As long as you've got electronics and appliances in your home, you're inevitably going to be faced with a choice: Something breaks. Now what?
According to a 2005 Consumer Reports survey, Americans are repairing 16 percent fewer products—including high-cost items like television sets and refrigerators—than in 1997. The number of appliance-repairs shops has declined roughly 37 percent in 15 years while the number of electronics-repair shops has plummeted by 64 percent. So-called "e-waste"--computer monitors, televisions and other electronic waste—is the fastest growing portion of the U.S. waste stream. In 2005, electronics accounted for 2.63 million tons of waste—only 12.5 percent of which was recycled.
If you're lucky enough to find a repair shop, it may seem that the best environmental option would be to hang on to old appliances and electronics for as long as possible. Along with the environmental impact of new-product production, there's another concern: Many electronics contain heavy metals (such as lead and mercury), flame retardants and other toxic chemicals that can wash into waterways and pollute groundwater if sent to a landfill. But older products can be a big drain of household energy. "You need to consider buying a new product—which must be manufactured—or fixing your existing product, which may not be up to the latest energy standards," says Greg Keoleian, Ph.D., co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan.
From a price perspective, if the cost to repair a household appliance is more than half the price of a new product, advances in energy efficiency will generally make buying a newer model the cheaper choice. Based on these numbers and considering today's more environmentally friendly technologies, here's a guide to when you should repair or replace.
Washers
* Replace all top loaders.
When Keoleian and his colleagues compared the average lifecycle of a washing machine (14 years) with the amount of water and emissions that could be saved by a newer model, they determined that even replacing a 2005 machine could have water-saving benefits. The reason: Water- and energy-saving technology continues to evolve as companies push beyond standards. It's most important to replace top loaders with Energy Star-labeled new front loaders as soon as possible; although they're generally more expensive, these models circulate clothes in a shallower pool of water, using less water and heat, and saving money in the long run. (Getting rid of a pre-1994 washer, for example, can save a family $110 a year on utility bills.) For models, see our Washing Machine Product Report.
Clothes Dryer
* Repair if possible, but line dry clothing whenever you can.
As long as your dryer has a moisture sensor (nearly all models in operation today should), it functions at about the same efficiency as current models, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. A dryer's average life cycle is about 13 years, so if it's possible to fix it during this time, try that first. When it is time to buy a new dryer, look for one with the sensor in the drum, as opposed to in the exhaust vent; it will shut off a little sooner and save slightly more energy. However, since dryers consume large amounts of energy, line drying or hanging your clothes on a rack is a better option. For dryers and drying racks, see Virtuous Cycles.
Refrigerators
* Replace all models manufactured before 2001.
New refrigerators consume 75 percent less energy than those produced in the late 1970s, and are even more efficient than models just six years old, Keoleian's research has found. The newest federal standards went into effect in 2001—so if you need to make repairs on an older fridge, it's worth getting a new one instead. When replacing your refrigerator, opt for a top-freezer configuration rather than a side-by-side, and make sure it's Energy Star-certified. A new refrigerator should then last you about 14 years. And resist the urge to hold on to your old fridge or give it away, since inefficient old models can cost over $100 a year to run. Most communities have specific requirements for disposing of refrigerators and other large appliances; visit www.earth911.org for information in your area. For models, see our Refrigerator Product Report.
Dishwasher
* Replace non-Energy Star models.
Newer, more efficient dishwashers use less hot water, have energy-efficient motors and use sensors to determine the length of the wash cycle—making Energy Star models 25 percent more efficient than the minimum federal standards. This can mean a savings of $25 a year if you replace a pre-1994 machine. When shopping for a new dishwasher, choose one with a "light wash" or "energy saving" cycle—and expect to hang onto it for about 9 years, suggests the National Association of Home Builders. And remember that handwashing dishes is an inefficient alternative, generally wasting more water than dishwashers. For models, see our Dishwasher Product Report.
Air conditioners
* Replace window units older than 10 years and central-air systems older than 10, but consider alternative cooling methods.
Upgrading your window units to a more efficient model can cut energy bills by an average of $14 a year, estimates the Energy Star program. The most efficient room air conditioners have higher-efficiency compressors, fan motors and heat-transfer surfaces than previous models. Central ACs are rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER)—for which most 1992 to 2005 models score about a 10; older ACs have ratings of only 6 or 7. New minimum standards set in 2006 require current central-air units to have a SEER of at least 13. Because of the coolants used, old room-AC units need to be disposed of in hazardous waste facilities; old central units are usually disposed of by the contractor hired to install the new unit, but always ask ahead of time to ensure proper disposal.
Before you buy, however, consider alternatives such as ceiling fans, evaporative coolers (if you live in a dry climate), whole-house fans and landscaping or decorating changes, all of which can keep your home comfortable for a fraction of the cost (see Keep Your Cool With Less AC). For models, see our Air Conditioner Product Report.
Water heaters
* Replace all electric heaters, and any gas heaters older than 10 years.
If you have an electric heating system, you can achieve a 50 percent energy savings used by switching to a high-efficiency gas model. Gas heating systems can last for about 25 years but will operate for years at very low efficiency before they finally fail [but do they operate at low efficiency because of something that can be repaired?] ; if yours is more than 10 years old, it probably operates at less than 50 percent efficiency and deserves to be replaced. Consider a "demand," or tankless, system, in which water is circulated through a large coil and heated only when needed. Although EnergyStar doesn't certify these models, the government estimates that they can save between 45 and 60 percent of water heating energy and up to $1,800 a year when compared to standard, minimum-efficiency heaters.
Computers
* Repair as long as you can.
"The manufacture of brand new computer models uses more than four times the energy and resources it would take to extend the life of an older machine for another few years, says Sheila Davis, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition—so it's best to always repair it yours if possible. Memory can be added to slow computers (1-gig will run about $100 and you can install it yourself). But it's important to consider the repair process, says Davis: Name brand computers often have proprietary parts and need to be shipped back to the manufacturer—or sometimes even overseas—to be fixed. "White box" computers, that is, generic models without name brand parts, can easily be upgraded at local computer stores, but warranties for them can be tricky. They come without software, and finding technical support may be difficult. White box models are available online or at large computer chains.
If you prefer a name-brand item, choose one with a strong takeback program that will guarantee your computer won't end up in a landfill. Dell takes back all branded products for free; others accept new models or charge a small fee. Visit www.computertakeback.com/docUploads/Using_takeback_programsv7a.pdf for a comparison of most popular brands. As far as desktops versus laptops, it's a toss-up: "Even though laptops are smaller, they often have just as many chemicals to dispose of," says Davis. If you still have a large cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor, replace it with a flat-panel liquid crystal display: A 15-inch LCD screen uses about 18 watts of energy, as opposed to about 200 for CRT's. For models, see our Computers Product Report.
Smaller electronics
* Replace, but recycle.
It's probably not financially practical to repair electronics such as printers, televisions, and digital cameras, but it's best to keep them out of landfills. Before ditching them, always consult the instruction manual and consider contacting the manufacturer; sometimes they'll provide repairs for a small fee. When they do need to be disposed of, visit www.greenerchoices.org for recycling options that won't put toxic chemicals back into the environment. Cell phones, for example, are often reprogrammed and donated to women facing domestic violence (as a 911 lifeline), and chains such as Best Buy and Staples often sponsor collection drives for other broken electronics (see also www.eco-cell.org). Apple will take back iPods (as well as cellphones), offering a 10 percent discount towards your next purchase.
by Amanda MacMillan
continue
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Sunday 28 October 2007
Energy and Fuels
Access to cheap energy is a linchpin of modern industry and civilisation. Energy, mostly from fossil fuels, allows us to heat homes, and power factories and transportation systems. Worldwide every day, we devour the energy equivalent of about 200 million barrels of oil, but much of this energy comes from coal, gas and nuclear fuel too.
Starting with coal, and then oil and gas in the 1800s, we have plundered our fossil fuel riches to drive development. But now, an energy crisis looms. New oil sources are dwindling, and smothering greenhouse gases threaten the Earth - yet energy demands will rise by 50% to 60% by 2030. We need to rapidly develop sustainable solutions - from hydrogen cells to wind turbines - to fuel our future.
Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun. In fact enough energy from the Sun hits the planet's surface each minute to cover our needs for an entire year, we just need to find an efficient way to harness it. So far the energy in oil has been cheaper and easier to get at. But as supplies dwindle, this will change, and we will need to cure our addiction to oil.
Thirst for oil
Burning wood satisfied most energy needs until the steam-driven industrial revolution, when energy-dense coal became the fuel of choice. Coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one-quarter of our energy needs, but its use has been declining since we started pumping up oil. Coal is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel, but could make a comeback, as supplies are still plentiful: its reserves are five times larger than oil's.
Today petroleum (derived from oil) provides around 40% of the world's energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. The US guzzles up a quarter of all oil, and generates a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The first wells were drilled 2400 years ago, but the modern oil industry was born in the 1850s.
The majority of oil comes from the Middle East, which has half of known reserves. But other significant sources include Russia, North America, Norway, Venezuela and the North Sea. Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could be a major new US source, to reduce reliance on foreign imports, but drilling there is currently prohibited.
Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years, though opinions and estimates vary. We could fast reach an energy crisis in the next few decades; when demand outstrips supply. As conventional reserves become more difficult to access, others such as oil shales and tar sands may be used instead. Petrol could also be extracted from coal.
Since we started using fossil fuels, we have released 400 billion tonnes of carbon, and burning the entire reserves could eventually raise world temperatures by 13°C. Among other horrors, this would result in the destruction of all rainforests and the melting of all Arctic ice. London would be as hot as Cairo, but would also be engulfed by seawater. (See our Special Report on Climate Change for more.)
Gas, naturally
Natural gas reserves could plug some of the gap from oil, but reserves of that - some of which are in Russia, the Middle East and the Wadden Sea - will not last into the 22nd century either. We currently use it for around one-third of world electricity generation.
Natural gas, which is mostly methane, is the cleanest fossil fuel by weight, emitting just 40% the greenhouse gases of coal and 25% of oil. As a less-polluting alternative to petrol, its use is increasing in automobiles - either as compressed natural gas or for powering hydrogen fuel cells. When reserves do run low, we may be able to access vast frozen methane hydrate reserves beneath the seabed.
In the next few decades, one way for the UK and others to meet greenhouse gas reduction commitments, could be increased nuclear power generation. Currently, about 440 reactors in 32 countries generate 16% of world electricity. (See our Special Report on The Nuclear Age for more.)
Despite a slow decline of support for nuclear power in the west following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, many countries, such as the US, Japan and India are now embracing the technology again. But using nuclear power to mitigate environmental damage is a double-edged sword, because disposing of nuclear waste is itself an intractable problem. Expense, safety in usual operation and terrorism are major concerns too, not to mention the fact that building new facilities can take decades.
Sustainable alternatives
Less-polluting renewable energy sources offer a more practical long-term energy solution. They may benefit the world's poor too. "Renewable" refers to the fact these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.
The Chinese and Romans used watermills over 2000 years ago. But the first hydroelectric dam was built in England in 1870. Hydroelectric power is now the most common form of renewable energy, supplying around 20% of world electricity.
China's Three Gorges Dam, which has just been completed, is the largest ever. At five times the size of the US's Hoover Dam, its 26 turbines will generate the equivalent energy of 18 coal-fired power stations. It will satisfy 3% of China's entire electricity demand. Surprisingly, some argue that hydroelectric dams significantly contribute greenhouse gases.
In 2003, the first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened in Norway. It is designed like windmill, but others take the form of turbines, oscillating hydroplanes, flexible eel-like generators, or are made of floating pontoons that rise up and down with the waves and tide.
As prices fall, wind power has become the fastest growing type of electricity generation - quadrupling worldwide between 1999 and 2005. Modern wind farms consist of turbines that generate electricity. Though it will be more expensive, there is more than enough wind to provide the world's entire energy needs.
Wind farms come in onshore and offshore forms. They can often end up at spots of natural beauty, and are often unpopular with residents. And turbines are not totally benign - they can interfere with radar and leave a significant ecological footprint; altering climate, sending wildlife diving for cover and killing sea birds. Migrating birds may have more luck avoiding them.
Scotland is building Europe's largest wind farm, which will power 200,000 homes. The UK's goal is to generate one-fifth of power from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. But this may cause problems, because wind is unreliable.
Future buildings with integrated turbines could generate 20% of their own power. Other visions see wind-power revived for shipping, floating wind farms, or 28-kilometre-wide flying behemoths powered by high speed winds in the upper atmosphere. There are also plans to construct a 1-kilometre-tall tower that would harness wind energy from heated air in the Australian outback.
Catching some rays
Using solar power to generate electricity has been considered since Victorian times and clever building designs that use it to regulate temperature have been around for millennia. Today solar power is used in several ways. In thermal solar power, sunlight directly heats water in rooftop panels for household supplies, while sunlight can also be converted to electricity using photovoltaic cells, which use semiconductors to turn photons into electricity.
Both types of power are intermittent sources, as they can only work in good light. Photovoltaic cells have been too expensive for widespread use, but are already popular for supplying electricity to remote locations and filling gaps in ramshackle electricity grids. Solar panels often power spacecraft too, and solar cars and aeroplanes.
New cheaper versionsof photovoltaic cells could mean more energy is generated from solar than nuclear power by 2020.
In the future we may generate solar power using flexible coverings that "clothe" both buildings and people. There is even a scheme for an orbiting solar power station.
Running on empty
When oil runs out what will we fuel our cars with? This question, plus the fact the exhaust fumes are one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, means the race is on to find a new solution to getting around.
Biofuels have been around since the internal combustion engine. Ethanol is added to petrol in the US, and millions of cars in Brazil are run on it too. Vegetable oils are already used in Europe to produce biodiesel. Soya oil could be used for aviation too. Biofuels such as fast-growing elephant grass or saplings could be used to provide heat and electricity. Even sewage is being considered as a biofuel.
