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Category Archives: furnaces

Beautiful Energy Conservation – This Company, Master Remodelers, is very nice

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Look it is summer. It is 95 degrees out. I am a sailor in a calm. So yes I am kinda mailing this in. But in my defense this stuff has really turned interesting. So here is another installation of beautiful energy conservation.

http://www.masterremodelersinc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=62

Sustainability

Master Remodelers is committed to using “green” building science to maximize your energy savings and comfort and your home’s durability. Our green home remodeling efforts in Pittsburgh are on the forefront of our nation’s initiative to address climate change and lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy. We will show you how your home remodeling project or home addition can be beautiful, energy efficient and a smart investment. That’s why we proudly say that we’re about “Advancing the Art and Science of Living.” 

Take a look at our 2010 award-winning kitchen as an example and our blog on the subject for more examples of green home remodeling in Pittsburgh.

OUR CREDENTIALS

We are one of only a handful of home remodeling contractors in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania dual-certified to deliver whole house energy savings for your remodel.

YOUR BENEFITS

home energy audit shows air leaks

While your home remodeling can include new, renewable building materials that are beautiful, healthier and sustainable, our main focus is on energy conservation. This is best determined by a home energy audit. Done right, going green has many benefits:  much lower utility bills, lower mortgage rates, higher resale value… and you’ll enjoy a healthier home for you and your family. Learn more at HomeEnergy.org

(right: Our infrared camera sees leaks that you can’t)

WHAT SHADE OF GREEN?

energy_audits

In the home remodeling Design and Planning process you make decisions about how green you want to go.  “Lite green” home remodeling could mean simply better insulation and doors and windows.  Or low flow showerheads and strategically planted shade trees. Maybe add bamboo floors, recycled-content counter tops, and low VOC paint. “Deep green” could mean solar, a geothermal heat pump or complete energy independence.

Home energy audits

A great place to start your decision-making is with a home energy audit to determine your home’s current energy efficiency.  We offer three different levels of audits plus other ancillary tests to choose from. For most homes, the greatest energy leaks are in floors, walls and ceilings.  Leaky ductwork follows, and then heating and cooling systems.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

Today there are many benefits and incentives for you to go green.  Ask us about low interest loans, grants, tax credits and rebates, plus monthly utility savings.

Master_Remodelers_DifferenceCall 412-341-6585 today to set up an appointment to discuss green remodeling for your home. Or email us your questions.

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More tomorrow.

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Energy Saving Myths – Well not exactly

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What this person is arguing is that the biggest ways to save energy are the most costly thus the least likely. However, anytime you save energy you save money. Same with water, same with food and the same with transportation. Collectively those savings can pay for the bigger ticket efforts.

http://environment.change.org/blog/view/the_biggest_energy_saving_myth

The Biggest Energy Saving Myth

by Jess Leber August 16, 2010

Lots of households have experienced their own turning point on energy. That moment when one more backbreaking utility bill or that 38th sweltering summer day transforms a run-of-the-mill conscientious mother, spouse, or roommate into a certified member of the energy Gestapo. Not a stone, or a light, or a thermostat will henceforth be left unturned as the rest of the household sweats-out what they hope is a passing phase.

Yet according to a new survey, when it comes to saving energy, even the most well-intentioned of watt pinchers often get it wrong.

As The Daily Climate reports, most Americans (40 percent of survey respondents) mistakenly believe the best way to save energy is to turn off the lights or raise the thermostat. Essentially, people think the best option is to change their behavior and cut the waste from their lives. But while these actions may indeed be the easiest and cheapest way to save energy, they are certainly not the most effective. Experts have long-known that it’s long-term investments in energy efficiency — whether in home insulation, washing machines or cars — that best do the trick. Unfortunately, only about 10 percent of survey respondents identified such measures as the single most effective action they could take.

There’s one big barrier to these huge energy-savings: the upfront cost. A homeowner must take a fairly long-term view to realize the payoff of home weatherization investments, for example. In the realm of home mortgages, car loans, and college degrees, people are used to the idea of delayed gratification. But for saving energy? It seems not quite yet.

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Go read the rest of the article and sign the petitions to the right. It is well worth your time. More tomorrow.

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Cutting Home Energy Costs – Something that is easy to do

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Save Energy – Save Money. That is the mantra of Communty Energy Systems.

http://www.powerscorecard.org/reduce_energy.cfm
Reduce Your Energy Consumption

Twenty Things You Can Do to Conserve Energy

Conserving energy, by taking actions like insulating/weatherstripping your home and purchasing Energy Star certified (high efficiency) appliances, is usually the smartest, most economical and most potent environmental action you can take. Cleaner, greener energy supplies may provide the cleanest supplies of needed electricity, but minimizing the energy we need is still the first step to take before selecting the cleanest, greenest supplies.

