Renewables At Home » Energy conservation

How to save electricity and get better tasting coffee

thomas — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:56:43 +0000

Do you drink coffee from a coffee maker? Does the second, third and fourth cup taste as good as the first one?

If it doesn’t, I’m guessing you make the coffee and then leave it sitting on the warming plate to keep it warm until it’s time for another cup.

When coffee is exposed to the continuous heat of the warming plate for more than a few minutes after it’s done, it becomes burnt. This will give it a tart and bitter taste, and pretty soon you’ll have to add sugar and cream by the boatload just to make it drinkable.

And not only are you getting foul tasting coffee by leaving it on the warming plate, you’re also wasting money and electricity in the process!

Luckily, there’s a simple solution to this: Get a good quality vacuum flask, pour the freshly made coffee into it and switch your coffee maker off.

Any vacuum flask worth its salt will keep your coffee at a good drinking temperature for hours and keep the good taste intact to boot.

PS: Coffee makers are one of the most common causes of fires, so you might want to consider pulling the plug, rather than just switching it off.

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Quick energy saving tip: Insulate your water pipes

thomas — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:53:08 +0000

Here’s a quick energy saving tip that makes extra sense in the summer heat: Insulate the water pipes running into your hot water heater.

These pipes will conduct heat from the heater and let it radiate into the room. Insulating them counteracts this and lets your heater work less to keep its contents hot. As an added bonus, you don’t get one more thing adding to the summer heat.

Insulating the pipes is super-easy:

Measure the pipe diameter.
Get some foam pipe insulation. For extra easy installation, look for a brand that is self-sealing.
Install the insulation on any exposed pipe that is warm to the touch.
Install the insulation on the first 60 centimeters (2 feet) or so of the cold water pipe running into the hot water heater.

When you’re done, feel the top of your hot water heater. Is it warm to the touch? Then you might want to insulate your hot water heater, for even more energy savings!

Landscaping and gardening for green home cooling

thomas — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:47:26 +0000

All the previous posts in my green home cooling series have dealt with cooling tips and techniques affecting the house directly.

For this final post, I’ll be focusing on things you can do around your house to reinforce everything you’ve done so far.

Plant deciduous trees
If you live in the northern hemisphere, plant deciduous trees to the south of your house. If you live in the southern hemisphere, plant them to the north.
This will provide shade for your house in the summer, while letting the Sun’s heat and light through the bare twigs and branches in the winter.
Also consider planting them to the west of your house, to shade against evening sun.
Shade thermal mass
Position trees and other ‘shading devices’ where they will shade the parts of your house that have high thermal mass. Brick or concrete walls are good candidates.
Shade air conditioner’s external air intake
If you do have to run your air conditioner, try to shade its external air intake well. The cooler the air entering it, the less your air conditioner has to work.
Block hot winds
If hot winds tend to come from a particular direction, consider positioning solid plants to block these winds.
Plant climbers or green roofs
Air is cooled by transpiration – the plant equivalent to sweating – from the plants’ leaves.
This means that climbing plants and green roofs will take heat out of the air right by the building, in addition to providing shade.
If you plant climbers, position trellises about 15 centimeters (about 6 inches) away from the wall, to allow air circulation.
Add a fountain
Fountains and other water features will reduce ambient temperatures through evaporation. Human psychology will also make you feel cooler when you’re around water.
Avoid paving or concrete slabs next to your house
Paving or concrete slabs in front of your windows will radiate heat into your home, even if you’ve shaded the windows from direct sunlight. Avoid them, or shade them well in the summer.

Phew! That’s the last post in my green home cooling series. I hope the series has been useful to you. Or perhaps you know someone else that is wilting away in the heat? Point them in this direction, I promise I’ll treat them well :-)

Do you know about other ways to cool your house without an air conditioner? Please let me know in the comments!

Stuff for green home cooling

thomas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:55:37 +0000

The building and its windows aren’t the only factors of your home affecting your indoor temperature. Furniture, appliances and other stuff you have in your house will also influence the temperature.

