Posts Tagged ‘Energy Consumption’

As Earth Day 2006 passes, there seems to be good news on the environmental scene, which should come as welcome change to anyone concerned about the state of our Earth. That’s in stark contrast to the first Earth Day, back in 1970.

Earth Day 2006 saw lakes in New England beginning to rebound from their sorry condition after being bombarded by acid rain for decades. The acid rain itself has decreased, as well, and the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that comprise most of our air pollution have diminished by some 50 percent–due in no small part to the fact that the burning of leaded gas is virtually a thing of the past.

Environmentalists have also been encouraged to discover that a number of endangered species, including America’s national symbol, the bald eagle, as well as wolves and grizzly bears, have begun making a promising comeback. All of that good news is even more significant when you compare today’s environment to the way things were on the first Earth Day.

In Ohio, the Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it actually caught fire. In New York, all of the residents of a neighborhood called Love Canal were forced to move away forever when it was discovered that their homes had been built upon a toxic chemical waste dump. Pollution in cities was so bad that residents were told to stay inside because the air was actually hazardous to breathe during “code red” days.

The interesting thing is that the environmental improvements took place in spite of increased pressure in America. For instance, EPA statistics show that the total emissions of the six major air pollutants dropped by more than 50 percent, even though America’s population increased by 40 percent and energy consumption increased by 47 percent. Automobile hydrocarbon emissions also decreased during that time, despite the fact that both the number of vehicles and amount of miles driven more than doubled.

All in all, it appears as if America is headed in the right direction in regard to the environment. It’s been a fierce, hand-to-hand battle, but the country is moving forward, thanks to dedicated environmentalists and bureaucrats at all levels of government.

However, even though American rivers don’t catch fire anymore and the smog levels have decreased in most major cities, there’s still a long way to go. Urban sprawl is still endangering woodlands, prairies, and farmland, and global warming is still on the rise. Even so, the overall trend is positive. But we must all work to continue the momentum set in motion by the first Earth Day in 1970.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

www.globalchange.com Cement production responsible for 7% global co2 emissions, 1 ton of concrete uses 1 ton of carbon, impact of real estate construction industry on global warming. Development of property, energy saving, life expectancy of buildings. Longevity extensions. Making buildings last longer before demolition. Lifetime energy consumption. Building regulations and government action to reduce global warming. Building offices, factories, high rise tower blocks, commercial real estate, schools, colleges, hosptals and homes, apartments and flats. Alternatives to concrete. E-crete polymer concrete. Expect widespread use in future of geoplymers such as E-crete, a product using power station waste, developed by Jannie Van Deventer, a chemical engineer at the University of Melbourne, and founder of Zeobond. If we replaced half the world’s concrete production with e-crete it would save a billion tons of carbon dioxide in the next decade alone. E-crete is just one of thousands of examples of new innovation we can expect over the next five to ten years…. representing tens of thousands of new business opportunities, and billions of dollars of new revenues. Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business. Concrete, e-crete, energy saving, construction industry, global warming, carbon emissions, energy consumption, lifetime energy, demolition, polymer, ash, power …

Green home energy designs have become a fascinating scenario on the world’s building design market. The earth has been degraded over the past years due to the use of fossil fuels as a source of energy for heating and lighting at home. Try to consider some of these tips and ideas that are in this article. Let us all work hard towards saving mother earth and make this place a better home. 

The design of your house is very important when it comes to energy use and consumption. 

Green Home Energy Building Ideas  

The materials used in building the house should be those that prevent extra use of energy in terms of heating and lighting. The design must allow enough light to enter within the building during the day. Properly inserted window layers may be useful in this case. Assembling and processing of the materials is also useful. Use material that consumes less energy when it comes to processing, for example; wood. Solar systems designs are also useful in order to achieve this. Use natural heating and lighting systems. Some materials absorb enough heat during the day and trap in a lot of heat inside. Well ventilated buildings reduce the costs of air-conditioning. 

Well, why not start to save mother earth today! Get all the information required when it comes to building an environmentally friendly building. Get the DIY solar and wind installation energy systems for home and get all the best for green home energy.

What You Will Discover in this DIY Energy Guide on Solar Panel How To?

Today, I am going to talk about “What makes a beautiful and green home”.

Green has many meanings to many people. Some say, its a color and some say “it’s about our planet Earth”. And they all are right in their respective terminology. But with the current initiatives taken at various levels… for me Green is now increasingly about our environment. Yes, all those keywords like “Global warming”, “Solar”, “Wind power”, Hydro electric” etc it “ALL” boils down to environment friendly energy and more about “Environment Friendly Home”. Your Home. YES, now is a greater chance for all of us to participate and contribute in creating a Green, Environment Friendly Home. Did you notice, just few years back, you imagined that you had nothing to do with environment. And now, with new global initiatives you can be part of it, starting to contribute your few cents towards it.