Whenever you save energy, you not only save money, you also reduce the demand for such fossil fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas. Less burning of fossil fuels also means lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to global warming, and other pollutants.

You do not have to do without to achieve these savings. There is now an energy efficient alternative for almost every kind of appliance or light fixture. That means that consumers have a real choice and the power to change their energy use on a revolutionary scale.

The average American produces about 40,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. Together, we use nearly a million dollars worth of energy every minute, night and day, every day of the year. By exercising even a few of the following steps, you can cut your annual emissions by thousands of pounds and your energy bills by a significant amount!

Home improvements

Consider some of these energy-saving investments. They save money in the long run, and their CO2 savings can often be measured in tons per year. Energy savings usually have the best payback when made at the same time you are making other major home improvements.

  • Insulate your walls and ceilings. This can save 20 to 30 percent of home heating bills and reduce CO2 emissions by 140 to 2100 pounds per year. If you live in a colder climate, consider superinsulating. That can save 5.5 tons of CO2 per year for gas-heated homes, 8.8 tons per year for oil heat, or 23 tons per year for electric heat. (If you have electric heat, you might also consider switching to more efficient gas or oil.)
  • Modernize your windows. Replacing all your ordinary windows with argon filled, double-glazed windows saves 2.4 tons of CO2 per year for homes with gas heat, 3.9 tons of oil heat, and 9.8 tons for electric heat.
  • Plant shade trees and paint your house a light color if you live in a warm climate, or a dark color if you live in a cold climate. Reductions in energy use resulting from shade trees and appropriate painting can save up to 2.4 tons of CO2 emissions per year. (Each tree also directly absorbs about 25 pounds of CO2 from the air annually.)
  • Weatherize your home or apartment, using caulk and weather stripping to plug air leaks around doors and windows. Caulking costs less than $1 per window, and weather stripping is under $10 per door. These steps can save up to 1100 pounds of CO2 per year for a typical home. Ask your utility company for a home energy audit to find out where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. This service may be provided free or at low cost. Make sure it includes a check of your furnace and air conditioning.

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    There are many more tips at that site. Please go there and read more. Get going today. More tomorrow.

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    Household Energy Consumption – How much do you use..

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    Here is what the government thinks:

    http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/appliances/index.cfm/mytopic=10040

    Typical Wattages of Various Appliances

    Here are some examples of the range of nameplate wattages for various household appliances:

    • Aquarium = 50–1210 Watts
    • Clock radio = 10
    • Coffee maker = 900–1200
    • Clothes washer = 350–500
    • Clothes dryer = 1800–5000
    • Dishwasher = 1200–2400 (using the drying feature greatly increases energy consumption)
    • Dehumidifier = 785
    • Electric blanket- Single/Double = 60 / 100
    • Fans
      • Ceiling = 65–175
      • Window = 55–250
      • Furnace = 750
      • Whole house = 240–750
    • Hair dryer = 1200–1875
    • Heater (portable) = 750–1500
    • Clothes iron = 1000–1800
    • Microwave oven = 750–1100
    • Personal computer
      • CPU – awake / asleep = 120 / 30 or less
      • Monitor – awake / asleep = 150 / 30 or less
      • Laptop = 50
    • Radio (stereo) = 70–400
    • Refrigerator (frost-free, 16 cubic feet) = 725
    • Televisions (color)
      • 19″ = 65–110
      • 27″ = 113
      • 36″ = 133
      • 53″-61″ Projection = 170
      • Flat screen = 120
    • Toaster = 800–1400
    • Toaster oven = 1225
    • VCR/DVD = 17–21 / 20–25
    • Vacuum cleaner = 1000–1440
    • Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500–5500
    • Water pump (deep well) = 250–1100
    • Water bed (with heater, no cover) = 120–380

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    More tomorrow.

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    Cool Interactive Sketch Of A House – I do not know if I can get it up

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    This is a first for me. I found this cool house done by Georgia State University’s Physics Department. I do not know if the Interactive part of it will hold because my HTML skills are nonexistent, but if not please go to the site below and play with it.

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    http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/houseenergy.html

    Household Energy Use

    This is an active graphic. Click on any energy use for details. When the need to conserve energy in your house is considered, then the focus should be mainly on heating and cooling processes. They are the major uses of energy. Hot water heating is also a sizable use of energy, as is the cooking process with surface unit and oven. The use of energy by a refrigerator is significant, and the lighting process for a whole house becomes a significant energy use. Electronic appliances on the whole use a small amount of energy, and are not a major part of energy conservation initiatives.
    Comment on energy cost Energy units
    Table of insulation R-values
    		Index

    Heat transfer concepts

    Heat transfer examples
    HyperPhysics***** Thermodynamics R Nave
    		Go Back

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    More tomorrow.