Hydrogen fuel cells have enormous potential if technical problems can be solved. Essentially a kind of battery that can be continuously refilled, fuel cells chemically react hydrogen with oxygen - producing just electricity and water.
This is a far more efficient process than burning fuel, as much less energy is wasted as heat. See how it works here. But it's not just useful in cars: hydrogen could also be used in power stations and electronic and portable gadgets too. Miniature fuel cells may one day oust batteries.
The problem is that catalysts and membranes have been expensive until recently. Other problems include making tanks of pressurised flammable hydrogen safe enough for cars and creating an entire fuelling station infrastructure. Combining traditional engines with fuel cells could be step in the right direction. A new $10 million prize has been offered to help solve these problems.
Fuel cells can also use natural gas, methanol or coal - but these produce carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is not yet a completely clean either, as electricity - currently derived from fossil fuels - is needed to"crack" water to produce the hydrogen. Some cities, such as Reykjavik, already use hydrogen to power buses. But Iceland gets some electricity and over 80% of its heating and hot water from geothermal energy sources, and can produce the hydrogen emission-free. Other countries need to find ways to produce the hydrogen sustainably.
Driving efficiency
Some argue that the "hydrogen economy" is a distraction from meeting future energy needs and slowing climate change, and that we need to focus on more immediate solutions. Making social change might be more difficult than solving technical problems.
Solutions that could be put in place right now include filtering carbon dioxide out of emissions and burying it in oil seams or under the sea. The US is among 6 nations that have turned their back on the Kyoto protocol to curb climate change and are focusing instead on "clean energy" from fossil fuels.
Increasing efficiency in energy production could also yield massive savings, as it did during the oil crises of the 1970s. Methods vary from reducing the friction of trains to lowering speed limits for cars.
Producing combined heat and power with small generators at home, makes use of a lot of the energy wasted in power stations, and might one day feed energy back to the grid. Wind and solar power could also be rigged up on a rooftop near you in the future - even the Queen of England is now generating her own power from the River Thames.
John Pickrell
continue
Starting with coal, and then oil and gas in the 1800s, we have plundered our fossil fuel riches to drive development. But now, an energy crisis looms. New oil sources are dwindling, and smothering greenhouse gases threaten the Earth - yet energy demands will rise by 50% to 60% by 2030. We need to rapidly develop sustainable solutions - from hydrogen cells to wind turbines - to fuel our future.
Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun. In fact enough energy from the Sun hits the planet's surface each minute to cover our needs for an entire year, we just need to find an efficient way to harness it. So far the energy in oil has been cheaper and easier to get at. But as supplies dwindle, this will change, and we will need to cure our addiction to oil.
Thirst for oil
Burning wood satisfied most energy needs until the steam-driven industrial revolution, when energy-dense coal became the fuel of choice. Coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one-quarter of our energy needs, but its use has been declining since we started pumping up oil. Coal is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel, but could make a comeback, as supplies are still plentiful: its reserves are five times larger than oil's.
Today petroleum (derived from oil) provides around 40% of the world's energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. The US guzzles up a quarter of all oil, and generates a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The first wells were drilled 2400 years ago, but the modern oil industry was born in the 1850s.
The majority of oil comes from the Middle East, which has half of known reserves. But other significant sources include Russia, North America, Norway, Venezuela and the North Sea. Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could be a major new US source, to reduce reliance on foreign imports, but drilling there is currently prohibited.
Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years, though opinions and estimates vary. We could fast reach an energy crisis in the next few decades; when demand outstrips supply. As conventional reserves become more difficult to access, others such as oil shales and tar sands may be used instead. Petrol could also be extracted from coal.
Since we started using fossil fuels, we have released 400 billion tonnes of carbon, and burning the entire reserves could eventually raise world temperatures by 13°C. Among other horrors, this would result in the destruction of all rainforests and the melting of all Arctic ice. London would be as hot as Cairo, but would also be engulfed by seawater. (See our Special Report on Climate Change for more.)
Gas, naturally
Natural gas reserves could plug some of the gap from oil, but reserves of that - some of which are in Russia, the Middle East and the Wadden Sea - will not last into the 22nd century either. We currently use it for around one-third of world electricity generation.
Natural gas, which is mostly methane, is the cleanest fossil fuel by weight, emitting just 40% the greenhouse gases of coal and 25% of oil. As a less-polluting alternative to petrol, its use is increasing in automobiles - either as compressed natural gas or for powering hydrogen fuel cells. When reserves do run low, we may be able to access vast frozen methane hydrate reserves beneath the seabed.
In the next few decades, one way for the UK and others to meet greenhouse gas reduction commitments, could be increased nuclear power generation. Currently, about 440 reactors in 32 countries generate 16% of world electricity. (See our Special Report on The Nuclear Age for more.)
Despite a slow decline of support for nuclear power in the west following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, many countries, such as the US, Japan and India are now embracing the technology again. But using nuclear power to mitigate environmental damage is a double-edged sword, because disposing of nuclear waste is itself an intractable problem. Expense, safety in usual operation and terrorism are major concerns too, not to mention the fact that building new facilities can take decades.
Sustainable alternatives
Less-polluting renewable energy sources offer a more practical long-term energy solution. They may benefit the world's poor too. "Renewable" refers to the fact these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.
The Chinese and Romans used watermills over 2000 years ago. But the first hydroelectric dam was built in England in 1870. Hydroelectric power is now the most common form of renewable energy, supplying around 20% of world electricity.
China's Three Gorges Dam, which has just been completed, is the largest ever. At five times the size of the US's Hoover Dam, its 26 turbines will generate the equivalent energy of 18 coal-fired power stations. It will satisfy 3% of China's entire electricity demand. Surprisingly, some argue that hydroelectric dams significantly contribute greenhouse gases.
In 2003, the first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened in Norway. It is designed like windmill, but others take the form of turbines, oscillating hydroplanes, flexible eel-like generators, or are made of floating pontoons that rise up and down with the waves and tide.
As prices fall, wind power has become the fastest growing type of electricity generation - quadrupling worldwide between 1999 and 2005. Modern wind farms consist of turbines that generate electricity. Though it will be more expensive, there is more than enough wind to provide the world's entire energy needs.
Wind farms come in onshore and offshore forms. They can often end up at spots of natural beauty, and are often unpopular with residents. And turbines are not totally benign - they can interfere with radar and leave a significant ecological footprint; altering climate, sending wildlife diving for cover and killing sea birds. Migrating birds may have more luck avoiding them.
Scotland is building Europe's largest wind farm, which will power 200,000 homes. The UK's goal is to generate one-fifth of power from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. But this may cause problems, because wind is unreliable.
Future buildings with integrated turbines could generate 20% of their own power. Other visions see wind-power revived for shipping, floating wind farms, or 28-kilometre-wide flying behemoths powered by high speed winds in the upper atmosphere. There are also plans to construct a 1-kilometre-tall tower that would harness wind energy from heated air in the Australian outback.
Catching some rays
Using solar power to generate electricity has been considered since Victorian times and clever building designs that use it to regulate temperature have been around for millennia. Today solar power is used in several ways. In thermal solar power, sunlight directly heats water in rooftop panels for household supplies, while sunlight can also be converted to electricity using photovoltaic cells, which use semiconductors to turn photons into electricity.
Both types of power are intermittent sources, as they can only work in good light. Photovoltaic cells have been too expensive for widespread use, but are already popular for supplying electricity to remote locations and filling gaps in ramshackle electricity grids. Solar panels often power spacecraft too, and solar cars and aeroplanes.
New cheaper versionsof photovoltaic cells could mean more energy is generated from solar than nuclear power by 2020.
In the future we may generate solar power using flexible coverings that "clothe" both buildings and people. There is even a scheme for an orbiting solar power station.
Running on empty
When oil runs out what will we fuel our cars with? This question, plus the fact the exhaust fumes are one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, means the race is on to find a new solution to getting around.
Biofuels have been around since the internal combustion engine. Ethanol is added to petrol in the US, and millions of cars in Brazil are run on it too. Vegetable oils are already used in Europe to produce biodiesel. Soya oil could be used for aviation too. Biofuels such as fast-growing elephant grass or saplings could be used to provide heat and electricity. Even sewage is being considered as a biofuel.
Hydrogen fuel cells have enormous potential if technical problems can be solved. Essentially a kind of battery that can be continuously refilled, fuel cells chemically react hydrogen with oxygen - producing just electricity and water.
This is a far more efficient process than burning fuel, as much less energy is wasted as heat. See how it works here. But it's not just useful in cars: hydrogen could also be used in power stations and electronic and portable gadgets too. Miniature fuel cells may one day oust batteries.
The problem is that catalysts and membranes have been expensive until recently. Other problems include making tanks of pressurised flammable hydrogen safe enough for cars and creating an entire fuelling station infrastructure. Combining traditional engines with fuel cells could be step in the right direction. A new $10 million prize has been offered to help solve these problems.
Fuel cells can also use natural gas, methanol or coal - but these produce carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is not yet a completely clean either, as electricity - currently derived from fossil fuels - is needed to"crack" water to produce the hydrogen. Some cities, such as Reykjavik, already use hydrogen to power buses. But Iceland gets some electricity and over 80% of its heating and hot water from geothermal energy sources, and can produce the hydrogen emission-free. Other countries need to find ways to produce the hydrogen sustainably.
Driving efficiency
Some argue that the "hydrogen economy" is a distraction from meeting future energy needs and slowing climate change, and that we need to focus on more immediate solutions. Making social change might be more difficult than solving technical problems.
Solutions that could be put in place right now include filtering carbon dioxide out of emissions and burying it in oil seams or under the sea. The US is among 6 nations that have turned their back on the Kyoto protocol to curb climate change and are focusing instead on "clean energy" from fossil fuels.
Increasing efficiency in energy production could also yield massive savings, as it did during the oil crises of the 1970s. Methods vary from reducing the friction of trains to lowering speed limits for cars.
Producing combined heat and power with small generators at home, makes use of a lot of the energy wasted in power stations, and might one day feed energy back to the grid. Wind and solar power could also be rigged up on a rooftop near you in the future - even the Queen of England is now generating her own power from the River Thames.
John Pickrell
continue
Beyond the doom and gloom of climate change
Propelled by concern about the bleak future his young daughter might face, Chris Turner spent a year touring the world looking for solutions to the planet’s environmental crisis. `I started off feeling the need to be hopeful,’ the Calgary author admits. But, `I feel the depth of my hope deepening ..... I’m finding my expectations exceeded regularly.’ His new book, The Geography of Hope describes many examples of things being done right. But as Turner researched and wrote it, he also came to the conclusion that most of the environment movement has been spreading the wrong message. The news must be turned on its head, he says. It’s time for us to shift from despair to dreams.
Can Al Gore equal Martin Luther King Jr.? The apparently bizarre, possibly irreverent, question comes to mind while reading The Geography of Hope, a new book by Calgary author Chris Turner.
Turner argues it's time to stop blaring dire warnings about the perils of climate change and, instead, start enthusiastically proclaiming solutions.
We need to dream rather than despair, he says. Just as King did when he was the nearly mythic champion of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Gore has far more presence and appeal than anyone else crusading about the world's major environmental threat, climate change.
But, in Turner's view, he's a long way from being to that cause what King was to his. In his An Inconvenient Truth movie, book and slide shows, the former U.S. vice-president and 2000 contender for the White House, is strong on portraying the dangerous state of the world, but weak on solutions.
"It remains to be seen if he can turn the corner from being the best messenger of the urgency of the thing into the one who points the way ahead," Turner says.
But whether it's Gore, someone else, or – a very long shot – all of us, his main contention is that the message must be turned around.
Turner is not among those who deny soaring greenhouse gas emissions threaten the world. We must confront it, he writes, "unless you consider rendering the planet unfit for human life a viable option."
continue
Can Al Gore equal Martin Luther King Jr.? The apparently bizarre, possibly irreverent, question comes to mind while reading The Geography of Hope, a new book by Calgary author Chris Turner.
Turner argues it's time to stop blaring dire warnings about the perils of climate change and, instead, start enthusiastically proclaiming solutions.
We need to dream rather than despair, he says. Just as King did when he was the nearly mythic champion of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Gore has far more presence and appeal than anyone else crusading about the world's major environmental threat, climate change.
But, in Turner's view, he's a long way from being to that cause what King was to his. In his An Inconvenient Truth movie, book and slide shows, the former U.S. vice-president and 2000 contender for the White House, is strong on portraying the dangerous state of the world, but weak on solutions.
"It remains to be seen if he can turn the corner from being the best messenger of the urgency of the thing into the one who points the way ahead," Turner says.
But whether it's Gore, someone else, or – a very long shot – all of us, his main contention is that the message must be turned around.
Turner is not among those who deny soaring greenhouse gas emissions threaten the world. We must confront it, he writes, "unless you consider rendering the planet unfit for human life a viable option."
continue
Saturday 27 October 2007
Energy bills lower in new-build homes
Carbon-neutral properties and eco-homes may be more expensive to build, but could offer significant cost-savings for homeowners, according to one expert.
John Alker, public affairs manager for the UK Green Building Council, said the cost of building such properties ought to come down over time, as new technologies become less expensive.
However, homeowners are likely to find that the cost of running an eco-home is significantly lower than in other properties, Mr Alker claimed.
"Energy bills are going to be extremely low in the future as opposed to at the moment where gas and oil prices are going up and people are spending more on their electricity and gas bills," he commented.
As part of the Code for Sustainable Homes, the government stated that it would look to introduce a ratings system for properties based on their sustainability.
Under the initiative, properties with low carbon emissions may also be exempt from stamp duty for a certain number of years.
continue
John Alker, public affairs manager for the UK Green Building Council, said the cost of building such properties ought to come down over time, as new technologies become less expensive.
However, homeowners are likely to find that the cost of running an eco-home is significantly lower than in other properties, Mr Alker claimed.
"Energy bills are going to be extremely low in the future as opposed to at the moment where gas and oil prices are going up and people are spending more on their electricity and gas bills," he commented.