So with that said, now a days, it all starts with your own home. We talk about installing a SOLAR panel. Agreed, its good. But before we do that, let us answer this question HONESTLY. As a home owner, how responsible we are to create a energy efficient home? What responsibility you have taken in your own home, in order to say proudly “YES, I am contributing in creating a energy efficient home”. If the answer to this question is YES, then probably your answer to following questions is YES as well. Please check out…

1>Do you switch OFF the lights in your rooms, when rooms are NOT occupied?
2>Do you switch OFF your air circulating systems (including FAN, AC, Heaters), when rooms are NOT occupied?
3>Do you turn OFF your TV, DVD, Video player, Audio system, when you are not watching/listening the program?
4>Do you turn OFF the sprinklers, when they are NOT in use?
5>Do your appliances go “Auto Off” mode, when NOT in use?
6>Do you have energy efficient dimmers, to control the energy consumption?
7>Does the HOT water keep running, when you really can suffice with cold water?
8>Does your water faucet keep dripping for NO reason?
9>Does the shower keep dripping for NO reason?
10>How about the laundry loads? Do we manage loads efficiently, so we dont have to RUN a second load?
11>How about the Vacuum cleaner? Is it being used efficiently?
12>Hope, Grills are running efficiently too.

So the point is, to contribute to our planet EARTH and environment, DOES NOT necessarily mean, shelling OUT few bucks and start installing panels. But, it can start with few baby steps.

Above precaution and measures could be your baby step towards a energy efficient home of your…

For more information, please feel free to click following link.

http://www.bedroom-kitchen-living-design-decoration.com/

- Raklosip

It’s time to make changes in our lifestyle to protect our environment. And what better than choosing to buy a “green” home to help for this cause. There are a few thinks which you have to keep in mind when you plan to buy a green home.

Location: Green home should not be built in areas that are environmentally sensitive like farmlands, wetlands or forest reserves. The best options for green home construction are former shopping mall areas, rail yards, factories etc. The home should be easily accessible by public transportation like buses, metro or subways. This way you can walk to the station and leave your cars at home, thereby saving fuel and creating less pollution. Not only this, green homes should be in an area which has easy access to shopping area, hospitals, schools etc. You can either walk or bicycle to these places and cut down on energy consumption to a great extent. Size: Bigger homes consume more power as they need more energy to heat or cool the entire house. So if you are looking for a green home, you should opt for smaller homes. Building design: The house should be built in such a way that it allows plenty of sunlight into the house. More natural daylight will reduce lighting requirements.  Plenty of windows and skylights can be used to achieve this. You should have plenty of shady trees on the outside of the house in order to protect your house from getting warm in hot weather. The warmer the house gets, the more energy will be required to cool it.  Sunshades or canopies can also be used to provide shade. Make sure that the roof is light colored so that it will absorb lesser heat thereby keeping the house cooler. Building material: You should use low-VOC paint to paint your house. This paint is healthier and less toxic. Non-toxic material like strawboard can be used for sub-flooring. Bamboo can be used to replace wood as it is renewable and also looks good. Energy units: Make sure that the HVAC unit installed in your house is an efficient one which uses less energy. Windows and exterior doors should have energy star rating. Check the windows to make sure that they are their openings are sealed properly to ensure less heat gain in summer and less heat loss in winter. Renewable energy: You can use photovoltaic systems to generate energy on your own. Photovoltaics (PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting sun energy (sunlight, including sun ultra violet radiation) directly into electricity. You can use Home lighting Systems which are powered by solar energy using solar cells that convert solar energy (sunlight) directly to electricity. The electricity is stored in batteries and used for the purpose of lighting whenever required. You can also install water turbine in your backyard to generate your own electricity to protect the environment.

Green home electronics are not new; the concept has been around since at least the 1970s. In fact, Thomas Edison’s rival, the little-known but far more brilliant Nikola Tesla was experimenting with technologies over a century ago that today’s manufacturers of energy efficient electronics are only now beginning to rediscover and understand. (What a different place the world would be today if Tesla had been taken more seriously!)

From intelligent thermostats and systems that shut down the lights when people leave the room to automated security systems that allow homeowners to watch over their property from remote locations via the World Wide Web, there are green electronic solutions for almost every home issue.

Rising Awareness

Despite the information put out by the mainstream media, people are increasingly understanding that we live on a planet with finite resources – and through the increased use of energy efficient electronics, are taking matters into their own hands where their leaders have failed. It is easy today to find a plethora of energy efficient electronics for almost every need imaginable. The advantage of these green electronic solutions are twofold: they enable consumers to reduce their carbon footprint by saving energy while at the same time reduce their energy costs.