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    Residential Geothermal Is The Way To Go – Damn the cost…full speed ahead

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    One of the best purveyors of geothermal in the country and it is right next door in Fort Wayne.

    Save energy with water furnace, geothermal, or geoexchange systems.

    Choosing a Residential WaterFurnace Comfort System Is Simply Smarter

    WaterFurnace manufactures and sells more geothermal systems for homes than anyone else in the business. Why? Because we offer a wide variety of residential geothermal products. Our dealers and installers are the most highly trained in the industry. And we are wholeheartedly committed to customer support. All that makes us the first—and smartest—choice for a residential WaterFurnace system: the system that’s “Smarter from the Ground Up.”

    Geothermal vs. Ground Water vs. Water Furnace
    Geothermal energy has been used to heat and air condition buildings for several decades, and, during that time, these geothermal systems have been called many different things. Some of the more popular variations include geo-thermal, geoexchange, ground-water, ground-water assisted, ground-water-source, water-to-water, and even our company name, water furnace heating and cooling.

    All of these terms, though, convey the same thought: use of geothermal heat pump technology to tap the energy in the earth’s surface and drive a heating and air conditioning system for both residential and commercial uses. The result is a green or natural heat pump that saves energy and benefits the environment.

    For more information on geothermal technology, go to How it works.

    Geothermal Heat Pumps
    Cleanest, Safest, Most Reliable choice.
    Savings Calculator
    Keep more of what you earn.
    Literature
    Product Brochures & Technical Literature

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    More tomorrow

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    The Intelligent Optimist – Who knew

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    Pretty cool magazine and pretty cool article:

    http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/64/passive-power-house/

    Passive House: Super energy efficient housing

    Ursula Sautter | June/July 2009 issue

    The Smith House, in Urbana, Illinois, “has a simple, compact shape that conserves energy,” says its architect, Katrin Klingenberg.
    Photo: Passive House Institute US

    How a new kind of home which produces more energy than it consumes, can drastically reduce fuel bills and CO2 emissions. Governments around the world are scrambling to address the twin crises of our times—the recession and climate change—by investing in infrastructure and green energy projects. The Obama administration’s stimulus package, for example, contains billions in incentives for alternative power sources and energy-efficiency increases affecting millions of homes. The question is how to identify “shovel-ready” projects that can quickly deliver the economic boost and CO2 reductions we so urgently need. Rolf Disch, an architect and environmentalist in Freiburg, Germany, has an answer: houses that produce more energy than they consume.

    “What if each house became a power plant, if it created even more energy than it used internally?” Disch, 65, first asked himself 15 years ago. To design that home, he built on the ideas of the “passive house” movement that started in Europe in the early 1990s. Instead of relying on the electricity grid for power, a passive house taps available energy sources—sunlight, the body heat of occupants, even the thermal gains created by ordinary domestic activities such as cooking, bathing and using electrical appliances. The building is well-insulated and airtight so it retains most of this energy and, through highly efficient heat-exchange ventilation technology, uses it to cool itself in summer and heat itself in winter. The houses are called “passive” because most of the power consumed is collected from ambient energy in the environment. When extra juice is needed, renewable power units supply it, like the solar array on the roof of the residential and commercial complex Disch built in Freiburg in 2004.

    “I only ever had to switch on the heating once,” says Stefan Sattler, a 32-year-old lawyer who has rented a penthouse in the Disch-designed complex since October of 2007. Even then, Sattler only needed the extra heat—purchased from the local heating grid—for two or three hours. Since he and his fellow residents sell the surplus energy produced by the building’s solar panels back to the city’s utility provider at a profit, Sattler is one of the few people who opens his utility bills with real glee. He’s earning money from solar power rather than paying for oil or gas. The average unit in the Freiburg complex earns $5,075 a year this way instead of spending $4,625.

    Passive homes can save consumers a bundle in fuel bills—and the planet even more in CO2 emissions. According to the German Passive House Institute (PHI), founded by physicist Wolfgang Feist, who co-created the passive house concept, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 90 percent compared to average homes, up to 75 percent compared to newer buildings. While an existing home uses some 160 kilowatt-hours in heating energy per square meter of living space (kwH/m2) annually, residences built to the passive house standard use a maximum 15 kwH/m2.