As part of the Code for Sustainable Homes, the government stated that it would look to introduce a ratings system for properties based on their sustainability.
Under the initiative, properties with low carbon emissions may also be exempt from stamp duty for a certain number of years.
continue
Making your home carbon neutral
We shiver behind most of Europe thanks to the poor quality of our homes, but we will be feeling a lot warmer if the government has its way.
It wants us to get our houses rated for energy efficiency before we sell them, so buyers can see whether they are moving into an oasis or an icebox.
They are no strangers to the cold in Dunedin, but it is not snow that is the problem.
'Otago University found that student flats were colder than the inside of a fridge in the winter. Students would have been warmer sitting in a fridge,' says professor Robert Vale of Victoria University.
He says we are 30 years behind Europe when it comes to building warm, comfortable, homes.
In Britain, some houses are designed to stay at a constant 18 to 20 degrees - without any heating.
Here they are twice the size, but we skimp on the basics.
'In many countries double glazing is now outlawed because it's not good enough and they have triple glazing,' adds Vale.
In Orewa 700 eco-homes are going up, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, and comfort.
The living areas face north to trap as much sunlight as possible, while heat pumps and double glazing keep things cosy.
At the moment it costs an $30,000 to include the green credentials.
But what about older homes?
Three quarters were built before the 1978 building code introduced minimum insulation standards; half of all homes still lack some insulation.
The government has promised more than seventy million dollars over four years to help us improve our homes, and also to launch the home energy rating scheme.
It ranks how energy efficient a house is for prospective buyers.
Even if you do ventilate and insulate - your home won't be completely carbon neutral, unless you stop using every single electrical appliance.
But you will enjoy the comforts of a warmer home
video
It wants us to get our houses rated for energy efficiency before we sell them, so buyers can see whether they are moving into an oasis or an icebox.
They are no strangers to the cold in Dunedin, but it is not snow that is the problem.
'Otago University found that student flats were colder than the inside of a fridge in the winter. Students would have been warmer sitting in a fridge,' says professor Robert Vale of Victoria University.
He says we are 30 years behind Europe when it comes to building warm, comfortable, homes.
In Britain, some houses are designed to stay at a constant 18 to 20 degrees - without any heating.
Here they are twice the size, but we skimp on the basics.
'In many countries double glazing is now outlawed because it's not good enough and they have triple glazing,' adds Vale.
In Orewa 700 eco-homes are going up, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, and comfort.
The living areas face north to trap as much sunlight as possible, while heat pumps and double glazing keep things cosy.
At the moment it costs an $30,000 to include the green credentials.
But what about older homes?
Three quarters were built before the 1978 building code introduced minimum insulation standards; half of all homes still lack some insulation.
The government has promised more than seventy million dollars over four years to help us improve our homes, and also to launch the home energy rating scheme.
It ranks how energy efficient a house is for prospective buyers.
Even if you do ventilate and insulate - your home won't be completely carbon neutral, unless you stop using every single electrical appliance.
But you will enjoy the comforts of a warmer home
video
Green, mean or just wacky
Zany concept vehicles, fuel efficient hybrids and muscular supercars vied for attention as the Tokyo Motor Show opened Wednesday with Japanese automakers eager to put some vroom vroom back into flagging domestic sales.
From bubble-shaped fantasy vehicles to sleek petrol-guzzling sports cars, lightweight hybrids and cars designed to feel like riding a rollercoaster, automakers touted their own unique visions of the future.
Flashing lights and pumping music added a touch of glitz to the event as hundreds of reporters snapped photos of sleek new cars shown off by glamorous models in hot pants and unwavering smiles.
Rivals flaunted their green credentials with an array of environmentally friendly vehicles crammed into a convention centre near the capital, as record high oil prices prompt unprecedented interest in fuel-efficient motoring.
The auto industry is entering an "era of unprecedented change," said Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn, adding that his company hopes to start mass marketing of electric cars by 2012.
"The age of sustainable mobility is closer than anyone realises," he said.
Toyota is among automakers trying to lighten the load so as to reduce fuel consumption, unveiling the 1/X (pronounced one-Xth) plug-in hybrid.
The car is said to be two-thirds lighter than Toyota's hot-selling Prius and twice as fuel efficient thanks to the use of carbon fibre materials.
"We have gone back to the basics and reconsidered everything," said Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe, who trundled onto the stage on the i-REAL, which resembles a high-tech armchair on wheels.
Both Toyota and Honda tried to soften the image of sports cars as gas guzzlers with concept hybrids running on a mix of petrol and electricity.
Fuel cells, which run on hydrogen and emit only water, also make an appearance as Honda shows off the "PUYO" concept car with a "gel body" to improve safety and "the feel of an adorable pet."
Despite the success of the hybrid, car makers are still hedging their bets on green technology, with electricity, biofuels, clean diesel and fuel cells also seen as potential alternative power sources.
"Nobody's ignoring or bypassing any particular technology," said Ghosn.
But it's not all about saving the planet: Nissan took the wraps off its hotly anticipated GT-R supercar, hoping that there is still a market for high-performance muscle machines despite the buzz around hybrids.
And from Mazda came Taiki, a concept sports car with a striking, wind-swept design.
With prices at the pump soaring and the Japanese car market shrinking, industry watchers said high-performance cars appear to be more about polishing makers' brand image than giving a direct boost to their bottom line.
"Generally my observations of most sporty cars are: they look great and sales start out great but they decay very rapidly," said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at investment bank CLSA.
"You can imagine why makers put sporty cars into their line-ups rather sparingly," he added.
Among the more wacky designs on show was Suzuki's Sharing Coach which looks more like a small spacecraft than a car, with two smaller one-person PIXY pods on wheels that fit snugly inside.
Nissan showed off the Pivo 2 egg-shaped electric concept car that has a rotating cabin, can drive sideways and comes with a talking "robot agent" to cheer you up or help with navigation.
And driving its "Round Box" curvy compact convertible is said to be "like being on a roller-coaster yet without any risk."
This year's show is seen as particularly crucial for Japanese car makers as they battle falling sales in their home market amid a shrinking population and signs the younger generation is losing its lust for cars.
"The Japanese market is still ranked third in the world. But the situation is not good for Japanese automakers," said Hirofumi Yokoi, an analyst at auto consultants CSM Worldwide.
"Young Japanese have a different lifestyle. They are not interested in purchasing big-ticket items like cars," he said.
continue
From bubble-shaped fantasy vehicles to sleek petrol-guzzling sports cars, lightweight hybrids and cars designed to feel like riding a rollercoaster, automakers touted their own unique visions of the future.
Flashing lights and pumping music added a touch of glitz to the event as hundreds of reporters snapped photos of sleek new cars shown off by glamorous models in hot pants and unwavering smiles.
Rivals flaunted their green credentials with an array of environmentally friendly vehicles crammed into a convention centre near the capital, as record high oil prices prompt unprecedented interest in fuel-efficient motoring.
The auto industry is entering an "era of unprecedented change," said Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn, adding that his company hopes to start mass marketing of electric cars by 2012.
"The age of sustainable mobility is closer than anyone realises," he said.
Toyota is among automakers trying to lighten the load so as to reduce fuel consumption, unveiling the 1/X (pronounced one-Xth) plug-in hybrid.
The car is said to be two-thirds lighter than Toyota's hot-selling Prius and twice as fuel efficient thanks to the use of carbon fibre materials.
"We have gone back to the basics and reconsidered everything," said Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe, who trundled onto the stage on the i-REAL, which resembles a high-tech armchair on wheels.
Both Toyota and Honda tried to soften the image of sports cars as gas guzzlers with concept hybrids running on a mix of petrol and electricity.
Fuel cells, which run on hydrogen and emit only water, also make an appearance as Honda shows off the "PUYO" concept car with a "gel body" to improve safety and "the feel of an adorable pet."
Despite the success of the hybrid, car makers are still hedging their bets on green technology, with electricity, biofuels, clean diesel and fuel cells also seen as potential alternative power sources.
"Nobody's ignoring or bypassing any particular technology," said Ghosn.
But it's not all about saving the planet: Nissan took the wraps off its hotly anticipated GT-R supercar, hoping that there is still a market for high-performance muscle machines despite the buzz around hybrids.
And from Mazda came Taiki, a concept sports car with a striking, wind-swept design.
With prices at the pump soaring and the Japanese car market shrinking, industry watchers said high-performance cars appear to be more about polishing makers' brand image than giving a direct boost to their bottom line.
"Generally my observations of most sporty cars are: they look great and sales start out great but they decay very rapidly," said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at investment bank CLSA.
"You can imagine why makers put sporty cars into their line-ups rather sparingly," he added.
Among the more wacky designs on show was Suzuki's Sharing Coach which looks more like a small spacecraft than a car, with two smaller one-person PIXY pods on wheels that fit snugly inside.
Nissan showed off the Pivo 2 egg-shaped electric concept car that has a rotating cabin, can drive sideways and comes with a talking "robot agent" to cheer you up or help with navigation.
And driving its "Round Box" curvy compact convertible is said to be "like being on a roller-coaster yet without any risk."
This year's show is seen as particularly crucial for Japanese car makers as they battle falling sales in their home market amid a shrinking population and signs the younger generation is losing its lust for cars.
"The Japanese market is still ranked third in the world. But the situation is not good for Japanese automakers," said Hirofumi Yokoi, an analyst at auto consultants CSM Worldwide.
"Young Japanese have a different lifestyle. They are not interested in purchasing big-ticket items like cars," he said.
continue
Thursday 25 October 2007
Renewable Stealth Tax
Democrats in Congress are huddling in their low-carbon-footprint backroom in search of a compromise energy bill, and all eyes have been on the issue of raising fuel-economy standards. But there's a lot more to worry about here than whether so-called "Cafe standards" rise to 32 miles per gallon, or 35, from 27.5 today.
The House version omitted Cafe standards altogether to mollify Michigan House baron John Dingell, but that doesn't make it the better piece of legislation. The bill runs to 1,000 pages and bears the vaguely Orwellian title of "New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act."
In fact, the bill undermines energy independence by raising taxes on domestic production and throwing up new barriers to exploration. It's hard to see how it has any effect on national security, and we're at a loss about its consumer-protection claim too, unless you think Americans need "protecting" from the incandescent lightbulb. The bill bans those, effective 2012, on page 601.
But its worst (and little noticed) provision may be a requirement that 15% of U.S. electricity be generated from "renewable" sources by 2020. Utilities that can't meet these goals are fined -- taxed, really -- based on how far short of this Eden they fall. Currently, only about 3% is provided by such renewables as wind, solar or "biofuels."
One obvious problem is that some states have better prospects for renewable energy than others. Hydroelectric power is easier to generate in the mountainous West than back East. So what, supporters might say. If it's more expensive for some to generate electricity through renewables, those utilities can either buy excess credits from others (as permitted in the bill) or pay the fines.
But the fines amount to a tax on low-cost energy producers without generating any environmental benefits. And whether credits are purchased or fines are paid, those added costs will go into the utilities' rate bases, driving up consumer electricity bills. At the same time, utilities would be forced to pour money into pursuing the mandate, rather than investing in badly needed upgrades to the nation's electrical grid.
In any case, as we're all discovering with corn-based ethanol, renewables have their own problems, both substantive and political. Liberals are all for wind power -- as long as it doesn't obstruct their oceanfront views off Nantucket. Hydro power is dandy -- except it kills fish and disrupts their habitat. Solar requires acres and acres of real estate. There's plenty of land for solar arrays in the middle of the country, or at least there was before the land was turned over to grow corn for heavily subsidized ethanol. And, by the way, using farmland for energy means using less to grow food -- which means higher prices at the kitchen table, or more food imports, or both. The House Members who voted for this must figure all of this will be some other Congress's problem.
Earlier this year, Mr. Dingell suggested that if Congress were really serious about global warming, it would impose a carbon tax. At least that's being honest about the costs. The "renewables" mandate in the House energy bill, by contrast, is a multibillion-dollar stealth tax on electrical utilities, and ultimately on electricity users. The danger is that, with all eyes on car-mileage standards, this tax could become law without many people even noticing.
The House version omitted Cafe standards altogether to mollify Michigan House baron John Dingell, but that doesn't make it the better piece of legislation. The bill runs to 1,000 pages and bears the vaguely Orwellian title of "New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act."
In fact, the bill undermines energy independence by raising taxes on domestic production and throwing up new barriers to exploration. It's hard to see how it has any effect on national security, and we're at a loss about its consumer-protection claim too, unless you think Americans need "protecting" from the incandescent lightbulb. The bill bans those, effective 2012, on page 601.
But its worst (and little noticed) provision may be a requirement that 15% of U.S. electricity be generated from "renewable" sources by 2020. Utilities that can't meet these goals are fined -- taxed, really -- based on how far short of this Eden they fall. Currently, only about 3% is provided by such renewables as wind, solar or "biofuels."
One obvious problem is that some states have better prospects for renewable energy than others. Hydroelectric power is easier to generate in the mountainous West than back East. So what, supporters might say. If it's more expensive for some to generate electricity through renewables, those utilities can either buy excess credits from others (as permitted in the bill) or pay the fines.
But the fines amount to a tax on low-cost energy producers without generating any environmental benefits. And whether credits are purchased or fines are paid, those added costs will go into the utilities' rate bases, driving up consumer electricity bills. At the same time, utilities would be forced to pour money into pursuing the mandate, rather than investing in badly needed upgrades to the nation's electrical grid.
In any case, as we're all discovering with corn-based ethanol, renewables have their own problems, both substantive and political. Liberals are all for wind power -- as long as it doesn't obstruct their oceanfront views off Nantucket. Hydro power is dandy -- except it kills fish and disrupts their habitat. Solar requires acres and acres of real estate. There's plenty of land for solar arrays in the middle of the country, or at least there was before the land was turned over to grow corn for heavily subsidized ethanol. And, by the way, using farmland for energy means using less to grow food -- which means higher prices at the kitchen table, or more food imports, or both. The House Members who voted for this must figure all of this will be some other Congress's problem.
