I was hoping you could post ideas here to save money and energy for us all. Rules, 1. Must reduce expenses, labor, or energy. 2. Can not restrict or reduce current modern life styles. Example one. What is it? Insulated shower walls and shower door modification. Reduces the time it takes to heat up a shower compartment What you need to do. Build sliding or insulated door. Optional Install rigid foam panes under tile in walls and ceiling of shower area. Reason it works. The shower stall heats up faster and retains it longer thereby causing the person in the shower to turn down the water temperature, reducing hot water usage. Side benefit. The moisture and heat is shielded from the home reducing mold risk and cooling costs. Reference. http://www.sunfrost.com/efficient_shower.html Example two. What is it? Low watt compact florescent light modification What you need to do. Paint walls lighter colors. (Paint closets bright white.) Modify a 5 watt CFL. Reason it works. White walls give off greater amount of reflected light reducing the need for lager watt bulbs. (Do not compromise on your style. Only lighten wall if it is in a hallway or closet and you like the look.) Side benefit. [attachmentid=4099] [attachmentid=4100] [attachmentid=4101] [attachmentid=4102]
If you have windows that are not shaded by shutters or trees, you can now buy inexpensive low-tint films that reduce heat transmission and help keep cooling expenses down. Cooling sections of the house rather than using central cooling is much more energy efficient. If you only occupy the bedroom at night, look into a portable or window unit. Ceiling fans are also a low-energy way to cool specific areas. Switching to solar water heating is the best bang for your solar dollar - the feds are giving a 30% tax credit, and many states are also issuing credits and rebates. Go look at your water heater. If it's old and not energy efficient (especially the electric heaters) you might break even in the first couple of years!
I'd rather see shower and sink drainwater heat recovery, rather than worrying about the walls too much. Many shower-stalls are plastic or fiberglass which doesn't conduct that much heat away in the first place.. . _H*
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Jul 12 2006, 09:33 AM) [snapback]284924[/snapback]</div> Very good point Hobbit! However, why not both and a mini-turbine to produce power from the water going down the drain too. I'm all about improving on an improvement so long as it does not add any labor to the every process of taking a shower. geologyrox, I am also in favor of a pre-heater. Nothing more than a 50 gallon tank in my attic that collects the cold water from underground and pre-heats it in the attic before it goes into the on demand heater. Cost me just few bucks because I used the old tank. I did use some cheap ball valves to shut it off and drain it for our two winter months a year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 12 2006, 07:16 AM) [snapback]284921[/snapback]</div> This is part of the problem: Sure there are things we can do that do not affect our lifestyle (conservation) but the root of our problem is that during the decades of cheap energy we became accostomed to an extravagant lifestyle: We moved out into the suburbs, requiring 2 cars per family; with so many people driving cars, we tore out public transit; we bought RV's and boats, requiring huge SUV's and pickup trucks to haul them; we built houses 3 or 4 or 5 times as big as where we used to live; and in general we adopted a lifestyle that required an enormous amount of energy, while in many ways reducing our quality of life as we accumulated energy-consuming STUFF. Now we are recognizing that we cannot continue to use this much energy, so we are talking about making all that STUFF more energy-efficient, but unless we cut back on all that STUFF, conservation is not going to be enough, and the energy crunch will STUFF US into a very small hole in the ground.
What Cover your outside Air Conditioning Unit with a shade to keep it cooler. Why Your unit will operate more efficiently. How The common mechanical forced-air unit functions by removing heat from inside the house and moving it outside. I know most people feel cold air and think of it as the introduction of cooling, but it's the removal of the heat and makes the air feel cold. This is also why, when you lean over an outside unit, you will feel hot air blowing; the fan is moving air over the coils containing the heat which it removed from inside the house. So, once you understand the initial concepts of mechanical cooling, you realize that if you can keep the air blowing over the coils cold there is a greater difference between air temp and coil temp. This means that a greater amount of heat can be "blown off" the coils. The more that is removed outside, the more heat can be absorded inside. Sort of like wringing out a towel before using it to soak up water again. Best-case scenario: place your unit on the North side of the building. Second best: under a tree but protected from falling things. Close third: build a screen that will sheild the unit from direct sunlight but not interfere with regular operations. I'll search the web and my cache of HVAC illustrations to find a picture of this.
