Climate Red - News and Views on Climate Change Issues.

[ August 2010 ] [ October 2010 ]

Climate Red - September 2010

Keep our attics cooler with natural ventilation.

September 30th 2010 22:42

One thing that you may not realize as a home owner is that your home is breathing and living everyday. We need to do what we can to keep our homes up so that we can get the best performance from our house that we can. One of the main ingredients for this to happen is attic ventilation. It is very important for this process to take place for our homes to operate efficiently. Our attics can reach temperatures well over 100 degrees. When our attics get this hot it is very important for us to keep the hot air out of our living areas. This process of attic ventilation is the best way to cure this heat problem. This method also helps to keep the moisture level down so that you can remain comfortable in your home. Let us take some time at look at the various ventilation methods available to you.

There are homes that have what is called gable ends. This is usually located on each end of the house. You will look up close to the top of the peak and you will most likely see this vent. It comes on various sizes and shapes and is also made out of various material. These shapes usually dependent on the type of structure you are building. The reason they are located at the top of the gable is because air comes in through the soffit vents located in the soffit and rises to the top through the gable vents. As long as you have these gable vents fresh air is constantly moving throughout your attic to help it stay cool. This is a natural occurrence as long as there is nothing blocking the passageway between the rafters at the bottom close to the soffit.

Another type of ventilation is the continuous vent which is located at the ridge or peek of the roof. You see this type of vent mostly on a hip roof where gable vents are not there. But it can also be used where gable vents are present also. These vents work on the same principle as the gable vents. Hot air in the attic rises and escapes out the top through these ridge vents drawing fresh air from the soffit vents in the soffit. There are a number of different types of soffit vents available from small vents to continuous vents that run the length of the building.

There is also some mechanical means of ventilation that helps move the air through te attic. You have what is called whirlybirds that is spun by the wind movement that helps the hot air to escape from your attic. There is also electric exhaust fans that come on when the temperature at which the thermostat is set. I do not recommend these because after all we are trying too conserve energy. Try as much as you can to help your house with the natural air flow that happens due to the natural stack effect that your home has. Just remember our goal is to cool our attic so that our homes will be more easy to keep comfortable and save energy!

Happy Conserving!!!!

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: akd545 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Simple energy tips to help you put extra money in your pocket!

September 21st 2010 19:50

If everyone would try these few tips at home just think of the money and energy we would save. Maybe you need a way to save for a vacation or perhaps extra money for gifts. Trying these tips could get you on your way. Tips to conserve energy and save money. This is a fine place to start you on the green track!!!
The following tips are some tips to help you conserve and save money on energy. If
• Use compact florescent bulbs to save money on your energy bill. These cfls will last you longer than regular incandescent bulbs and doesn’t burn as much energy and produce as much heat.
• Make sure air is not leaking around your doors and windows. Caulk and weather strip whenever possible to have a tight seal.
• Make sure your water heater is up to date. You need the most efficiently operating heater that you can afford. Check the energy star rating. The older the heater the less efficient.
• Make sure your washer and dishwasher are full when you use them. It is more effective to run full loads in these appliances.
• Clean your clothes dryer lint trap after every use to help your machine run better.
• Close the damper to your fireplace during the summer.
• Check your attic, walls, and ceilings for the proper amount of insulation. Adding more could be a big plus here.
• Set your thermostat at the highest possible setting and still be comfortable. This less your unit runs the more money you save.
• Close window coverings during the summer to keep your room cool. Open them in the winter to help warm them.
• Plant trees and shrubs on the south side to help protect you from the sun in summertime.
• Fix dripping plumbing. Go through your house about twice a year to check all your faucets and other plumbing fixtures for leaks.
• Use a microwave instead of an oven when possible. The microwave uses less energy and doesn’t heat the kitchen up.
• Use lamps at desks without lighting the whole room.
• Keep your refrigerator and freezer full. Jugs of water can help fill up unused space and when frozen could help your freezer from running as much.
• Make sure outdoor lighting is turned off during the day. Install photoelectric controls to make sure this happens.
• Do not over dry your clothes in the dryer they can only get so dry.
• Wash and rinse clothes in cold or warm water instead of hot.
• Install energy efficient shower heads. The less hot water you use the less your water heater runs.
• Have your air conditioner checked for duct leaks. A lot of energy is wasted if your ducts leak into your attic.
• Turn your lights when they are not in use.
• Install storm doors at all entrances reduce air infiltration when your doors are opened.
Following these simple task and tips will help you put money in your pocket and start you on your way to becoming green!!! Happy conserving!!!!!!