Earlier this year, Mr. Dingell suggested that if Congress were really serious about global warming, it would impose a carbon tax. At least that's being honest about the costs. The "renewables" mandate in the House energy bill, by contrast, is a multibillion-dollar stealth tax on electrical utilities, and ultimately on electricity users. The danger is that, with all eyes on car-mileage standards, this tax could become law without many people even noticing.
Wednesday 24 October 2007
22 little ways to go green
Here are some low-stress steps to take around the house to reduce your carbon footprint, create a healthier home, and lower your monthly bills to boot.
It seems everybody knows you can help the planet--and save yourself some cash--with big changes: adding spray-foam insulation to open walls, say, or installing a tankless water heater.
But there are lots of simpler, lower-cost ways to improve your eco-scorecard, too. Here are some low-stress steps to take around the house to reduce your carbon footprint, create a healthier home, and lower your monthly bills to boot.
Workshop
1. Unplug your power tools. Figure out which cordless tools (like drill/drivers) get the most use, then unplug the chargers on all the rest. Most cordless tools have nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries, which will hold some charge for up to a year. They lose 15 to 20 percent of their juice each month, but only take a couple of hours to power up again. Newer tools with lithium ion batteries lose just 2 to 5 percent of their charge each month, so they'll be ready to go even if you haven't charged them in ages.
2. Spread sawdust on your floor. Take the superfine shavings captured by your dust collection system, wet them down, then push them around with a stiff broom to sweep your concrete garage or workshop floor. The mix is as good as a power-guzzling shop vac at picking up dust but doesn't swirl it into the air.
3. Up the wattage on lights. Where you still use incandescent bulbs (with dimmers or three-ways) on multiple fixtures in a room, try consolidating. One 100-watt incandescent emits more light than two 60-watt bulbs combined but requires 17 percent less power. The 100-watter also uses the same energy as four 25-watt bulbs, but pumps out twice as much light. Just be sure your bulbs don't exceed the maximum wattage recommendation for each fixture. This Old House: Energy-saving bulbs
4. Eat your leftover take-out. Then save the plastic containers it came in--which can't be recycled in most municipal waste systems--and use them to organize your nails, screws, and leftover paints. Not only does their tight seal help preserve solvents, but the see-through containers stack neatly and display contents clearly. For added strength, double up the thin ones.
5. Save used paint thinner. After cleaning oil-based finishes from brushes and tools, allow the dirty solvent to sit overnight. The sludge will settle to the bottom of the jar, leaving a layer of clear thinner on top. Carefully decant the clear thinner into a clean jar, and reseal it for future use. Be sure to dispose of the leftover sludge at a hazardous-waste-disposal site--never down a sink drain or into a street gutter.
continue
It seems everybody knows you can help the planet--and save yourself some cash--with big changes: adding spray-foam insulation to open walls, say, or installing a tankless water heater.
But there are lots of simpler, lower-cost ways to improve your eco-scorecard, too. Here are some low-stress steps to take around the house to reduce your carbon footprint, create a healthier home, and lower your monthly bills to boot.
Workshop
1. Unplug your power tools. Figure out which cordless tools (like drill/drivers) get the most use, then unplug the chargers on all the rest. Most cordless tools have nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries, which will hold some charge for up to a year. They lose 15 to 20 percent of their juice each month, but only take a couple of hours to power up again. Newer tools with lithium ion batteries lose just 2 to 5 percent of their charge each month, so they'll be ready to go even if you haven't charged them in ages.
2. Spread sawdust on your floor. Take the superfine shavings captured by your dust collection system, wet them down, then push them around with a stiff broom to sweep your concrete garage or workshop floor. The mix is as good as a power-guzzling shop vac at picking up dust but doesn't swirl it into the air.
3. Up the wattage on lights. Where you still use incandescent bulbs (with dimmers or three-ways) on multiple fixtures in a room, try consolidating. One 100-watt incandescent emits more light than two 60-watt bulbs combined but requires 17 percent less power. The 100-watter also uses the same energy as four 25-watt bulbs, but pumps out twice as much light. Just be sure your bulbs don't exceed the maximum wattage recommendation for each fixture. This Old House: Energy-saving bulbs
4. Eat your leftover take-out. Then save the plastic containers it came in--which can't be recycled in most municipal waste systems--and use them to organize your nails, screws, and leftover paints. Not only does their tight seal help preserve solvents, but the see-through containers stack neatly and display contents clearly. For added strength, double up the thin ones.
5. Save used paint thinner. After cleaning oil-based finishes from brushes and tools, allow the dirty solvent to sit overnight. The sludge will settle to the bottom of the jar, leaving a layer of clear thinner on top. Carefully decant the clear thinner into a clean jar, and reseal it for future use. Be sure to dispose of the leftover sludge at a hazardous-waste-disposal site--never down a sink drain or into a street gutter.
continue
Carbon monoxide concerns: Time for a checkup
The new season needs special attention to the dangers of carbon monoxide.
You can't be complacent against carbon monoxide -- a colorless and odorless killer.
Every year when the first cold front of the season rolls through, the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning rises.
"We call it the 'silent killer,' " said Mike Harris, Tulsa Fire Department chief officer of public education.
"The people succumb to it usually around this time of year, when homes are sealed up more."
A furnace check usually takes less than an hour, and can save your life and your money, said Tom Boyce, owner of Airco Service of Tulsa.
"Burning unclean is both unsafe and inefficient," Boyce said.
Here are some of Boyce's and Harris' tips for staying safe while staying warm.
Accept no substitutes: Never use an oven or charcoal grill to heat a home. It may heat, but it will also poison your home. Also, never warm up a car inside a closed garage.
A cause for alarm: Buy carbon monoxide detectors to alert your family to a buildup of gas in your home. Place one on each floor with appliances. Hang them near the appliances and
replace their batteries twice each year.
Don't sacrifice service: Before lighting your furnace for the first time of the season, have it serviced to ensure proper ventilation and, if it's gas, a proper blue flame.
Don't catch it if you can: If everyone in a household has flu-like symptoms when first waking up, and the symptoms fade during the day, you may have a carbon monoxide leak. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea and fatigue.
Call for help: Everyone is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning, so the Tulsa Fire Department says treat any suspicion as an emergency. Call 911 and ask the Fire Department to check for dangerous gases. Evacuate the home and do not return until it is checked by a professional
continue
You can't be complacent against carbon monoxide -- a colorless and odorless killer.
Every year when the first cold front of the season rolls through, the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning rises.
"We call it the 'silent killer,' " said Mike Harris, Tulsa Fire Department chief officer of public education.
"The people succumb to it usually around this time of year, when homes are sealed up more."
A furnace check usually takes less than an hour, and can save your life and your money, said Tom Boyce, owner of Airco Service of Tulsa.
"Burning unclean is both unsafe and inefficient," Boyce said.
Here are some of Boyce's and Harris' tips for staying safe while staying warm.
Accept no substitutes: Never use an oven or charcoal grill to heat a home. It may heat, but it will also poison your home. Also, never warm up a car inside a closed garage.
A cause for alarm: Buy carbon monoxide detectors to alert your family to a buildup of gas in your home. Place one on each floor with appliances. Hang them near the appliances and
replace their batteries twice each year.
Don't sacrifice service: Before lighting your furnace for the first time of the season, have it serviced to ensure proper ventilation and, if it's gas, a proper blue flame.
Don't catch it if you can: If everyone in a household has flu-like symptoms when first waking up, and the symptoms fade during the day, you may have a carbon monoxide leak. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea and fatigue.
Call for help: Everyone is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning, so the Tulsa Fire Department says treat any suspicion as an emergency. Call 911 and ask the Fire Department to check for dangerous gases. Evacuate the home and do not return until it is checked by a professional
continue
Tuesday 16 October 2007
Energy saving device from Electro-Com
The SALTO in room energy saving device (ESD) available from Electro-Com helps to save up to 65% of a hotels rooms electricity consumption and unlike standard (magnetic stripe) energy savers, only authorised SALTO key cards will switch on the lights. Any other card (frequent flyer, business card etc) will not be recognised.
The energy saving device is also available in a connected on-line version, which as well as energy saving indicates in real time the presence of guests or staff in a room, logging the information directly into the hotel PC.
When a guest enters the room and inserts their card into the ESD it switches on all electrical equipment.
When staff enters the room for cleaning or maintenance, the ESD recognises their staff card and switches on only the electrical equipment they need to accomplish their work.
The TV, air conditioning and mini bar are switched off or locked saving energy.
continue
Top 10 tips to save energy in your home
Everyone benefits if we make energy-saving improvements in our homes.
By paying attention to just a few key household components, we can eliminate drafts, reduce overheating in summer, control moisture and condensation problems, substantially reduce outside noise - and generally provide a healthier indoor environment.
Energy saving measures also help to improve the outdoor environment by lowering emissions. And, according to Alterna Savings, these improvements stand to deliver significant financial benefits too, such as lower energy bills and cash-back incentives from the federal government. For this purpose, Alterna Savings (alterna.ca) has partnered with Green$aver to provide a "green loan" to individuals and businesses for energyefficient assessments and retrofits.
Here are their Top 10 Tips to save energy in your house:
1. Install a highefficiency furnace, if your current furnace is low-efficiency and pre- 1990.
2. Install insulation in walls of house, if pre- 1950.
3. Insulate your basement, if currently unfinished or uninsulated.
4. Do comprehensive air sealing of leaks in your house, if pre-1960.
5. Replace fridge, freezer, and clothes washer with EnergyStar models.
6. Upgrade your windows and central air system to above SEER 13 rating.
7. Consider upgrading your furnace to ECM motor for heating and air conditioning improvement.
8. Reduce hot water consumption by setting the heater temperature correctly; washing only full laundry loads with cold water detergent; taking showers instead of baths.
9. Install compact fluorescent lighting wherever possible.
10. Turn off, or turn down, any energy item that you are not actually using. Many electronic devices use a small amount of power 24/7, even when apparently turned off. Connect them to a power bar and turn the power bar itself off.
- News Canada
continue
By paying attention to just a few key household components, we can eliminate drafts, reduce overheating in summer, control moisture and condensation problems, substantially reduce outside noise - and generally provide a healthier indoor environment.
Energy saving measures also help to improve the outdoor environment by lowering emissions. And, according to Alterna Savings, these improvements stand to deliver significant financial benefits too, such as lower energy bills and cash-back incentives from the federal government. For this purpose, Alterna Savings (alterna.ca) has partnered with Green$aver to provide a "green loan" to individuals and businesses for energyefficient assessments and retrofits.
Here are their Top 10 Tips to save energy in your house:
1. Install a highefficiency furnace, if your current furnace is low-efficiency and pre- 1990.
2. Install insulation in walls of house, if pre- 1950.
3. Insulate your basement, if currently unfinished or uninsulated.
4. Do comprehensive air sealing of leaks in your house, if pre-1960.
5. Replace fridge, freezer, and clothes washer with EnergyStar models.
6. Upgrade your windows and central air system to above SEER 13 rating.
7. Consider upgrading your furnace to ECM motor for heating and air conditioning improvement.
8. Reduce hot water consumption by setting the heater temperature correctly; washing only full laundry loads with cold water detergent; taking showers instead of baths.
9. Install compact fluorescent lighting wherever possible.
10. Turn off, or turn down, any energy item that you are not actually using. Many electronic devices use a small amount of power 24/7, even when apparently turned off. Connect them to a power bar and turn the power bar itself off.
- News Canada
continue
Monday 15 October 2007
Passive solar house saves money, naturally
OREANA — There’s a lot to be said for just tucking your house into a bucolic hillside and allowing Mother Nature to come fill up your senses.
Such is the building style of Doris and Ed McKay, out in the wilds of rural Oreana. Their chalet-style home is wedge-shaped, the southern end cedar-faced and laced with a bank of windows giving full view of the woodpeckers and hummingbirds frequent the wildlife preserve that is their front yard.
The back of the house, the sharp end of the wedge, buries itself deep into the earth so the far northern edge of the sloping roof that covers it all is just a few feet off the ground at the rear. This design is called passive solar subterranean, and it’s aimed at slashing heating and cooling costs. With the way it seamlessly blends into its landscape full of birdsong, it also appears to embrace the latest thinking in “green home” concepts.
Except that this residence was built 26 years ago and designed by Doris McKay, a former teacher and a stay-at-home mom in those days, who dug up her green housing knowledge at the Decatur Public Library with kids in her lap. Her inspiration was this overwhelming need to raise her family in a home that didn’t have to guzzle fossil fuels to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
“Even back then, we’d gone through the energy crunch of the’70s,” she said. “I wanted to do something.”
What she did first was rack up lots of library fines by constantly going back and overstaying her borrower’s welcome on the few how-to books that could help her. But the library didn’t just take her money: “One thing about Decatur Public Library, they pay attention to circulation figures,” said Doris McKay, 55, now a consultant and Web master for the Rolling Prairie Library System. “The range of books in the area I used kept getting bigger.”
By 1977, the family had the site for their house purchased, and construction began in 1981. Ed McKay wasn’t so sure how all this would work out but has learned to take risks based on the quality of his wife’s judgment.
“I had a lot of trepidations,” said, Ed McKay, 70. “But I went along for the ride, just like I did more recently when she bought one of those hybrid cars, which I had a lot of trepidations about, too. But buying it turned out to be one of the smartest things she ever did, just like building our house.”
continue
Such is the building style of Doris and Ed McKay, out in the wilds of rural Oreana. Their chalet-style home is wedge-shaped, the southern end cedar-faced and laced with a bank of windows giving full view of the woodpeckers and hummingbirds frequent the wildlife preserve that is their front yard.
The back of the house, the sharp end of the wedge, buries itself deep into the earth so the far northern edge of the sloping roof that covers it all is just a few feet off the ground at the rear. This design is called passive solar subterranean, and it’s aimed at slashing heating and cooling costs. With the way it seamlessly blends into its landscape full of birdsong, it also appears to embrace the latest thinking in “green home” concepts.