Don’t worry, though, there’s plenty you can do about it:

Replace incandescent light bulbs with more efficient ones
Incandescent light bulbs could be accurately described as small heaters that produce light as a side effect. If you have a lot of them, they may add a thousand watts or more of heating to your home. Not exactly ideal in the summer heat.
Replace them with energy efficient CFLs or LED bulbs to cut your lighting costs along with your cooling costs.
Choose energy efficient appliances
If you’re buying a new appliance – or any electrical device, really – go for the most energy efficient ones. Not only will they cut your bills by using less electricity; they will also generate less waste heat.
Make sure appliances run efficiently
Appliances might waste energy by the bucketload if they’re not maintained and used properly. As an example, there are lots of ways to make a refrigerator use less energy (and generate less waste heat).
Insulate your hot water heater and hot water pipes
Most hot water heaters and the pipes connected to them will release waste heat. Insulating them will curb this problem and reduce the amount of energy your water heater uses.
Install a ceiling fan
Large ceiling fans are silent, draw very little power and circulate the air, making you feel cooler. Make sure you get one with reversible spin direction – run it counter-clockwise in the summer heat and clockwise in the winter cold.
Add a small attic fan
If your attic tends to get excessively hot, add a small fan to help ventilate it. Solar attic fans are ideal; they won’t cost you anything to operate and they’ll automatically be active when the Sun is up to its heating shenanigans.
Keep the fan size small. An oversized fan might actually increase your cooling budget by drawing cooler, conditioned air from the rest of the house into the attic.
Add thermal mass to your house’s interior
Consider adding interior features with high thermal mass to your house. Good candidates are shelves, tables, counters and decorative stuff made of dense materials like concrete, ceramics, bricks and marble.
This extra thermal mass will absorb and store heat – especially if placed close to heat sources – during the day.
Ventilate well at night to get rid of the stored heat. A steady flow of cooler air will prepare the thermal mass objects for the next day’s heat.

This is the second to last post in my green home cooling series. In the last post, we’ll deal with how you can use landscaping and gardening to significantly improve the cooling performance of your home.

Green home cooling: The rest of the building

thomas — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:08:33 +0000

Windows are generally where homes will absorb the most heat from the outdoors. Don’t forget the rest of the house, though. There are several things you can do beyond the windows to keep it cooler:

Seal gaps
Gaps between different building materials and around windows, doors and baseboards/skirting boards may allow hot air into your home from the outside. Seal them up!
Fit draft excluders and insulating strips
Along the same principles as the previous point, you might want to fit insulating strips on exterior door frames and window frames. Draft excluders on doors will reduce or eliminate hot drafts.
Fit radiant barrier in your attic
If you have an attic, reducing the temperature there will go a long way towards keeping your whole home cool.
A popular way to do this is by fitting radiant barrier to the underside of your roof decking or rafters. It’s not hard to do, and should improve the attic temperature significantly.
Insulate walls and ceiling
While walls and ceilings are way better insulators than windows, there’s a huge difference between a poorly insulated and well insulated wall (or ceiling).
If your house was built after 1920, it probably has cavity walls. Cavity walls are prime candidates for quick and cheap insulation that will save you a whole bunch of money.
Although you’ll have to pay a professional installer to install the insulation, the savings from running your air conditioner (and heater in the winter) a lot less will pay for the job within 18 months.
Check with your local authorities, there may well be a support program in place for this kind of installation.
Repaint/reclad your house in a light color
Light colors reflect more heat than dark colors.

That’s it for this post – next up in the green home cooling series is “Stuff for green home cooling” – how your light bulbs, refrigerator and other objects will affect indoor temperature and what you can do about it.

13 more ways to fridge energy saving heaven

thomas — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:45:35 +0000

I thought I’d been quite thorough when I posted my list of “10 ways to make your refrigerator use less energy” a while ago.

Turns out I left out not just one or two ways to up a fridge’s energy efficiency, but a whole bunch of ways!

A follow-up post is clearly in order, so here goes (continuing on from the previous list):

Pre-cool food outdoors
If you live in a cold climate, take advantage of the winter cold to pre-cool food outside your house, before you put it in the fridge.
Keep fridge well stocked…
The more food there is in your fridge, the less room there is for warm air to occupy when you open the door. The warm air that does get in is quickly cooled down by the food.
…but not too well stocked.
Having too much stuff in there will hinder air circulation, making the fridge work a lot harder. If there’s a circulation fan in your fridge, it’s especially important to keep that unobstructed.
Use glass or ceramic food containers
Glass and ceramics maintain a more stable temperature than, say, plastic containers.
Cover liquids and wrap food
Uncovered food and liquids will release moisture, making the fridge work harder.
Don’t set fridge temperature too low
Optimal temperature is 36 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 to 4.4 degrees Celsius) for the fresh foods compartment and 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius) for the freezer compartment.
If you have a separate freezer for long-term storage, the temperature should be kept at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-17.8 degrees Celsius).
Check door seal
If the door seal has been damaged or gone stiff with old age, warm air will leak into your fridge. Check it by placing a dollar bill between the door frame and the seal. If you can easily drag the bill along the seal, it needs a replacement – this should be available through any fridge dealership.
Also, make sure you keep the seal clean. It doesn’t take much dirt to degrade its performance.
Unplug fridge during long vacations
Are you travelling for an extended period? Empty the fridge, unplug it and clean it out. No point in having it use electricity to cool nothing down. Make sure you leave the fridge door open when it’s unplugged, though. If you don’t, foul smell and mold may form.
Don’t keep two fridges
One large fridge is more energy efficient than two smaller ones.
Downsize
If your fridge tends to be half empty, sell it and get a smaller model. The larger the fridge, the more energy it uses.
Check the fridge’s energy efficiency rating
If you’re buying a new fridge, check it’s energy efficiency rating. It should be clearly marked.
Avoid side-by-side models
Buy a fridge with the freezer compartment and refrigerating compartment stacked on top of each other. They use 7 to 13 percent less energy than side-by-side models.
Avoid through-the-door ice dispensers
They’re huge energy wasters.

Some of these tips were culled from readers’ comments for my previous fridge energy efficiency post and some I got from friends. Thanks!

Do you want to keep yourself cool, as well as your food? Check out my mini series on green home cooling.

Best windows for green home cooling

thomas — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:24:23 +0000

Effective shading isn’t the only thing affecting how much heat your home absorbs through the windows – the windows themselves make a significant difference, too.

Here are a few useful tips for finding the proper windows for your cooling needs:

Get windows with insulation properties that fit your climate
Different window types will have different properties. Some will let heat pass through more easily than others, and heat might pass more easily in one direction than the other.
If you live in a hot climate, you want windows that reduce heat moving into your house, but readily lets it out again. If you have hot summers and cold winters, it’s probably wiser to go for windows that will retain some heat in the winter.
Ask your supplier for both the cooling and heating rating of any windows you’re considering.
Double and triple glazing improves thermal insulation
Windows with more than one layer of glass are far better insulators than the ones with only a single layer of glass. An old, single glazing window might allow more than twice as much heat through compared to a modern window with triple glazing.
Look for windows where the glass layers are kept slightly apart by materials like steel, composites or high-insulative silicone – these conduct less heat than the more common aluminum spacing material.
Also, argon gas between the layers of glass will make the window an even better insulator.
Tinted glass or reflective films might help…
…but are probably only worth it if you live in a hot climate, since they will keep heat out in the wintertime, too.

With this third post, we’re halfway through my series on green home cooling. The next subject will be improvements and modifications that will help the rest of your home keep its cool.

Effective shading for green home cooling

thomas — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:38:49 +0000

As noted in my previous green home cooling post, the most important part of cooling your home is to stop excessive heat buildup. The most effective way to do this is by good use of shadow to block the Sun’s heat.

The most important parts of your home to shade are the windows. This is where the most of the Sun’s heat will enter your home if left unshaded.

The practicalities of using internal curtains and blinds for shading your windows – when to do what, and so forth – was discussed in Great habits for green home cooling.

