thousands in government tax incentives and benefits. Contact Kim for more information about our green homes or to view our model.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberley_Ward
http://EzineArticles.com/?Focus-on-Green-Homes—High-Efficiency-Windows&id=1762755