Except that this residence was built 26 years ago and designed by Doris McKay, a former teacher and a stay-at-home mom in those days, who dug up her green housing knowledge at the Decatur Public Library with kids in her lap. Her inspiration was this overwhelming need to raise her family in a home that didn’t have to guzzle fossil fuels to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
“Even back then, we’d gone through the energy crunch of the’70s,” she said. “I wanted to do something.”
What she did first was rack up lots of library fines by constantly going back and overstaying her borrower’s welcome on the few how-to books that could help her. But the library didn’t just take her money: “One thing about Decatur Public Library, they pay attention to circulation figures,” said Doris McKay, 55, now a consultant and Web master for the Rolling Prairie Library System. “The range of books in the area I used kept getting bigger.”
By 1977, the family had the site for their house purchased, and construction began in 1981. Ed McKay wasn’t so sure how all this would work out but has learned to take risks based on the quality of his wife’s judgment.
“I had a lot of trepidations,” said, Ed McKay, 70. “But I went along for the ride, just like I did more recently when she bought one of those hybrid cars, which I had a lot of trepidations about, too. But buying it turned out to be one of the smartest things she ever did, just like building our house.”
continue
Make your home warm and well insulated
Is your home not maintaining a warm temperature in the winters? Well, your home might be in need of maintenance and a proper check. You can start looking at your central heating system. Besides, you should also check how well your home is insulated. Good insulation can save a lot of energy and your central heating system won’t be overloaded.
To maintain your home in good shape, you need to properly check the functioning of all the devices and equipments. An energy efficient home can cut your heating bills to a large extent and contribute to green cause. Double glazing and proper insulation can really help you save energy. Solar energy, wind turbines, ground source heat pump, etc., are not only features of a green home but they can also help you in saving money in the long term. Initially, you may be required to spend a lot of money on these green sources of energy.
Homeowner loans are available for carrying out home improvements. There are more than 57 building societies, high street lenders and various private online lenders who can provide you finance for improving your home. A big loan is required to be backed by some security like your home. Homeowner Loans are economical and they allow the borrowers a lot of flexibility in repayment.
How Home Improvement Loans can help you?
You can spend the loan amount in making your home fully insulated and draught proof. Loft insulation is also important. Preferably, the insulation should be a minimum of 270mm thick. You can save up to one-third of heat loss through well insulated walls. You can also opt for cavity wall insulation. There are lot of other things that you can do with the help of home improvement loans. Latest gas boilers with dedicated controls can conserve energy and help you in saving up to 30 per cent of your hot water bills.
continue
To maintain your home in good shape, you need to properly check the functioning of all the devices and equipments. An energy efficient home can cut your heating bills to a large extent and contribute to green cause. Double glazing and proper insulation can really help you save energy. Solar energy, wind turbines, ground source heat pump, etc., are not only features of a green home but they can also help you in saving money in the long term. Initially, you may be required to spend a lot of money on these green sources of energy.
Homeowner loans are available for carrying out home improvements. There are more than 57 building societies, high street lenders and various private online lenders who can provide you finance for improving your home. A big loan is required to be backed by some security like your home. Homeowner Loans are economical and they allow the borrowers a lot of flexibility in repayment.
How Home Improvement Loans can help you?
You can spend the loan amount in making your home fully insulated and draught proof. Loft insulation is also important. Preferably, the insulation should be a minimum of 270mm thick. You can save up to one-third of heat loss through well insulated walls. You can also opt for cavity wall insulation. There are lot of other things that you can do with the help of home improvement loans. Latest gas boilers with dedicated controls can conserve energy and help you in saving up to 30 per cent of your hot water bills.
continue
Building An Affordable Green House
Tired of high cooling bills and dreading the big heating bills that come with winter? Some local architects squared off in a competition that is supposed to give all of us some ideas on saving energy. It's called the Sustainable Home Competition and the winning home is almost built.
It's a big day for Cecile Roberts and her family. They are weeks away from moving into the very first home they've ever owned.
“I'm feeling a blessing from God, 'cause I know it's a blessing and I'm so grateful to be here today and be the owner of a new home," Roberts said.
This isn't just any home. It's the winner of the Sustainable Home Competition, which means everything in it is green.
“It's just a very tight, well-insulated, efficient home,” said Sydney Roberts of Southface.
The walls are extra thick filled with spray insulation. Windows are double-paned, filled with argon gas. The roof is reflective metal keeping things cool and tall ceilings and fans keep air moving. The crawlspace is sealed so feet stay warm. There's even a system to capture rain water.
But all of these eco-extras were kept under the tight reigns of an affordable budget.
“It's not about fancy technologies and eco-bling. It's absolutely accessible to any homeowner,” Sydney Roberts said.
Michael Gamble's architecture firm won the design competition.
“The major challenge to us was to provide a sort of above average design for workforce housing in the city,” Gamble said.
Brian Mills is the builder who brought the design into reality.
"Even on a standard home at that price and the quality that we wanted I knew it would be tough, but we worked out the numbers and the details," said Mills.
Two bedrooms, a loft and two bathrooms -- 1,400 square feet of super-efficient living space. All at a cost of $150,000. Proof you can save some green while going green.
The Kandeda Fund sponsored this project and funded the construction. Charis Community Housing picked the Roberts family and if they make 12 months of payments without missing, they qualify for a 20 year interest free loan to pay off the rest.
continue
It's a big day for Cecile Roberts and her family. They are weeks away from moving into the very first home they've ever owned.
“I'm feeling a blessing from God, 'cause I know it's a blessing and I'm so grateful to be here today and be the owner of a new home," Roberts said.
This isn't just any home. It's the winner of the Sustainable Home Competition, which means everything in it is green.
“It's just a very tight, well-insulated, efficient home,” said Sydney Roberts of Southface.
The walls are extra thick filled with spray insulation. Windows are double-paned, filled with argon gas. The roof is reflective metal keeping things cool and tall ceilings and fans keep air moving. The crawlspace is sealed so feet stay warm. There's even a system to capture rain water.
But all of these eco-extras were kept under the tight reigns of an affordable budget.
“It's not about fancy technologies and eco-bling. It's absolutely accessible to any homeowner,” Sydney Roberts said.
Michael Gamble's architecture firm won the design competition.
“The major challenge to us was to provide a sort of above average design for workforce housing in the city,” Gamble said.
Brian Mills is the builder who brought the design into reality.
"Even on a standard home at that price and the quality that we wanted I knew it would be tough, but we worked out the numbers and the details," said Mills.
Two bedrooms, a loft and two bathrooms -- 1,400 square feet of super-efficient living space. All at a cost of $150,000. Proof you can save some green while going green.
The Kandeda Fund sponsored this project and funded the construction. Charis Community Housing picked the Roberts family and if they make 12 months of payments without missing, they qualify for a 20 year interest free loan to pay off the rest.
continue
Sunday 14 October 2007
How green is your galley?
The newly remodeled kitchen in Rob and Kelly Pretlow's Maple Leaf home brims with nifty features. Rob is happy to show off a soft-close cabinet and demonstrate the range hood's high-powered ventilation. He asks visitors if they noticed the dishwasher, humming quietly in the background.
But in this kitchen, the new technology — like compact fluorescent lights with dimmers, LED lighting and energy-efficient appliances — serves a more specific purpose: to make the kitchen as green as can be.
And that would be very, very green.
With the guidance of Alicia Silva — one of a small but growing number of green designers in the Seattle area — the Pretlows picked sustainable flooring, used nontoxic paint and glues and recycled many of their old kitchen materials. They used locally made light fixtures and insulation made with recycled shredded bluejeans, and decided against a heating system in their kitchen.
The couple knew from the start they wanted to remodel their kitchen using materials and building processes that were gentle on the environment. "With remodeling, there had to be so much impact by getting rid of stuff, so much is going to waste," Kelly Pretlow said. "We wanted to try to balance that with positive impact choices."
More green designers
With green building and green remodeling growing in popularity, green interior design was bound to follow. The number of designers doing sustainable design is still limited, but more designers are getting certified by organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) program, which offers a interiors accreditation.
Seattle boasts nearly 40 professionals on that list, and additional designers doing sustainable work are listed on Web sites including the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).
But it will take time for green interior design to even get close to the norm. Designers say it requires a major time investment on their part to research where materials come from and convince vendors to supply more eco-friendly products.
But there is definitely interest.
Silva, a Sustainable Building adviser and co-founder of home store Greener Lifestyles in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, has seminars on the topic at the Environmental Home Center and for the American Society of Interior Designers, Washington state, which are both open to the public. And more stores in the Seattle area have opened recently, featuring sustainable and healthy home products.
People are starting to understand that the impact of the choices they make in their own homes affects everyone else, or will eventually, Silva said.
"You have to think of the whole world as a swimming pool and there is no 'no-pee' zone," she said.
Green designers confront plenty of misperceptions about eco-friendly design. Designer Christine Suzuki said price and design are still people's main priorities, and they tend to worry that green materials are unattractive and expensive.
Suzuki, who is LEED certified, slips green materials into presentations, then tells her clients about their eco-friendly qualities.
"When people see something that's just gorgeous, it's a real plus to find out it's using recycled material," she said.
Green's broad reach
The description "green" can be applied to a wide variety of materials. In general, eco-friendly materials have less impact on the environment because they tend to use fewer fossil fuels for production and/or transportation, and some eliminate toxins that pollute indoor air quality.
Green interior design often includes materials with recycled or salvaged content, materials produced locally, energy-efficient appliances and paints and sealants low in toxins.
Silva also considers natural or biological materials green, including the river rocks used as an accent in the Pretlows' kitchen. The gray oak cabinets traveled a long way, from Italian company Poliform, but the company has an energy-efficient manufacturing process, and the cabinets are made without toxic glues, Silva said. "Green is really about quality and things that last longer," she said. "When you understand green deeply, you understand it's not that hard (to do)."
Eco-friendly furnishings
Furnishings are more challenging than remodeling staples like countertops, paint and nontoxic glues, especially for people who prefer a more traditional look over the modern aesthetic, which is more common among green décor.
But there are alternatives like antiques, which might not be perceived as green but are, according to designer Keith Miller, who is working on his LEED certification. And manufacturers are starting to respond as the market demand for green materials and furnishings increases.
"Whatever was taboo last month might have improved this month," he said.
Doing your homework
Some people feel overwhelmed by all there is to learn about sustainable materials and green processes. Miller takes a more pragmatic view of eco-friendly design.
"My job is to research," he said. "I look at every single design project as a unique set of circumstances that requires research, and part of the research is to check on the evolution in green design and subsidize the products that are proving sustainable."
Much of green design is simply returning to the way things were made a century ago, when maintaining homes with nontoxic cleaners and solid furniture was the norm, Silva said.
"It seems new, but it's not that much," she said.
Paying for itself
The Pretlows, who own Maple Leaf Community Yoga, already had eliminated toxic cleaners from their home. They also have furniture made from solid wood and try to buy as much as they can secondhand. Their $100,000 kitchen remodel was another step toward living an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Though a high-end remodel, to be sure — the national average for major kitchen remodels was around $43,000 in 2005, according to Remodeling magazine — salvaged or recycled materials can keep costs down and still make a remodel green, Silva said.
The Pretlows expect their new kitchen to last 40 or 50 years.
"We don't expect everybody to live like us," Rob Pretlow said. "But if they're inspired, that's wonderful."
Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com
full article
But in this kitchen, the new technology — like compact fluorescent lights with dimmers, LED lighting and energy-efficient appliances — serves a more specific purpose: to make the kitchen as green as can be.
And that would be very, very green.
With the guidance of Alicia Silva — one of a small but growing number of green designers in the Seattle area — the Pretlows picked sustainable flooring, used nontoxic paint and glues and recycled many of their old kitchen materials. They used locally made light fixtures and insulation made with recycled shredded bluejeans, and decided against a heating system in their kitchen.
The couple knew from the start they wanted to remodel their kitchen using materials and building processes that were gentle on the environment. "With remodeling, there had to be so much impact by getting rid of stuff, so much is going to waste," Kelly Pretlow said. "We wanted to try to balance that with positive impact choices."
More green designers
With green building and green remodeling growing in popularity, green interior design was bound to follow. The number of designers doing sustainable design is still limited, but more designers are getting certified by organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) program, which offers a interiors accreditation.
Seattle boasts nearly 40 professionals on that list, and additional designers doing sustainable work are listed on Web sites including the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).
But it will take time for green interior design to even get close to the norm. Designers say it requires a major time investment on their part to research where materials come from and convince vendors to supply more eco-friendly products.
But there is definitely interest.
Silva, a Sustainable Building adviser and co-founder of home store Greener Lifestyles in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, has seminars on the topic at the Environmental Home Center and for the American Society of Interior Designers, Washington state, which are both open to the public. And more stores in the Seattle area have opened recently, featuring sustainable and healthy home products.
People are starting to understand that the impact of the choices they make in their own homes affects everyone else, or will eventually, Silva said.
"You have to think of the whole world as a swimming pool and there is no 'no-pee' zone," she said.
Green designers confront plenty of misperceptions about eco-friendly design. Designer Christine Suzuki said price and design are still people's main priorities, and they tend to worry that green materials are unattractive and expensive.
Suzuki, who is LEED certified, slips green materials into presentations, then tells her clients about their eco-friendly qualities.
"When people see something that's just gorgeous, it's a real plus to find out it's using recycled material," she said.
Green's broad reach
The description "green" can be applied to a wide variety of materials. In general, eco-friendly materials have less impact on the environment because they tend to use fewer fossil fuels for production and/or transportation, and some eliminate toxins that pollute indoor air quality.
Green interior design often includes materials with recycled or salvaged content, materials produced locally, energy-efficient appliances and paints and sealants low in toxins.
Silva also considers natural or biological materials green, including the river rocks used as an accent in the Pretlows' kitchen. The gray oak cabinets traveled a long way, from Italian company Poliform, but the company has an energy-efficient manufacturing process, and the cabinets are made without toxic glues, Silva said. "Green is really about quality and things that last longer," she said. "When you understand green deeply, you understand it's not that hard (to do)."
Eco-friendly furnishings
Furnishings are more challenging than remodeling staples like countertops, paint and nontoxic glues, especially for people who prefer a more traditional look over the modern aesthetic, which is more common among green décor.
But there are alternatives like antiques, which might not be perceived as green but are, according to designer Keith Miller, who is working on his LEED certification. And manufacturers are starting to respond as the market demand for green materials and furnishings increases.
"Whatever was taboo last month might have improved this month," he said.
Doing your homework
Some people feel overwhelmed by all there is to learn about sustainable materials and green processes. Miller takes a more pragmatic view of eco-friendly design.
"My job is to research," he said. "I look at every single design project as a unique set of circumstances that requires research, and part of the research is to check on the evolution in green design and subsidize the products that are proving sustainable."
Much of green design is simply returning to the way things were made a century ago, when maintaining homes with nontoxic cleaners and solid furniture was the norm, Silva said.
"It seems new, but it's not that much," she said.
Paying for itself
The Pretlows, who own Maple Leaf Community Yoga, already had eliminated toxic cleaners from their home. They also have furniture made from solid wood and try to buy as much as they can secondhand. Their $100,000 kitchen remodel was another step toward living an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Though a high-end remodel, to be sure — the national average for major kitchen remodels was around $43,000 in 2005, according to Remodeling magazine — salvaged or recycled materials can keep costs down and still make a remodel green, Silva said.
The Pretlows expect their new kitchen to last 40 or 50 years.
"We don't expect everybody to live like us," Rob Pretlow said. "But if they're inspired, that's wonderful."
Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com
full article
Tuesday 9 October 2007
Z-Wave Is at the Forefront of the Green Revolution
Z-Wave is the award-winning wireless home control and automation technology that gives consumers the ability to wirelessly control and monitor virtually any device or appliance in their home, even when they're not at home themselves.
"Z-Wave can precisely tailor a home's energy usage by the device, by the room or by the whole house," said Mark Walters, chairman of the Z-Wave Alliance. "Using a wide variety of sensors and controllers, consumers are now able to customize their home environments with as much or as little energy as needed, at any given time. And manufacturers are selecting Z-Wave because it's the recognized standard, with real products available from industry leaders around the globe."
Real Solutions to Real Energy Problems -- Today!
Because Z-Wave enabled devices can talk to each other, it is now possible for homeowners to enjoy automated, whole-home energy management that immediately reacts to changing conditions. As an example, a Z-Wave sensor can monitor how much light and heat is coming into the home throughout the day. During bright, warm daylight, Z-Wave can dim the lighting, close electric shades and lower the thermostat. When dusk settles in, Z-Wave can automatically reverse the sequence.
Using Z-Wave, homeowners can also monitor energy usage from afar, with real-time control over their HVAC, lights and appliances via an Internet connection from anywhere in the world. If weekend guests have accidentally left lights or air conditioning on at a remote vacation home, homeowners can adjust them from their easy chair. When it's raining out, a home lawn sprinkler system can be turned off while the owner is at work. Z-Wave can turn on the lights when someone enters a room, and turn them off as soon as they leave. Energy savings with Z-Wave can be immediate and dramatic for the homeowner, with simple, accessible devices that can be retrofitted to any home.
continue
"Z-Wave can precisely tailor a home's energy usage by the device, by the room or by the whole house," said Mark Walters, chairman of the Z-Wave Alliance. "Using a wide variety of sensors and controllers, consumers are now able to customize their home environments with as much or as little energy as needed, at any given time. And manufacturers are selecting Z-Wave because it's the recognized standard, with real products available from industry leaders around the globe."
Real Solutions to Real Energy Problems -- Today!
Because Z-Wave enabled devices can talk to each other, it is now possible for homeowners to enjoy automated, whole-home energy management that immediately reacts to changing conditions. As an example, a Z-Wave sensor can monitor how much light and heat is coming into the home throughout the day. During bright, warm daylight, Z-Wave can dim the lighting, close electric shades and lower the thermostat. When dusk settles in, Z-Wave can automatically reverse the sequence.
Using Z-Wave, homeowners can also monitor energy usage from afar, with real-time control over their HVAC, lights and appliances via an Internet connection from anywhere in the world. If weekend guests have accidentally left lights or air conditioning on at a remote vacation home, homeowners can adjust them from their easy chair. When it's raining out, a home lawn sprinkler system can be turned off while the owner is at work. Z-Wave can turn on the lights when someone enters a room, and turn them off as soon as they leave. Energy savings with Z-Wave can be immediate and dramatic for the homeowner, with simple, accessible devices that can be retrofitted to any home.
continue
Ten things to do today
Standby power
If you're not using it - switch it off. It's a simple rule but many of us fail to turn off the dozens of electrical devices around the house when they are not required. While devices such as TVs, stereos and mobile phone chargers are plugged in on stand-by they are silently wasting up to 10 per cent of your annual power bill.
Cutting down on this waste can be as simple as doing an audit of the appliances in your home and deciding which needs to be switched on permanently (such as the fridge) and which can be turned off until required. One trick is to group appliances together that can be switched off and plug them into a single power board. That way they can all be switched off together.
Light bulbs
Conventional incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient, converting more than 90 per cent of their energy into useless heat. And the halogen downlights so beloved of kitchen designers everywhere are scarcely any better in environmental terms.
By changing all the incandescent bulbs around the house to the widely available compact fluorescent lights, the average home can slash its light bill by 75 per cent, with a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Solving the problem of halogen downlights is a little more complex. The ideal replacement for energy-guzzling downlights are LED (light-emitting diode) lamps but the technology is still developing and it may be a couple of years before LEDs are powerful enough to be a true downlight replacement. Infrared-coated halogen bulbs are a reasonable compromise and are much more efficient than conventional halogens - however, they are also a lot more expensive.
One simple thing almost anyone can do to cut emissions caused by driving is to choose to leave the car at home. For very short journeys, walking may be enough while for longer trips and even the daily commute, a bicycle may do the trick.
Shower efficiently
On average, 20 per cent of the water used on the home goes down the plughole in the bathroom. A water-efficient showerhead will cut the amount of water used by about 50 per cent and also trim the amount of electricity used to heat the water. Modern showerheads are designed to restrict water flow to about 7 litres a minute while still delivering an invigorating shower.
Sydney Water runs a program called WaterFix under which a plumber will come to your house and for $22 will install a low-flow showerhead plus devices to reduce the flow through your taps.
Wash clothes in cold water
According to the Australian Greenhouse Office, the average washing machine in a year produces about 90kg of greenhouse gases while heating up the water to do the family load adds another 475kg of greenhouse gasses. The motto: wash clothes in cold water. Detergent, plus the efficient action of modern washing machines means a cold wash will do the job just as well as using hot water.
Dry clothes naturally
Used three times a week, the average clothes drier will add about $100 to your annual electricity bill and also generate about 500kg of greenhouse gases. It's pretty easy to get into the habit of relying on an electric drier but pegging out your clothes on a washing line the old-fashioned way is a very smart environmental choice. Obviously, it won't be possible with every load - especially when it's raining - but it makes sense to use the clothesline wherever possible. It's also kinder to your clothes.
Use air conditioners efficiently
If you're going to use an air conditioner in your home, there are things you can do to make sure it works as efficiently as possible and uses as little energy as possible. AGL recommends a summer setting of between 24 and 27 degrees. Every 1 degree cooler will add between 10 and 15 per cent to your energy costs. AGL also recommends turning off the air conditioner for about 15 minutes each hour, as well as only cooling the rooms that you use - other rooms can be sealed off.
Check your fridge
After your hot water service, the fridge is the biggest energy consumer in the home as it hums away in the kitchen all day, every day. So it's wise to make sure it is working as efficiently as possible and that the door seals are in good order. A dirty, poorly fitting or worn out door seal should be replaced.
The way you use the fridge - for instance by putting cold items back into the fridge immediately - also has a big effect on efficiency. According to the Australian Greenhouse Office, cooling a two-litre drink bottle back down from room temperature generates 10 times as much greenhouse gas as does opening the fridge door.
Get rid of the beer fridge
And while on the topic of fridges, the second or "beer" fridge that lurks in the uninsulated garage of many Australian households is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It's often an old, inefficient appliance that gets used only intermittently yet stays on all the time, steadily consuming power. If you don't really need a second fridge it's worth considering getting rid of it. Until recently the State Government operated a "fridge buyback" scheme that collected and recycled more than 3500 fridges. However, the scheme is not operating at the moment but may start up again in future. You can register you interest at their website
Walk don't drive
One simple thing almost anyone can do to cut emissions caused by driving is to choose to leave the car at home. For very short journeys, walking may be enough while for longer trips and even the daily commute, a bicycle may do the trick.
continue
If you're not using it - switch it off. It's a simple rule but many of us fail to turn off the dozens of electrical devices around the house when they are not required. While devices such as TVs, stereos and mobile phone chargers are plugged in on stand-by they are silently wasting up to 10 per cent of your annual power bill.
Cutting down on this waste can be as simple as doing an audit of the appliances in your home and deciding which needs to be switched on permanently (such as the fridge) and which can be turned off until required. One trick is to group appliances together that can be switched off and plug them into a single power board. That way they can all be switched off together.
Light bulbs
Conventional incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient, converting more than 90 per cent of their energy into useless heat. And the halogen downlights so beloved of kitchen designers everywhere are scarcely any better in environmental terms.
By changing all the incandescent bulbs around the house to the widely available compact fluorescent lights, the average home can slash its light bill by 75 per cent, with a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Solving the problem of halogen downlights is a little more complex. The ideal replacement for energy-guzzling downlights are LED (light-emitting diode) lamps but the technology is still developing and it may be a couple of years before LEDs are powerful enough to be a true downlight replacement. Infrared-coated halogen bulbs are a reasonable compromise and are much more efficient than conventional halogens - however, they are also a lot more expensive.
One simple thing almost anyone can do to cut emissions caused by driving is to choose to leave the car at home. For very short journeys, walking may be enough while for longer trips and even the daily commute, a bicycle may do the trick.
Shower efficiently
On average, 20 per cent of the water used on the home goes down the plughole in the bathroom. A water-efficient showerhead will cut the amount of water used by about 50 per cent and also trim the amount of electricity used to heat the water. Modern showerheads are designed to restrict water flow to about 7 litres a minute while still delivering an invigorating shower.
Sydney Water runs a program called WaterFix under which a plumber will come to your house and for $22 will install a low-flow showerhead plus devices to reduce the flow through your taps.
Wash clothes in cold water
According to the Australian Greenhouse Office, the average washing machine in a year produces about 90kg of greenhouse gases while heating up the water to do the family load adds another 475kg of greenhouse gasses. The motto: wash clothes in cold water. Detergent, plus the efficient action of modern washing machines means a cold wash will do the job just as well as using hot water.
Dry clothes naturally
Used three times a week, the average clothes drier will add about $100 to your annual electricity bill and also generate about 500kg of greenhouse gases. It's pretty easy to get into the habit of relying on an electric drier but pegging out your clothes on a washing line the old-fashioned way is a very smart environmental choice. Obviously, it won't be possible with every load - especially when it's raining - but it makes sense to use the clothesline wherever possible. It's also kinder to your clothes.
Use air conditioners efficiently
If you're going to use an air conditioner in your home, there are things you can do to make sure it works as efficiently as possible and uses as little energy as possible. AGL recommends a summer setting of between 24 and 27 degrees. Every 1 degree cooler will add between 10 and 15 per cent to your energy costs. AGL also recommends turning off the air conditioner for about 15 minutes each hour, as well as only cooling the rooms that you use - other rooms can be sealed off.
Check your fridge
After your hot water service, the fridge is the biggest energy consumer in the home as it hums away in the kitchen all day, every day. So it's wise to make sure it is working as efficiently as possible and that the door seals are in good order. A dirty, poorly fitting or worn out door seal should be replaced.
The way you use the fridge - for instance by putting cold items back into the fridge immediately - also has a big effect on efficiency. According to the Australian Greenhouse Office, cooling a two-litre drink bottle back down from room temperature generates 10 times as much greenhouse gas as does opening the fridge door.
Get rid of the beer fridge
And while on the topic of fridges, the second or "beer" fridge that lurks in the uninsulated garage of many Australian households is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It's often an old, inefficient appliance that gets used only intermittently yet stays on all the time, steadily consuming power. If you don't really need a second fridge it's worth considering getting rid of it. Until recently the State Government operated a "fridge buyback" scheme that collected and recycled more than 3500 fridges. However, the scheme is not operating at the moment but may start up again in future. You can register you interest at their website
Walk don't drive
One simple thing almost anyone can do to cut emissions caused by driving is to choose to leave the car at home. For very short journeys, walking may be enough while for longer trips and even the daily commute, a bicycle may do the trick.
continue
Monday 8 October 2007
Getting my carbon footprint down to size
My feet are still big.
But not as big as they were five months ago.
I'm talking about my ecological footprint: how much land, air and water my lifestyle takes up.
I committed last Earth Day to reduce mine, which, despite my self-assessment as a greenie, was a whopping 6.6 hectares, according to one website calculator. That's a hectare less than the Canadian average, but 4.4 hectares more than the global one.
"If everyone lived like you, we'd need 3.7 planets," the website (myfootprint.org) declared damningly.
Today, when I factor in all the changes I've made, my footprint measures 5.8 hectares – still not as small as I'd like it, but better.
How have I done it? Mostly by addressing the big stuff.
The three biggest drivers of a fat North American footprint are food, transit, and home heating and electricity, says William Rees, the University of British Columbia professor who pioneered the concept of an ecological footprint.
We live in suburbs without sidewalks and drive our SUVs to the corner store. As much as 80 per cent of our fruit and vegetables are trucked or flown in from as far away as China. Our homes leak heat and our appliances vacuum up energy – a lot of it from fume-belching coal-fired plants.
To change most of these things, we need to act collectively – building walkable communities and renewable electricity sources. But there is still room for small, individual changes. Baby steps.
To address my home's soaring hydro use, the first thing I did was replace all 52 incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescents. It's considered the first rite of passage for an eco-convert and it's relatively painless. Compact-fluorescent bulbs use a quarter of the electricity the old-fashioned kind suck up, and since lighting makes up 15 per cent of an average home's electricity bill, they save money in the long-run.
It took less than an hour and cost about $120 but, according to my calculations, will save us 779 kilowatt hours of electricity by the end of the year. That's almost a whole month's worth of electricity for us.
Step 2 was dealing with all the power vampires – the appliances in our home that suck energy even when they are off.
It turns out our computer was the biggest culprit. Even when turned off, it sucked 28 watts of power constantly. The Internet connection was also leaking energy. Multiply that over the year, and we were wasting more than two months' worth of electricity.
The solution was easy. We have now plugged the computer, televisions and DVD player into power bars. When we aren't using them, we turn the power bar off. So simple, and part of the reason our electricity bills have been cut in half.
Next was the clothes dryer. It was the biggest energy-sucking culprit in our home. You can't buy an EnergyStar model, because, as the program's federal manager in Ottawa, Anne Wilkins, told me, "basically, they're big heating elements in a drum. The real EnergyStar dryer is a clothesline outside."
So that's what we did. This winter, we will decorate our basement with drying racks and, by the end of the year, we figure we'll have saved another month's worth of electricity.
Finally, I called an energy auditor. They are like home doctors who diagnose your house's energy ailments. He said our 1930s home was about 43-per-cent efficient – meaning more than half of the heat, or cool air, we pump into it is wasted. He gave us a list of treatments, the first of which called for a new furnace.
This week, we are ripping out the huffing 76-per-cent efficient model and putting in a new, 96-per-cent efficient one. We've paid dearly for it – about $4,000 after government rebates – but our calculations suggest we'll make that money back in less than five years.
We've also hired contractors to seal the cracks in the walls and ceiling and pad the insulation in our attic – so our furnace no longer heats the street outside our home.
In total, with those changes, the auditor tells us our home will be 64-per-cent efficient. That should mean we'll cut our heating bills by a fifth.
Catherine Porter
continue
But not as big as they were five months ago.
I'm talking about my ecological footprint: how much land, air and water my lifestyle takes up.
I committed last Earth Day to reduce mine, which, despite my self-assessment as a greenie, was a whopping 6.6 hectares, according to one website calculator. That's a hectare less than the Canadian average, but 4.4 hectares more than the global one.
"If everyone lived like you, we'd need 3.7 planets," the website (myfootprint.org) declared damningly.
Today, when I factor in all the changes I've made, my footprint measures 5.8 hectares – still not as small as I'd like it, but better.
How have I done it? Mostly by addressing the big stuff.
The three biggest drivers of a fat North American footprint are food, transit, and home heating and electricity, says William Rees, the University of British Columbia professor who pioneered the concept of an ecological footprint.
We live in suburbs without sidewalks and drive our SUVs to the corner store. As much as 80 per cent of our fruit and vegetables are trucked or flown in from as far away as China. Our homes leak heat and our appliances vacuum up energy – a lot of it from fume-belching coal-fired plants.
To change most of these things, we need to act collectively – building walkable communities and renewable electricity sources. But there is still room for small, individual changes. Baby steps.
To address my home's soaring hydro use, the first thing I did was replace all 52 incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescents. It's considered the first rite of passage for an eco-convert and it's relatively painless. Compact-fluorescent bulbs use a quarter of the electricity the old-fashioned kind suck up, and since lighting makes up 15 per cent of an average home's electricity bill, they save money in the long-run.
It took less than an hour and cost about $120 but, according to my calculations, will save us 779 kilowatt hours of electricity by the end of the year. That's almost a whole month's worth of electricity for us.
Step 2 was dealing with all the power vampires – the appliances in our home that suck energy even when they are off.
It turns out our computer was the biggest culprit. Even when turned off, it sucked 28 watts of power constantly. The Internet connection was also leaking energy. Multiply that over the year, and we were wasting more than two months' worth of electricity.
The solution was easy. We have now plugged the computer, televisions and DVD player into power bars. When we aren't using them, we turn the power bar off. So simple, and part of the reason our electricity bills have been cut in half.
Next was the clothes dryer. It was the biggest energy-sucking culprit in our home. You can't buy an EnergyStar model, because, as the program's federal manager in Ottawa, Anne Wilkins, told me, "basically, they're big heating elements in a drum. The real EnergyStar dryer is a clothesline outside."
So that's what we did. This winter, we will decorate our basement with drying racks and, by the end of the year, we figure we'll have saved another month's worth of electricity.
Finally, I called an energy auditor. They are like home doctors who diagnose your house's energy ailments. He said our 1930s home was about 43-per-cent efficient – meaning more than half of the heat, or cool air, we pump into it is wasted. He gave us a list of treatments, the first of which called for a new furnace.
This week, we are ripping out the huffing 76-per-cent efficient model and putting in a new, 96-per-cent efficient one. We've paid dearly for it – about $4,000 after government rebates – but our calculations suggest we'll make that money back in less than five years.
We've also hired contractors to seal the cracks in the walls and ceiling and pad the insulation in our attic – so our furnace no longer heats the street outside our home.
In total, with those changes, the auditor tells us our home will be 64-per-cent efficient. That should mean we'll cut our heating bills by a fifth.
Catherine Porter
continue
Is this what the world's coming to?
With climate change placing increasing pressure on environmental resources, it is now being viewed as a threat to national security. Amanda Leigh Haag reports.
History is littered with lessons from once-budding civilizations that crashed from their peak of prosperity. From the Anasazi of the southwestern United States to the Mayans of Mesoamerica1 and the ancient dynasties of eastern China2, environmental change has sounded the death knell throughout time for once-thriving civilizations already stressed by factors including high population growth, overexploitation of resources and excessive reliance on external trade. In many cases, severe drought or extreme cold has been enough to push societies to the brink of civil unrest, mass migration and warfare.
Averting disaster
So far, no comprehensive cost estimates exist for the type of global-scale military preparedness that would be needed under severe climate-change scenarios. Yet it appears that, irrespective of conflict and the potential for national-security threats, the goals of assisting vulnerable nations and at-risk regions in the face of climate change are synonymous with the need to achieve global sustainable development. Citing East Timor in southeast Asia as an example, Barnett says "what you would do to reduce vulnerability and adapt to climate change is what you would do to provide sustainable development and improve the lives of people anyway". With the majority of the population having no access to electricity, clean drinking water, shelter or proper food standards, he notes that many of these basic services could be fulfilled through the commitment made by wealthy countries under the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992. Developed countries vowed long ago to giving 0.7% of their gross domestic product to aid developing countries, but actual contributions fall far short of that, with donations from both the US and Australia hovering around 0.2%, for instance. "For the most part, we're talking about things that we already know how to do, things we already know we should do, things that we've already committed to do, it's just that we don't do them", says Barnett.
However, Fuerth points out that in the case of extreme climate-change outcomes, more radical measures might be needed. He cites examples such as the potential development of superior materials through nanotechnology and suggestions for planetary 'geoengineering', such as erecting mirrors in space to reflect sunlight. There seems to be a "philosophical split" between those who believe that the system can be rebalanced through proper adaptation and mitigation versus those inclined to approach the solution as a "civil-engineering problem on a cosmic scale", Fuerth says. "If it becomes clear that we are headed toward the severe end of the range, then those who have these bigger schemes in mind may get a much more serious hearing."
Amanda Leigh Haag is a freelance writer based in Denver, Colorado
continue
History is littered with lessons from once-budding civilizations that crashed from their peak of prosperity. From the Anasazi of the southwestern United States to the Mayans of Mesoamerica1 and the ancient dynasties of eastern China2, environmental change has sounded the death knell throughout time for once-thriving civilizations already stressed by factors including high population growth, overexploitation of resources and excessive reliance on external trade. In many cases, severe drought or extreme cold has been enough to push societies to the brink of civil unrest, mass migration and warfare.
Averting disaster
So far, no comprehensive cost estimates exist for the type of global-scale military preparedness that would be needed under severe climate-change scenarios. Yet it appears that, irrespective of conflict and the potential for national-security threats, the goals of assisting vulnerable nations and at-risk regions in the face of climate change are synonymous with the need to achieve global sustainable development. Citing East Timor in southeast Asia as an example, Barnett says "what you would do to reduce vulnerability and adapt to climate change is what you would do to provide sustainable development and improve the lives of people anyway". With the majority of the population having no access to electricity, clean drinking water, shelter or proper food standards, he notes that many of these basic services could be fulfilled through the commitment made by wealthy countries under the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992. Developed countries vowed long ago to giving 0.7% of their gross domestic product to aid developing countries, but actual contributions fall far short of that, with donations from both the US and Australia hovering around 0.2%, for instance. "For the most part, we're talking about things that we already know how to do, things we already know we should do, things that we've already committed to do, it's just that we don't do them", says Barnett.
However, Fuerth points out that in the case of extreme climate-change outcomes, more radical measures might be needed. He cites examples such as the potential development of superior materials through nanotechnology and suggestions for planetary 'geoengineering', such as erecting mirrors in space to reflect sunlight. There seems to be a "philosophical split" between those who believe that the system can be rebalanced through proper adaptation and mitigation versus those inclined to approach the solution as a "civil-engineering problem on a cosmic scale", Fuerth says. "If it becomes clear that we are headed toward the severe end of the range, then those who have these bigger schemes in mind may get a much more serious hearing."
Amanda Leigh Haag is a freelance writer based in Denver, Colorado
continue
Automakers' green initiatives outpace government progress
All-electric vehicles, meanwhile, use no gasoline engine and thus produce zero emissions, but concerns over battery life persist. Thus far, all-electric solutions have been largely relegated to niche applications. Glaser noted that the U.S Postal Service has adopted all-electric powertrains for some delivery vehicles.
Stumbling blocks also stand in the way of the various fuel alternatives to gas and diesel fuel. They include the availability of fuel cells and the establishment of an infrastructure to refuel and service alternatively powered vehicles.
One fuel source drawing interest is hydrogen. The fuel can be produced by stripping molecules from hydrocarbons, according to the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, but it is expensive and is considered less efficient than storing energy in batteries or ultracapacitors.
Wall said the DOE is conducting re- search on advanced combustion engines that run on hydrogen. "The issues are, can you store enough hydrogen, and can you manufacture hydrogen and get it into distribution points?"
Ford has developed what it calls the first drivable fuel-cell hybrid electric plug-in vehicle. The Ford Edge crossover with HySeries Drive combines an on-board hydrogen fuel-cell generator with lithium-ion batteries. The vehicle is designed to drive the first 25 miles each day on stored electricity alone, after which the fuel cell kicks in to keep the battery pack charged. An 110/220-Vac charger on board can refresh the battery pack when a standard home outlet is available. With the HySeries Drive, the Ford Edge reportedly delivers 41 mpg with zero emissions. Ford is also testing a fleet of 30 hydrogen-powered Focus fuel-cell vehicles.
Ethanol is likewise being promoted as an alternative to conventional gasoline for internal-combustion engines. While gasoline commonly has a small percentage of ethanol, ethanol formulations comprising 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline are also available.
According to the DOE's Wall, of the roughly 170,000 gas stations in the United States, 600 supply 85 ethanol--a small percentage of the total, but still far larger than at the decade's start.
To leverage ethanol's availability, automakers are developing "flexible fuel" vehicles that run on either ethanol or gasoline. GM equips its flexible-fuel-eligible vehicles with a yellow gas cap. n
Spencer Chin
continue
Stumbling blocks also stand in the way of the various fuel alternatives to gas and diesel fuel. They include the availability of fuel cells and the establishment of an infrastructure to refuel and service alternatively powered vehicles.
One fuel source drawing interest is hydrogen. The fuel can be produced by stripping molecules from hydrocarbons, according to the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, but it is expensive and is considered less efficient than storing energy in batteries or ultracapacitors.
Wall said the DOE is conducting re- search on advanced combustion engines that run on hydrogen. "The issues are, can you store enough hydrogen, and can you manufacture hydrogen and get it into distribution points?"
Ford has developed what it calls the first drivable fuel-cell hybrid electric plug-in vehicle. The Ford Edge crossover with HySeries Drive combines an on-board hydrogen fuel-cell generator with lithium-ion batteries. The vehicle is designed to drive the first 25 miles each day on stored electricity alone, after which the fuel cell kicks in to keep the battery pack charged. An 110/220-Vac charger on board can refresh the battery pack when a standard home outlet is available. With the HySeries Drive, the Ford Edge reportedly delivers 41 mpg with zero emissions. Ford is also testing a fleet of 30 hydrogen-powered Focus fuel-cell vehicles.
Ethanol is likewise being promoted as an alternative to conventional gasoline for internal-combustion engines. While gasoline commonly has a small percentage of ethanol, ethanol formulations comprising 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline are also available.
According to the DOE's Wall, of the roughly 170,000 gas stations in the United States, 600 supply 85 ethanol--a small percentage of the total, but still far larger than at the decade's start.
To leverage ethanol's availability, automakers are developing "flexible fuel" vehicles that run on either ethanol or gasoline. GM equips its flexible-fuel-eligible vehicles with a yellow gas cap. n
Spencer Chin
continue
Saturday 6 October 2007
What you pay for all this every year will be an electric shock
If you are one of the sad people who still irons their clothes, are you aware that an hour's hard graft with a standard steam iron consumes around 22p worth of electricity? If you're only ironing them because they came out of tumble dryer all wrinkled, you are already 50p down ... and if you pop the kettle on for a cup of tea to recuperate, your electricity meter will start whirring madly.
Reducing the amount of electricity consumed at home by modifying behaviour and buying the most energy-efficient products, is one of the easiest and greenest money-saving things you can do. With a few simple changes, it is possible to save £100 a year on your bill - and reduce your carbon footprint.
Figures published on the energy saving website sust-it.net show that different home appliance models use hugely varying amounts of electricity. Tumble dryer users, who must surely be on Greenpeace's most wanted list, are paying anywhere between 30p and 70p per cycle - depending on which model they have. The website is appealing to everyone to check the power consumption of the models they are considering before buying.
At the same time, energy monitors that show householders how much electricity is being used at any one time have come down in price: they are now less than £50. The monitors, which are expected to be given out free with all electricity meter changes after May 2008, have been shown to cut consumption by up to a quarter - paying for themselves in around a year.
This week, Owl launched a monitor for £49.99. It shows the value of the electricity being consumed at that moment on a hand-held LCD screen. For details, visit theowl.com. Until recently, good quality hand-held monitors have typically cost £70.
Owl warns that once you've got a monitor, you will become passionate about turning things off. It also suggests that consumers will be surprised at which devices consume the most power around the home.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, around 27% of the UK's CO2 emissions come from individual homes, with the average UK household creating six tonnes of CO2 every year.
It estimates that £7.5bn worth of household energy is wasted in the UK every year. Around £3bn worth of electricity powers consumer electronic and computer products alone - 30% of the average household electricity bill. Keith Berry, Owl's chief executive says: "Research shows that UK consumers are keen to take personal action on climate change, but are still unsure of what they can actually do on an individual level. Until now, we've had to wait until our quarterly bills land on our doormats, before we can see the quantity of electricity we've used.
"By actually viewing the cost of the energy you are using and the effect on the environment as it happens, it's easy to make instant changes that will not only help fight climate change but will really save you money too."
Rival supplier, thegreenshop.co.uk, offers a similar product for £44.95 - it also sells a whole host of other energy-saving devices.
Meanwhile, if you are happy to wait until May next year, you may be able to get a monitor for free. The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform is keen on these devices and has decreed that they will be included for free with any electricity meter exchange after that date.
People who already have a modern meter will be able to ask for a free monitor at some stage after that date.
Consumers wanting to compare the energy consumption of an electrical product prior to purchase should visit sust-it.net. This extensive site lists most major white goods, computers, TVs and other electrical items according to their annual consumption. The figures quoted vary enormously - even for very similar products.
m.brignall@guardian.co.uk
continue
Reducing the amount of electricity consumed at home by modifying behaviour and buying the most energy-efficient products, is one of the easiest and greenest money-saving things you can do. With a few simple changes, it is possible to save £100 a year on your bill - and reduce your carbon footprint.
Figures published on the energy saving website sust-it.net show that different home appliance models use hugely varying amounts of electricity. Tumble dryer users, who must surely be on Greenpeace's most wanted list, are paying anywhere between 30p and 70p per cycle - depending on which model they have. The website is appealing to everyone to check the power consumption of the models they are considering before buying.
At the same time, energy monitors that show householders how much electricity is being used at any one time have come down in price: they are now less than £50. The monitors, which are expected to be given out free with all electricity meter changes after May 2008, have been shown to cut consumption by up to a quarter - paying for themselves in around a year.
This week, Owl launched a monitor for £49.99. It shows the value of the electricity being consumed at that moment on a hand-held LCD screen. For details, visit theowl.com. Until recently, good quality hand-held monitors have typically cost £70.
Owl warns that once you've got a monitor, you will become passionate about turning things off. It also suggests that consumers will be surprised at which devices consume the most power around the home.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, around 27% of the UK's CO2 emissions come from individual homes, with the average UK household creating six tonnes of CO2 every year.
It estimates that £7.5bn worth of household energy is wasted in the UK every year. Around £3bn worth of electricity powers consumer electronic and computer products alone - 30% of the average household electricity bill. Keith Berry, Owl's chief executive says: "Research shows that UK consumers are keen to take personal action on climate change, but are still unsure of what they can actually do on an individual level. Until now, we've had to wait until our quarterly bills land on our doormats, before we can see the quantity of electricity we've used.
"By actually viewing the cost of the energy you are using and the effect on the environment as it happens, it's easy to make instant changes that will not only help fight climate change but will really save you money too."
Rival supplier, thegreenshop.co.uk, offers a similar product for £44.95 - it also sells a whole host of other energy-saving devices.
Meanwhile, if you are happy to wait until May next year, you may be able to get a monitor for free. The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform is keen on these devices and has decreed that they will be included for free with any electricity meter exchange after that date.
People who already have a modern meter will be able to ask for a free monitor at some stage after that date.
Consumers wanting to compare the energy consumption of an electrical product prior to purchase should visit sust-it.net. This extensive site lists most major white goods, computers, TVs and other electrical items according to their annual consumption. The figures quoted vary enormously - even for very similar products.
m.brignall@guardian.co.uk
continue
How to cut energy bills
RESIDENTS could make huge savings if they cut down on energy use, according to a survey.
Information released following the launch of Energy Performance Certificates and Home Information Packs shows the average four- bedroom home could save hundreds of pounds off heating, lighting, and water bills.
The certificates, which accompany houses being put on the market, use a rating from A to G to show the energy efficiency of a home and also offer advice on how the rating can be improved.
Most homes are receiving an E rating, according to the survey.
The rating could potentially rise to C if residents take action recommended in the certificates, including loft and cavity wall insulation.
A snapshot survey of energy assessors and certificates provided since the August 1 launch of the packs showed homes could typically save £180 on heating, £60 on lighting and £30 on hot water bills every year.
The top five recommendations given by assessors for improving energy efficiency have been cavity wall insulation, changing to low energylighting, putting thermostatic valves on radiators, loft insulation and double glazing.
The certificates and packs were extended to three-bedroom homes on September 10
Communities minister Iain Wright said: "Families buying four-bedroom homes are getting clear information which shows how they can save hundreds of pounds on their fuel bills and cut carbon emissions too.
"It is important this should be available for people buying three-bedroom homes as well."
A spokesman for WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) said: "We hope the Government will apply the same energy rating process to all homes being put on the market by the end of the year.
"If all home owners were given sufficient incentive to lower the carbon emissions from their homes, the UK's carbon footprint would reduce significantly."
Green grants of £100 to £300 for energy-saving improvements such as loft insulation are available to many homeowners from energy suppliers.
For more information about the grants, visit the Energy Saving Trust website at energysavingtrust.org.uk
continue
Information released following the launch of Energy Performance Certificates and Home Information Packs shows the average four- bedroom home could save hundreds of pounds off heating, lighting, and water bills.
The certificates, which accompany houses being put on the market, use a rating from A to G to show the energy efficiency of a home and also offer advice on how the rating can be improved.
Most homes are receiving an E rating, according to the survey.
The rating could potentially rise to C if residents take action recommended in the certificates, including loft and cavity wall insulation.
A snapshot survey of energy assessors and certificates provided since the August 1 launch of the packs showed homes could typically save £180 on heating, £60 on lighting and £30 on hot water bills every year.
The top five recommendations given by assessors for improving energy efficiency have been cavity wall insulation, changing to low energylighting, putting thermostatic valves on radiators, loft insulation and double glazing.
The certificates and packs were extended to three-bedroom homes on September 10
Communities minister Iain Wright said: "Families buying four-bedroom homes are getting clear information which shows how they can save hundreds of pounds on their fuel bills and cut carbon emissions too.
"It is important this should be available for people buying three-bedroom homes as well."
A spokesman for WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) said: "We hope the Government will apply the same energy rating process to all homes being put on the market by the end of the year.
"If all home owners were given sufficient incentive to lower the carbon emissions from their homes, the UK's carbon footprint would reduce significantly."
Green grants of £100 to £300 for energy-saving improvements such as loft insulation are available to many homeowners from energy suppliers.
For more information about the grants, visit the Energy Saving Trust website at energysavingtrust.org.uk
continue
Friday 5 October 2007
Uncle Sam wants to pay you for going green
Ready to take advantage of the federal government? You have until December 31. That's when Washington puts the kibosh on consumer tax credits of up to $500 for energy-saving products such as high-efficiency furnaces, water heaters, windows and insulation.
The good news is that credits of up to $2,000 will remain available for solar upgrades --including solar water heaters and photovoltaic roof panels --through December 31, 2008.
Even if you miss out, there are plenty of other tax breaks, rebates and discounts available to efficiency-minded homeowners through local governments, banks and utility companies.
That's what Mitch Zimmerman and his wife, Michele Freeman, discovered last year when they were looking to weatherize and add a new high-efficiency heating and cooling system to their house in Austin, Texas. The cost seemed off-putting -- until they received a postcard from their local utility company offering details of a program that provides deep discounts and low-interest loans to qualified customers looking to make their houses more energy efficient.
That utility, Austin Energy, eventually provided the name of an approved contractor who inspected the house's ductwork for leaks, added new weatherstripping to the windows and doors, and blew recycled newspaper insulation into the attic, all at a substantial discount.
Austin Energy also provided a zero-interest loan for the new HVAC system, which saved the thousands of dollars. "It's strange, since we'd never even heard about that program until we received the postcard," says Zimmerman. This Old House: Save money on energy
Other public and private utilities -- as well as state and local governments -- are on the green bandwagon, too. The Arizona House of Representatives sponsors a program that lets homeowners install solar energy devices without any --increase to their property taxes. Oregon and Montana offer state tax credits for those who invest in wind power or heat-recovery ventilation systems.
But you don't have to incorporate cutting-edge technology to reap benefits: An Ohio state loan program provides interest-rate reductions of up to 50 --percent for residents who take out loans to buy Energy Star appliances. This Old House: Solar shingles
Rebates are another way states are helping to defray the cost of greening up your homestead. The utility company in Clallam County, Washington, offers $1,000 rebates for solar water heaters, which can run you $4,000 or more. And New Jersey is teaming up with its utility providers to return up to $450 of the cost of new heat pumps and air conditioners.
Some states are even giving people money just to educate themselves and their neighbors about green living. For instance, Connecticut recently introduced a "Community Innovations Grant Program," a pilot program that gives communities a $5,000 block grant to increase public awareness of renewable energy technologies. (For a state-by-state breakdown of incentives, visit DSIRE.) This Old House: Cut water bills by 80 percent
For state and local governments, as well as publicly owned utility companies, offering these incentives is a nice way to keep constituents -- read voters --happy. And for privately owned utility companies, which aren't exactly known for their benevolence, it can make good business sense. Despite the initial cost of providing the incentives, the companies can increase their bottom line by luring in new customers and retaining the ones they already have. And the --decreased demand for kilowatts from those using alternative energy sources such as solar or wind power might keep providers from having to build pricey new power plants.
Whatever the reasons, Zimmerman and Freeman are just glad they got that postcard before shelling out for new equipment. "We would have had to take out a three-year loan at about 6 percent interest, so they saved us almost $2,000," says Zimmerman, adding that the new system is also saving him about 10 percent a month on utility bills. "They even gave us a free programmable thermostat, so we can save money on cooling costs when we're not at home. It's a pretty good deal."
continue
The good news is that credits of up to $2,000 will remain available for solar upgrades --including solar water heaters and photovoltaic roof panels --through December 31, 2008.
Even if you miss out, there are plenty of other tax breaks, rebates and discounts available to efficiency-minded homeowners through local governments, banks and utility companies.
That's what Mitch Zimmerman and his wife, Michele Freeman, discovered last year when they were looking to weatherize and add a new high-efficiency heating and cooling system to their house in Austin, Texas. The cost seemed off-putting -- until they received a postcard from their local utility company offering details of a program that provides deep discounts and low-interest loans to qualified customers looking to make their houses more energy efficient.
That utility, Austin Energy, eventually provided the name of an approved contractor who inspected the house's ductwork for leaks, added new weatherstripping to the windows and doors, and blew recycled newspaper insulation into the attic, all at a substantial discount.
Austin Energy also provided a zero-interest loan for the new HVAC system, which saved the thousands of dollars. "It's strange, since we'd never even heard about that program until we received the postcard," says Zimmerman. This Old House: Save money on energy
Other public and private utilities -- as well as state and local governments -- are on the green bandwagon, too. The Arizona House of Representatives sponsors a program that lets homeowners install solar energy devices without any --increase to their property taxes. Oregon and Montana offer state tax credits for those who invest in wind power or heat-recovery ventilation systems.
But you don't have to incorporate cutting-edge technology to reap benefits: An Ohio state loan program provides interest-rate reductions of up to 50 --percent for residents who take out loans to buy Energy Star appliances. This Old House: Solar shingles
Rebates are another way states are helping to defray the cost of greening up your homestead. The utility company in Clallam County, Washington, offers $1,000 rebates for solar water heaters, which can run you $4,000 or more. And New Jersey is teaming up with its utility providers to return up to $450 of the cost of new heat pumps and air conditioners.
Some states are even giving people money just to educate themselves and their neighbors about green living. For instance, Connecticut recently introduced a "Community Innovations Grant Program," a pilot program that gives communities a $5,000 block grant to increase public awareness of renewable energy technologies. (For a state-by-state breakdown of incentives, visit DSIRE.) This Old House: Cut water bills by 80 percent
For state and local governments, as well as publicly owned utility companies, offering these incentives is a nice way to keep constituents -- read voters --happy. And for privately owned utility companies, which aren't exactly known for their benevolence, it can make good business sense. Despite the initial cost of providing the incentives, the companies can increase their bottom line by luring in new customers and retaining the ones they already have. And the --decreased demand for kilowatts from those using alternative energy sources such as solar or wind power might keep providers from having to build pricey new power plants.
Whatever the reasons, Zimmerman and Freeman are just glad they got that postcard before shelling out for new equipment. "We would have had to take out a three-year loan at about 6 percent interest, so they saved us almost $2,000," says Zimmerman, adding that the new system is also saving him about 10 percent a month on utility bills. "They even gave us a free programmable thermostat, so we can save money on cooling costs when we're not at home. It's a pretty good deal."
continue
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