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: akd545 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Choose the right appliance for a green living!

September 13th 2010 23:16

When we take a look at the inside of our home we begin to think well I sealed all of my air leaks, I just put up new weather stripping and I just checked all of my windows. I have done everything that I can think of but I still don’t see much change in my energy bill. Then you ask the question What next? Let us take a look at some things that we have grown accustomed to that we can’t hardly live with out. Those things that I am talking about are our electrical appliances big and small. There are three appliances that are very useful to the point to where we have to have them.
Refrigerators, washers, and dryers use up to 90% of the appliance energy consumed by most homes. Lets take a look at each one.

Dishwashers.
Most of the energy consumed by the dishwasher is actually consumed by the water heater. The dishwasher itself will dictate the temperature setting of the water heater. A lot of the older dishwashers have to have a setting of 130 degrees farenhieght to get your dishes clean. Most of the newer dishwashers have a small water heater to raise the temperature to 140 degrees. Dishwashers conserve energy and water when using their low and medium cycles. Also they use a lot of energy on the drying cycle. It is not a bad idea to air dry your dishes instead of your dishwasher’s drying cycle. Also wash a full load instead of 3 or 4 dishes. If you only have a few dishes why not try it by hand.

Clothes washers
In the past 20 years the efficiency of a clothes washer has really increased. Horizontal axis washers use far less water than vertical machines. Vertical machines save 50- 75% of water and energy compared to horizontal machines. This is a really big step in the way we wash clothes. The horizontal machine is considerably more expensive than the vertical machine. It will pay for itself after a few good years of usage. It would probably recover it’s own cost by saving energy and water consumption. Clothes washers often perform as well with cold water as compared to warm or hot water .To get the best results use a detergent designed for cold water. Full clothes washers work at there best. Use the water level control on the washer.(small, medium. large) Some new washers do this automatically.

Clothes dryer
Line drying laundry is the most efficient way to save energy on clothes drying. Gas dryers operate more efficiently than electric dryers Electric dryers cost on average around 30-40 cents a load compared to an average of about 15 -20 cents on average for gas. that is not a whole lot of difference. Temperature- sensing dryers as well as humidity sensing dryers will save you money over timed dyers because they cut their selves off when they reach that certain point. Cleaning the dryers filter after each use minimizes the drying time. Every few months a dryer and it’s exhaust vent needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Piping the vent with smooth rigid pipe sealed well reduces the drying time over flexible ducting. Always dry full loads to save energy . Why would you bring the dryer to it’s fullest for one pair of pants or a towel?

Refrigerators and freezers
Refrigerators and freezers are large energy consumers. They consume so much energy because the are on 365 days a year. As with all the other appliances they also have become more efficient. They have better insulation and weatherstrip, better controls, bigger coils, and better motors. The way families and individuals sue their refrigerators and freezers can make a huge difference in energy consumption. Here are a few tips to help you out.
~ Keep freezers as full as possible.
~ Minimize opening their doors.
~ Clean the coils at least once a year.

Electronics
These are small appliances but they are responsable of about 20% of our energy consumption in our home. If you do look I did one night after everyone retired for the night I got up to talk a walk around the house. What I saw really astonished me. All of my light fixture were off so I didn’t have any of the main lights on in the house. When I walked around and seen all the many different electronic that were still drawing energy I said wow! It looked like I was walking around at a carnival. There were many different color leds and small lights every where. I then begin the next day to hook all my monitors and computers and anything that was attached to them on power strips so I could turn everything off. I also done this to my tvs and sattelite boxes and anything else that were hooked to them.I hope that these few points will helpe you out in the future.
Happy Conserving!

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: akd545 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Are CFLs( compact flourescent lighting)good for our future?

September 5th 2010 20:16

I am sure that each of you reading this post has wondered or been a part of discussion about CFL’s(Compact Fluorescent Bulbs). The first question that you ask is about the price of the cfl’s compared to regular incandescent bulbs. Is it really worth the bigger price that you have to pay for cfls compared to incandescent bulbs? If every American household would replace just one of their regular incandescent bulbs with cfs the savings would be astonishing. We would save enough energy to light almost 1 million homes a year. That comes to almost $600 million dollars in yearly energy cost. This would also prevent 1 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions a year. That is almost equal to 800,000 cars

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote