By now you should know the drill – efficiency and conservation come before renewable energy, allowing you to downsize systems and get a faster return on investment. For those of you who have done all you can to make your home more energy efficient and are looking to get some off-the-grid power, good news! Residential solar rebates are now available up to $10,000 per home for qualifying solar electric and solar hot water systems. This money is first come, first serve and it’s going to go fast. So if you want to get your power from that big burning ball of fire in the sky, the time is now!
“I live in an older condo building (1925) with a boiler and radiator heat. What impact does regularly bleeding radiators have on heat efficiency?”
I’ve had people tell me that bleeding my hot water radiators makes a different for comfort, but I’ve never been sure why. After researching, I have an answer – and I’m also starting to get pretty grossed out by the phrase “bleeding a radiator”!
There are two different kinds of radiators – steam and hot water. If you have a hot water radiator and you’ve noticed that it isn’t producing as much heat as it used to, air bubbles have probably formed at the top of the internal coils and are displacing that hot water. Since air does a really pathetic job of conducting heat, your radiator won’t be keeping you as toasty as you’re used to. Here at the Energy Challenge we recommend bleeding your radiators at least once a year at the beginning of the heating system, and whenever you feel that the top of your radiator isn’t as hot as the bottom. The energy savings might not be enough that you’d notice them on your heating bill, but you will DEFINITELY notice the change in your comfort.
Here’s a great video on bleeding radiators. For some reason, all the videos I found are from the UK…but the information is the same!
If you’ve had visions of ENERGY STAR appliances dancing in your head, look out for March! As expected, a Cash for Clunkers-style rebate program focusing on energy efficient appliances will launch soon to help Americans upgrade old energy wasters.
If you’re interested, make sure to replace the biggest energy hogs in your home first – fridges and clothes washers. The rule of thumb is that if your appliance is old enough to vote, it’s time to replace it! That avocado green fridge might have been stylish once upon a time, but now it’s using three times more energy than a modern ENERGY STAR-rated model – and you’re paying out the nose for the difference.
Even though new appliances cost a little more up front, the savings over time are insane!
“You would save over $250 a year on an average 20-year-old refrigerator if you replaced it,” [Joe] McGuire [president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers] said. “That’s about $1,200 over five years. That is real savings to consumers.”
:: Yahoo
Vermiculite insulation between attic joists (EPA)
If you’re thinking about doing any attic air sealing or insulation, especially if you live in an older house, it’s good to know a thing or two about vermiculite. Vermiculite is a naturally-occurring mineral that can be expanded when heated to a light-weight, fire-resistant and odorless material commonly used for insulation for attics and walls. Sounds great, right? Well, unfortunately, most vermiculite used in our country comes from one mine in Montana – a mine that was contaminated with asbestos. So, when it comes to YOUR vermiculite, it’s best to assume that it has also been contaminated and contains asbestos. For those of you who don’t know, asbestos is a mineral fiber that causes cancer and other diseases if inhaled. Yikes.
So, what to do? If you have vermiculite in your attic, don’t mess with it yourself. If you need to do attic air sealing that would require moving the vermiculite you’ll need to find an asbestos abatement professional to remove it before you can do work. Check with your contractor if you need additional insulation, which you might be able to install without disturbing the existing vermiculite.
Be safe! The Environmental Protection Agency has tons more information about asbestos if you have questions.
Yikes, colder weather has come back with a vengeance. I think plastic window kits get a bad rap (no pun intended), but they can make a difference when it comes to comfort in your home. Because glass has very low thermal resistance (also known as R-value), heat very easily transfers through. So when you get close to those cold windows, they are literally sucking the heat our of your body! Anything you can do to add an extra layer will help you and your family feel more comfortable as we weather these harrowing winter weeks.
Drapes and curtains can certainly do the job, but if you want to keep warm and still use some of the little natural light we get, you can’t go wrong with plastic window kits! Once installed they are nearly invisible and are very affordable. Check out the Action Guide on the Minnesota Energy Challenge for more information – and stay warm!
Bill Gates, he of Microsoft fame, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post that I found, well, pretty out of touch with reality. Mr. Gates argues that instead of focusing on starting with little, simple steps that everyone can take to reduce energy use, we should instead go for broke:
The need to get to zero emissions in key sectors almost never gets mentioned. The danger is people will think they just need to do a little bit and things will be fine. If CO2 reduction is important, we need to make it clear to people what really matters — getting to zero. With that kind of clarity, people will understand the need to get to zero and begin to grasp the scope and scale of innovation that is needed.
Mr. Gates, with all due respect, you don’t seem to know anything about ordinary people. Most of us don’t spend all of our time thinking about energy. We have jobs and families and lives and mortgages and other things to think about. Making some sort of ‘zero emissions’ proclamation might work on the most passionate advocates in the energy world, but what about the rest of us? While innovation in the energy industry is essential, simple actions still make a significant difference for the people who take them. If we’re going to get the whole country behind a movement aimed towards zero emissions, wouldn’t it be useful if every single person was involved by doing something in their own homes? I think that will make all the difference towards building public support and momentum, not to mention helping people save money right now when we really need it.
So, you may have seen that Neely, the Minnesota Energy Challenge coordinator…which is me, typing this post, so perhaps I’ll stop referring to myself in the third person, which is weird…okay, I lost the strand of that sentence. OKAY, I am experimenting with “vlogging,” or video-blogging, for the Energy Challenge ! But as I am just getting started, I’m looking for some feedback from you, my loyal readers, on what topics you would be interested in hearing about. Let me know!
Okay, I just finished entering over 150 facilities onto the Minnesota Energy Challenge. Whew! These are businesses who have gotten their lighting upgraded through the One-Stop Efficiency ShopSM and let us post their savings from that on the Challenge as carbon dioxide savings. The numbers can be huge – and really abstract. After all, what does it mean that Red Wing Public Schools reduced their building’s energy use and saved 220,084 lbs CO2 annually? What does that look like in the real world?
Well, other than some concrete $$ savings for Red Wing Public Schools, that’s the equivalent of recycling over 33 tons of waste instead of throwing it away, or taking almost 20 cars off the road for a year. Those are real savings that make a real difference, and being able to see those savings in terms of real world situations makes it so much easier to see the great potential of energy efficiency and conservation.
For easy conversions, check out the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator – and calculate away!
Whoa, Ask the Experts! Remember that? Well, our experts got an interesting question recently that I thought I would share with everyone:
“With regards to gas dryers, is there any concern for CO if they are vented inside, or is it solely a moisture issue?”
All products of combustion, ie: water vapor, carbon monoxide, CO, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxides (SOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), etc, etc, are occupant safety and home durability issues. All combustion appliances should be properly vented to the exterior, including gas dryers.
To me the larger issues appear to be:
1. dryer exhaust (gas or electric) is not a proper means for house humidification.
> a dry home generally means excessive air leakage
2. dryer exhaust constituents are unhealthy to ingest
> besides the obvious carcinogens, unknown human effect from compound interactions
3. all combustion appliances should be vented to the exterior, including dryers.
> dryers should have “diverter’s” removed and where possible – hard duct installed with taped joints – no screws, exhausting to an accessible (for periodic cleaning) exterior termination.
Answer provided by Kevin Brauer, Building Analyst at the Center for Energy and Environment.
So, what the heck is radon? Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America. Eeeee. So it really goes without saying that you need to make sure that you’re on top of your home’s radon levels to make sure that you and your family are safe. It sounds scary, but don’t worry! You can fix radon problems without spending too much money, so don’t feel intimidated.
Radon typically gets into houses through the ground and into your home through cracks and holes in your foundation. Both old and new homes are susceptible to radon, even if they are very well sealed. The first step is to test your home for radon, which is really easy! Just go to your local hardware store and purchase a radon testing kit, which you can usually find for under $15. You will then need to send your detectors to a lab for testing, which costs around $30. You can also contact the Minnesota Department of Health Indoor Air Unit for information about low-cost testing kits and the difference between various kits. Within a week you will get your results and know whether or not your family is being exposed to unhealthy levels of radon.
If the average of your two detectors is around 4 pCi/L (Picocuries Per Liter), then you need to take action to mitigate the level of this harmful radioactive gas in your home. There are several methods that you can use to reduce your radon levels, so it’s best to get a qualified radon contractor over to help you figure it out. You can find more information about radon mitigation contractors and providers at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Stay safe, folks! Celebrate National Radon Action Month and test your home!
:: A Citizen’s Guide to Radon, Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction, Minnesota Department of Health Indoor Air Unit – Radon