One of the most popular systems is the intelligent thermostat that controls the temperature and comfort levels of rooms individually, automatically compensating for various times of the day and other parameters. Just having an intelligent thermostat in your home can save a family hundreds of dollars a year. In addition, these types of energy efficient electronics can even provide reports of your energy consumption levels, making it easier to identify were resources are being wasted.

Other energy saving electronics can be installed that control lighting, drapes and curtains and virtually anything  else you can think of.

Such green home electronics are not only for the inside, of course; green electronic solutions that control sprinkler system and exterior lighting systems in response to changing conditions are also increasingly popular. If you are building a new home or renovating a new one, you owe it to yourself and the planet to see what kinds of green home electronics are available today.

Rising production costs and fierce competition is resulting in manufacturing companies looking at all aspects of savings, especially energy savings.

Spray nozzles of the right specification can lead to significant savings in both energy and raw materials.

One of the overlooked areas is the use of the correct spray nozzle. Whilst frequently ignored in the manufacturing process, it is often this item of equipment that is the most important. Header tanks, pumps sophisticated controls, pipe work are all immaterial if the spray nozzle “at the sharp end” is not delivering the right amount of fluid (flow rate) at the correct spray angle and with the right spray pattern. This can lead to excessive wear on the pumps and ancillary equipment resulting in higher energy consumption and related costs.

The phrase it sprays, is often used, but how effectively is often not considered.

In addition to these more obvious savings there are a many “hidden” savings to be made.

Expensive down time and failed equipment could be contributed to poor nozzle performance.

Production lines designed to operate continuously are expensive items if shut down owing to badly performing spray nozzles and this failure could affect the total production plant with the resulting unsuccessful distribution to customers, which in turn may affect their production.

All this from the wrong or poor performing spray nozzle!!

The correct spray configuration is essential to maximise the spraying operation and continuous spray nozzle development will lead to greater beneficial savings.

In addition, the wrong or worn out spray nozzle will eventually lead to poor finished products and possible rejection of expensive products. This could result in extra production to make good these shortfalls, with the resulting increase in energy costs. All this will reduce profit margins.

Initial investment will be required to introduce the correct nozzle, but payback can probably be counted in months and in some case weeks.

As an ongoing maintenance program, substantial savings will be made by regular inspection and maintenance of the spray operation and possible replacement when nozzles become worn, through blockages, corrosion, wear and accidental damage

Regular maintenance of the spray nozzles must be undertaken to ensure the nozzles have optimum spray performance.

All nozzle configurations should be analysed on a regular basis to ensure that the spray pattern, flow and operating pressure cannot be improved upon, possibly with new nozzle technology, or the fact that the application process has not changed. The latter being the case then a new specification should be sought.

As well as energy savings, raw material savings must also be taken into consideration and it is feasible to experience water reduction of up to 40% in certain industries and spray nozzle applications.

Also to be taken into consideration must be the application where the spray fluid is not water, but more expensive chemicals or fluids. With correct nozzle design even greater savings may be achieved.

Energy savings can be made in pump operation and it some case it is possible to reduce the number of pressure pumps, thereby saving considerable operating costs and associated maintenance cost.

To summarise, energy savings, raw material savings and a reduction in the wear and tear of other equipment can all be experienced if the correct spray nozzle is specified.

The specification must include nozzle material, spray angle, spray pattern, flow and pressure. With all these set correctly a regular maintenance programme should be undertaken. With the correct specification and maintenance schedule then energy and raw material savings can be expected.

Do you want to learn how to reduce energy consumption and bills using energy saving houses? Natural energy sources have been used for a long time to do many things such as the use of windmills to supply water to households. They have also been used for milling grains in the early 12th century in many different industries.

1. Why Should You Start Considering Using Renewable Energy Systems?

Due to rapidly rising costs that are expected to continue going up in the future as well as the many environmental and health issues that carbon emissions have been causing, more and more people are starting to look more seriously into the field of alternative energy.

As the future potential demand is expected to rise further and the number of natural disasters become more frequent, it is starting to become clear that we need to start doing something before it is too late.

2. Making Energy Saving Houses With Wind Turbines

It is not an easy job to do unless you find the right blueprints online, which I am glad to say that I have managed to do it after lots of searching around the Internet. There are many different alternative sources of energy that can be harnessed at home, but the most feasible ones today are solar and wind energy. Wind can be harnessed by building wind turbines and windmills whereas solar energy can be harnessed using solar panels.

3. How To Reduce Energy Consumption and Bills Fast Using Alternative Energy Systems?

I personally downloaded a step by step blueprint that showed me the diagrams and materials I needed to gather to start assembling the system. Overall, I spent about less than $200 and got my systems running within a couple of days. A battery system can also be set up according to how much investment you intend to put into the project and the amount of power you want to harness out of it.

Summertime is here and kids are out of school, so it is the perfect time for parents and kids to get serious about our environment and keeping it a safe and beautiful place to enjoy for many years to come.