I (almost) disagree, daniel. While I think we should be willing (read:need) to make some changes, you can make many of those changes without 'reducing' your quality of life. People that share priorities of sustainability and environmental protection are willing to make the bigger changes - but it's ESSENTIAL that we make the half steps available in the meantime. We can't expect everyone to share our priorities immediately, but making it easier and cheaper is needed, and brings different types of people to the green table.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Jul 12 2006, 09:53 AM) [snapback]284935[/snapback]</div> I agree with you for myself. However, the mainstream will not accept this and throw out our ideas, so in the end the mainstream population will not save any energy at all and call us crazy in the process. If we could just get them to embrace conservation without reduction of luxury we will save far more energy as a society, with a lot less pointless head banging. So it seems our best plan is to get ourselves to be zero impact on the environment and our neighbors to be less impact. I took my lights one step further and got some solar for my house so I could run my lighting for free. My neighbor though I was crazy, but he now uses all CFL in his home and even uses some 5 watt CFL in his closets. He still thinks I'm crazy for buying the solar panel, but in the long run, he is now using less energy too. Who knows in a few years he might just buy a solar panel for his lights too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 12 2006, 09:57 AM) [snapback]284937[/snapback]</div> How's this? [attachmentid=4103]
Those look to me like pasive solar heating and cooling. What I was referring to is almost like mounting a black-screen door at a 45 degree angle to shade the outside unit from the sun. The screen blocks and absorbs sunlight while allow air-flow so as to not interfere with the fan and also to keep it from blowing over. This is one of the myths I am trying to dispell with my Green Fundamentals" online training course that I'm developing for work. When you do things like use energy-efficient appliances, use lower-watt light bulbs, make existing things work more efficiently, you end up saving money. Money translates to getting out of debt, paying off the mortgage, putting the kids through college. Or if you're absorbed in the concept of object accumulation, then use the money you saved to accumulate more stuff.
I cut my heating way down by: insulating the attic (old house in So. Cal so it hadn't been done...did it myself) and installing a programable thermostat. Huge bang for buck. The gift that keeps on giving. Even if you don't xeriscape....put in a drip system on timers. Really cuts down on water. Ceiling fans are cheaper than air conditioning. I close the house up during the day, then open it up when the temperature drops. In the winter, I reverse the direction of the fans and reduce my heating bill as well. I also installed a "Solatube" skylight (tubular skylight) in the kitchen. I had a very dark kitchen and would have to turn the lights on even in the day. Not any more. Huge difference. Best money I ever spent. I had it done but you can buy them at Home Depot and do them yourself. Do be careful of those low flow toilets if you have an old house with old pipes. There needs to be SOME water moving the undesirables down the sewage line. If not...you'll be looking at roto-rooter on a regular basis.
TonyPSchaefer' What I was referring to is almost like mounting a black-screen door at a 45 degree angle to shade the outside unit from the sun. Outstanding, I have never seen or thought of that. I have seen large wooden covers for decks that work that way, but a screen on the south side of the house angled for the sun in your location. I will have to add that for a porch on my dream house. Sun in winter right in, Sun is summer blocked.
I like the sugestions about the lights. But when it comes to showers, I just take a show under two minutes. That's all the time I need. Learned to shower fast during my time in the NAVY.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Jul 12 2006, 09:33 AM) [snapback]284924[/snapback]</div> Can someone please educate me on this concept?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 12 2006, 10:57 AM) [snapback]284937[/snapback]</div> that's a dang good idea tony! especially down here where we've got the a/c on all the time nowadays. i'll have to see if we can rig something up, i think we've got an extra plywood panel laying around somewhere.
Didn't Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie style homes have longer eaves sticking out? They shaded the windows in the summer, yet let the winter sun shine in.
Here is some background for you. http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/build...rica/about.html I wish I could, I wish I might, fix this home before the end of my life!
If you would like to know what a Facility Manager can do with his commercial buildings control and energy management knowledge, check out Enerjazz's site. He built a house and seriously went "over the top" in terms of energy management, passive heating/cooling, geothermal, and then wired the whole thing to be able to monitor it all. I'm seriously taking notes from his house and plan to implement some of them when I have the opportunity to build. The Westbrook House Paul's Prius Page
Unplug appliances which you don't use daily, i.e. toaster, cell phone chargers, TV, VCR, DVD player etc. Even when the appliance is off it is still using electricity. (Personal Note: I have saved 20% on my electric bill by doing this.) If you can, walk instead of drive. The other tips you guys posted are great. Keep 'em coming!