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    More Tomorrow

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    Residential Energy Audits – You have to start somewhere

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    Anytime is a good time to check out your domicile for energy consumption. Much of this can be simpler than people let on. Yes, there are differences between renters and homeowners. I think that everyone should do it EVEN if you do not pay your own bills. Maybe especially if you do not pay your bills. Somebody does. The point is that ALL energy is valuable if you are concerned about the health of the planet. Americans are energy hogs that need to go on a diet. There are websites that will help you do an audit. Your utility will probably do an audit for a small fee. There is even software out there that will do the audit and keep track of your energy use afterwards so you can see the effects of you energy saving efforts. I will cover all of that.

    The first step is getting vary familiar with you energy environment and this is as simple as a piece of paper and a slender candle. Step one is to make a complete list of the energy using devices. This includes your furnace, your air conditioner, your major appliance, and even some minor appliances. On that paper write down the age of each appliance, the condition of each appliance and your guess as to how much of your energy load that device consumes. Please check the furnace and the air conditioning filters, especially if you just moved in. They need to be clean and that could be your first job.

    http://www.fypower.org/res/energyaudit/diy.html

    Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audit

    You can easily conduct a home energy audit yourself. With a simple but diligent walk-through, you can spot many problems in any type of house.

    When auditing your home, keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you found. This list will help you prioritize your energy efficiency upgrades.

    The following text comes from “A Consumer’s Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,” which is at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.

    Heating & Cooling Equipment

    Inspect heating and cooling equipment annually, or as recommended by the manufacturer. If you have a forced-air furnace, check your filters and replace them as needed. Generally, you should change them about once every month or two, especially during periods of high usage. Have a professional check and clean your equipment once a year.

    Replace Old Equipment

    Furnace

    If the unit is more than 15 years old, you should consider replacing your system with one of the newer, energy-efficient units. A new unit would greatly reduce your energy consumption, especially if the existing equipment is in poor condition. Check your ductwork for dirt streaks, especially near seams. These indicate air leaks, and they should be sealed with a duct mastic. Insulate any ducts or pipes that travel through unheated spaces. An insulation R-value of 6 is the recommended minimum.

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    There are many places on the web that can help you with this.

    http://www.diynetwork.com/topics/energy-saving/index.html

    Here is a tip that they won’t tell you. Call your HVAC and Appliance Dealer and ask them questions. If you don’t have an HVAC person and a local appliance dealer that you can trust, find one. You need to know this stuff in case of an emergency. If you are a renter ask your landlord who they use and let them know you are interested in saving energy. They should appreciate that. Once you determine who they are (ask for friends recommendations, compare prices etc.) then call them and ask them about your equipment and energy savings differences between what you have and what you could have. Also ask them about percentages of usage between your different equipment.

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    If you live in Springfield and you want an audit done for you CWLP offers one cheap and if you follow their recommendations they will rebate the cost.

    http://www.cwlp.com/energy_services/ESO_services_programs/home_energy_audit.htm

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    Weatherization – I hate this topic

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    Well this is a fine kettle of fish. First I wrote  a post for Friday and did not post it…wow that is a major blogging blunder. Second, the topic for the near future sucks. Weatherization should be a topic deader than a door nail. Obsolete. This was a HOT topic in the 1970s, but this is 40 years later. Yet everyone still lives in drafty inefficient houses. Why? Because of the Utility Companies greed. Oh that could be. Because the Government subsidizes energy costs. Oh that could be too…Because Americans are lazy, fain helplessness and love to throw energy around like it was play money. Oh that too. Still, since it is fall and I am a Google slut:

    http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/weatherization/

    Weatherization Guide

    What’s at Stake? More

    Not since the days of the oil crisis in the 1970’s have Americans been so focused on energy consumption, especially weatherization. Just as the cost of heating and cooling has risen, so has the awareness of just how much energy seeps out of an average home every day. Central to this discussion is the role of older and historic buildings – and making them more energy efficient without jeopardizing their unique character.

     

    Start with An Audit – The Good Kind More

    AuditsWhy A Home Energy Audit?
    The first step in upping your home’s energy efficiency is knowing exactly where its problems areas are located. Afraid of the unknown? Don’t be! Knowledge is power, and a thorough, top-to-bottom home energy audit will equip you with everything you need to weatherize your older or historic home the right way.  Read More »
    More Resources

     

    Windows More

    WindowsFrom Gothic masterpieces to the colorful details of stained glass, original windows help tell the special stories of our older and historic homes. However, despite their character-defining contributions, they are a commonly – and quite often inaccurately – labeled as energy drains that should be thrown out and replaced. Use this section of our guide to learn how you can keep your old windows, achieve energy efficiency, and be “green” in the process.  Read More »