According to a recent article in THE Journal by Chris Riedel entitled, “Green Schools: The Color of Money” school districts have finally discovered that going green can mean financial rewards.

It is not just about turning off lights, changing light bulbs or shutting off idle computers — it is about rethinking the way things are done at every level from companies, to schools, or even at home.

Schools need to analyze everything from natural gas and electricity use to heating and air conditioning systems, along with maintenance and construction procedures. It is important for any organization to develop long-term plans.

The Taunton Public Schools called in a group known as Energy Education, who helps develop energy conservation programs for U.S. school districts with the goal of converting dollars spent on energy to dollars spent on education. Tis group was retained to help find ways to decrease its energy consumption and their bottom line.

One interesting example mentioned in the article; typical school vending machines cost up to $450 a year to run, but by using a motion sensor that shuts down the machine’s compressor when there is no activity, schools can save up to two-thirds with each machine, and most schools districts have from 40 to 50 vending machines.

In just two years, the Energy Education program helped Taunton save more than $660,000 in energy costs, including costs on electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water. Everything from disabling vending machine lights to managing irrigation played a role in savingsand our environment.

Students everywhere in schools across the country are also beginning to get the message about taking responsibility for helping to save the planet. To help parerets out, following is a list of environmentally inspired websites for kids to take a look at this summer:

Environmental Education for Kids is an online magazine for grades four to eight created by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which has short articles and activities about animals, and plants.

- EPA Student Center – This Environmental Protection Agency site includes information on a wide range of environmental issues. Kids can click on “Fun Activities” to play environmental games.

- Be, Live, Buy Different – A project of the World Wildlife Fund and the Center for a New American Dream, the site was created to inform young people about how everything we buy and use affects biodiversity. Take the Buy-O-Diversity Quiz!

- The Green Squad – An NRDC website that’s also available in Spanish shows you how to identify and solve environmental problems. You can can explore a colorful virtual school room by room, and use the mouse to locate potential hazards. Teachers and parents will find the site useful as it offers a wide range of resources.

- The Greens – Izz and Dex are green animated characters that not only have green skin, but they have lots of great ideas about protecting the planet. Visit this site to watch short cartoons about environmental issues Nature Challenge for Kids.

Nature Challenge for Kids – a David Suzuki Foundation website place for all kinds of fun activities starting with ten simple ways you can protect nature.

Remember to join community projects this summer in your town to help pick up garbage at the beach, or simply at a nearby park. Teaching our children about the importance of the environment is a job that both parents and teachers must share — at home and at school.

The LEED® for Homes program is the premier evaluators of green construction practices nationwide. A LEED certification is an important distinction for a green home to earn, but what are the real differences between a LEED certified green home and a home built with regular construction techniques? Here are the top 4:

1) Over-Kill – LEED is attempting to reduce and eliminate the amount of over-kill in home construction. Over kill is the utilization and installation of over-sized equipment in home construction such as heating and cooling equipment, over-sized lumber for rafters and floor joists. In the past, it was assumed that using bigger heating and cooling units than the minimum standards was a good rule of thumb. Those assumptions have been re-worked in LEED homes to provide the right size equipment for the home.

2) Lower Energy Consumption – LEED homes require far less energy to run and have dramatically lower energy costs. Sometimes getting those savings can present a challenge. State and local code have minimum BTU requirements based on square footage and cubic foot. These minimum requirements have not been updated in a while. There are now new technologies that can heat and cool the same space with less energy consumption. The problem lies in getting the code enforcement to allow the new equipment to be placed into use before the code is updated.

3) Right-Sized Rooms – LEED homes are designed from the start to be less wasteful of building material. However, some things are not so easy to change. An example is the commercial manufacturing of lumber. Lumber is manufactured in standard lengths starting at 8 foot and increasing in 2 foot increments.

But LEED homes can be designed to overcome these limitations and reduce the amount of lumber that is wasted. Therefore, more thought is given to the design of the home. For example, it would be wasteful to design a room with odd dimensions such as 13 foot by 17 foot. It would be better and far less wasteful to make that room 14 foot by 18 foot and use standard lumber lengths.

4) Orientation – In the past very little consideration was given to the placement of the home within the subdivision other than profit. With LEED, other aspects of the home are taken into consideration. Some of these characteristics are:

The direction that the home’s roof and walls face Angle of the roof how many homes per acre (or density) how close the home or subdivision is to public transportation amount of access to parks, industry, shopping, and interstate highways

This makes the design process much more lengthy and intense, while enhancing the outcome. The homes are much more desirable, as a result, while having a positive impact on the environment.

In short, LEED efforts to reduce over-kill, energy consumption, and wasteful practices, while encouraging minimal impact on the environment leads to better quality of living for everyone.