It May Be Time to Replace Those Drafty Windows
Windows are the openings to the world. They provide light and style to a house or an office.
There are many types of windows on the market. If a home owner has an old house and wants to add a personal touch to it they can replace the windows with new, more efficient ones.
The same goes for your business. Installing new windows in your office building or commercial property is the best way to upgrade your building and save money on heating and cooling.
Selecting the proper window will not only make one’s space look better but it can also save you a lot of money in the long run. Replacing windows not only adds resale value to a house but also decreases heating and cooling costs for future. With so many brands and designs, whether residential or commercial requirement, you should shop around for the best prices and values.
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Renewable Energy Solutions
With the world slowly moving to the much-dreaded energy crisis, it is important that we reduce our dependency on non-renewable sources of energy.
Non-renewable sources being renewable are about to get extinct. Renewable energy solutions refer to those energy solutions that can keep churning energy without exhausting the resources.
Three types of energy solutions fall into the category of renewable energy solutions: solar energy solutions, hydro energy solutions, and wind energy solutions.
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Heat Pump Systems
For climates with moderate heating and cooling needs, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioners.
Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space into a warm, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house; during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors. Because they move heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can provide up to 4 times the amount of energy they consume.
The most common type of heat pump is the air-source heat pump, which transfers heat between your house and the outside air. If you heat with electricity, a heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating by as much as 30%–40%. High-efficiency heat pumps also dehumidify better than standard central air conditioners, resulting in less energy usage and more cooling comfort in summer months. However, the efficiency of most air-source heat pumps as a heat source drops dramatically at low temperatures, generally making them unsuitable for cold climates, although there are systems that can overcome that problem.
For homes without ducts, air-source heat pumps are also available in a ductless version called a mini-split heat pump. In addition, a special type of air-source heat pump called a “reverse cycle chiller” generates hot and cold water rather than air, allowing it to be used with radiant floor heating systems in heating mode.
Higher efficiencies are achieved with geothermal (ground-source or water-source) heat pumps, which transfer heat between your house and the ground or a nearby water source. Although they cost more to install, geothermal heat pumps have low operating costs because they take advantage of relatively constant ground or water temperatures. However, the installation depends on the size of your lot, the subsoil and landscape. Ground-source or water-source heat pumps can be used in more extreme climatic conditions than air-source heat pumps, and customer satisfaction with the systems is very high.
A new type of heat pump for residential systems is the absorption heat pump, also called a gas-fired heat pump. Absorption heat pumps use heat as their energy source, and can be driven with a wide variety of heat sources.
Source: energysavers.gov
VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009
As we played cards by candlelight during Earth Hour last year, we were disappointed to see that most homes in Penticton remained well-illuminated…
TOO well-lit, in fact.
Perhaps they forgot? Perhaps they didn’t know about Earth Hour? Let’s hope that this year proves substantially better and that people here and around the world turn their lights off for Earth Hour.
The following is quoted from the EarthHour.org website.
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How to Reduce Your Electricity Bill
If you have been bogged by the enormous electricity bills you have been getting, it is time to take some concrete steps. You can reduce your electricity bills by following very simple steps.
Here are some simple ways to reduce your electricity bill.
Limited use: Start with the room you are sitting in. If you were to take a call in another room or join your family at the dining table, would you just step out of your room without any concern for the electrical appliances in the room?