    More Resources

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    Weatherization Tips for a More Energy Efficient Home

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    Weatherization Tips for a More Energy Efficient Home

    • First, test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weatherstripping.
    • Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.
    • Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits over cabinets.
    • Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.
    • Look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes where air leaks into and out of your house. You can seal the holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic.
    • Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with double-pane windows. Storm windows as much as double the R-value of single-pane windows and they can help reduce drafts, water condensation, and frost formation. As a less costly and less permanent alternative, you can use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Remember, the plastic must be sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.
    • When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes—24 hours a day!
    • For new construction, reduce exterior wall leaks by either installing house wrap, taping the joints of exterior sheathing, or comprehensively caulking and sealing the exterior walls

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    Here is why I have always had so much trouble with this field…When does weatherization become new construction…Installing new windows is pretty major…but windows are where you start because they have an R value of 1. I personally recommend taking all the windows you can live without in the winter “out of service”. Stuff them with insulation and cover them with thick plastic of better yet decorated plywood or R board.

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    A Volkswagen In Every Basement? What are you offloading

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    This was an eye catching headline and hundreds of bloggers posted it. But what are they really accomplishing here. If the people have electric water heaters maybe they are accomplishing something. If the people have gas water heaters then the impact is much less. You have off loaded an inefficient gas heater for an efficient one. But if you installed a solar water heater well…then you would be doing something. This is just a publicity stunt…AND apparently it worked:

    http://www.afp.com/afpcom/en/

    http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/284909,volkswagen-plan-would-rev-up-power-for-apartments.html

    Volkswagen plan would rev up power for apartments

    by Aurelia End Aurelia End – Wed Sep 9, 11:06 am ET

    Salzgitter,Germany – Automotive giant Volkswagen and a small German power company unveiled Wednesday a plan to build up to 100,000 mini power stations in apartment house basements. The generators would run off more or less the same natural-gas- powered engines as those that currently drive some

    Volkswagen Golf cars. Exhaust heat from the engines would warm up water for showers and central heating.“It’s a true revolution in the electricity business,” said Christian Friege, chief executive of Lichtblick, a small “green energy” supplier to homes and offices which teamed up with
    Volkswagen for the project. The plan, sealed with an agreement at Volkswagen’s Salzgitter factory in northern Germany, is a challenge to big utilities that generate power with huge steam turbines driven by nuclear or coal heat. Germany’s infrastructure could help make the plan a reality, with gas, mostly drilled in Siberia, already being piped to most city streets in Germany. Volkswagen said the “green” internal-combustion engines it has developed for cars were quiet enough to operate in building basements and emitted 60 per cent less carbon dioxide than comparable thermal power plants. Lichtblick, based in Hamburg, is a company with 550,000 customers and a focus on supplying non-nuclear electricity. Engineers said the key to the system’s success would be a home power station’s efficiency, with up to 94 per cent of the energy in the gas used for heating or to make electricity, whereas gas-fired power plants only use 40 to 60 per cent..

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    This was YAHOO’s take on it:

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090909/ts_afp/germanyclimatewarmingtechnologycompanylichtblickvw_20090909151116

    Home power plants project unveiled in Germany

     

    Home power plants project unveiled in Germany

    AFP/DDP – A technician of German automaker Volkswagen’s adjusts a mini gas-fired power plant at the VW plant …

    by Aurelia End Aurelia End – Wed Sep 9, 11:06 am ET

    BERLIN (AFP) – An ambitious project was unveiled in Germany on Wednesday to install mini gas-fired power plants in people’s basements and produce as much electricity as two nuclear reactors within a year.

    The Hamburg-based renewable energy group Lichtblick and its automaker partner Volkswagen say the plants would produce not only heating and hot water but also electricity, with any excess power fed into the local grid.

    The two firms said the concept of “SchwarmStrom” (literally, “swarm power”) would allow Germany to abandon nuclear and coal power stations sooner and help compensate for the volatility of renewables like wind and solar power.

    The plants also reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions by up to 60 percent compared to conventional heat and electricity generation, they added in a joint statement.

    In the coming year the programme will install 100,000 of the mini plants, producing between them 2,000 megawatts of electricity, the same as two nuclear plants, Lichtblick and VW said.

    “SchwarmStrom is revolutionising power production in Germany. It clears the way for more renewable energy and an exit from power from nuclear and coal,” the statement added.

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    These people ran it too:

    http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/09/10/0246238

    http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20090909-21821.htmlhttp://www.france24.com/en/20090909-home-power-plants-project-unveiled-germany

    http://www.german-info.com/press_shownews.php?pos=Economy&pid=1600

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