Here’s a quick look at the different types of ‘shading devices’ and how they’re best put to use:

External shading is better
Shading your home with internal window coverings will certainly block a decent amount of heat – up to 65% – but external shading is more effective. Up to 95% of the heat can blocked by simply putting the ‘shading device’ outside.
Curtains are better than blinds
Blinds will let more heat through than curtains. For extra performance, there are thermal-lined curtains available.
Brightly colored window coverings are better
Brighter colors reflect more heat than darker colors. As an added bonus, brighter colored curtains will let more light into your rooms, while still blocking heat.
Hang window coverings close to window
This inhibits air circulation across the window, preventing the air from getting heated.
Vertical, moveable window coverings are best for east and west windows
As the Sun moves across the sky, the amount of sunlight falling upon your east and west facing windows will vary through the day.
In the morning and the evening, the Sun will be almost directly above the horizon, radiating its heat almost horizontally onto your windows. To effectively shade them, you need vertical window coverings like curtains, blinds or shutters.
Whenever the Sun isn’t shining directly on them, you can open these coverings to let light and air in.
Horizontal overhangs are best for equator facing windows
The Sun will never hover around close to the north or south horizon. It will always shine down on your home from an angle, relative to these directions.
Therefore, horizontal overhangs like verandas, awnings and pergolas are the best for shading your south facing windows (or north facing windows if you’re in the southern hemisphere). Overhangs will block heat while still letting daylight in.

I’ve left a whole group of ‘shading devices’ out of this post on purpose: Trees and plants and everything else in the immediate vicinity of your house. Those things are getting their own post later in the series.

The next post in the green cooling series, however, will deal with how you choose the best windows for your home – seen from a cooling viewpoint.

Great habits for green home cooling

thomas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:33:59 +0000

You can make your air conditioner use significantly less energy without spending any money at all.

Get into the habits below, and I guarantee the temperature in your home will be better managed – for less money.

Removing and blocking heat sources

The most important part of keeping your home cool isn’t actually cooling, but not letting it get hot in the first place.

Removing heat that’s already there is generally harder (and more expensive) than preventing new heat from entering.

These tips are great for limiting, removing and blocking that unwanted heat:

Keep windows that are directly exposed to sunshine closed – especially the ones facing west and south (north if you’re in the southern hemisphere), as these receive the most heat from the Sun.
Keep blinds, curtains and other window coverings closed over windows exposed to sunshine.
If your window coverings are blinds, keeping their inside edge tilted upwards will block the most heat while still letting some daylight in.
If you have any sun-exposed rooms that are seldom used, keep them closed off. This makes them act as a buffer zone between the heat outside and the adjacent rooms. Remember to switch off any air conditioners or fans in rooms you’re closing off.
Turn off any electric devices and equipment that doesn’t need to be on, including lighting. There will always be some waste heat from any electrical device – even if it doesn’t feel warm to the touch.
For devices and equipment you have to keep on, consider moving them into your cooler rooms. This keeps the maximum temperature in your hotter rooms lower.
Make sure the devices you keep on perform as good as possible, energy-wise. The energy your refrigerator uses, for example, can easily be reduced.
On the same note, if you have to work out or do physically exerting activities inside, try to do them in your cooler rooms. One person doing heavy work will generate about 200 watts of heat – about a fifth of what a typical electrical heater might generate.

Cooling by removing heat

The tips above will work well to improve the temperature of your home. If you live in a hot climate, though, chances are that some heat will find its way into your home even if you implement them all.

To get rid of this heat, you’ll have to do a bit of actual cooling. Don’t worry, though, we’re still in spending-no-money territory:

While the Sun is still up and shining on your house, try to create a cross draft by opening windows that are shaded.Â This creates a flow of cooler air through your home.
Once the outside air is cooler than the inside of your home, fling your windows open.
Ventilate well at night. Leftover hot air will be expelled, and your interior walls, furniture and everything else in your home will be cooled down. The cooler these things get during the night, the more heat they can absorb the next day. The more they absorb, the cooler the air will be.

Ideally, the tips in my mini series on green home cooling (of which this post is a part) will allow you to keep the air conditioner switched off most of the time. If you do have to keep running the air conditioner, keep all your windows closed. Open windows will just bleed the conditioned air out, wasting a whole bunch of energy in the process.

While this post has kept its focus on the practicalities of green home cooling, the next post in the series (‘Effective shading for green home cooling‘) will take a closer look at exactly what you can use for shading and in what situations each type of ‘shading device’ can be best put to use.

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Green home cooling mini series

thomas — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:34:08 +0000

The warmer part of summer draws near in the northern hemisphere. Air conditioners left and right are whirring to life, working hard to keep people cool.

In doing so, they’re not only spending energy and money all willy-nilly, they’re also producing air that is less healthy and comfortable to live in than naturally regulated air is.

Luckily, there are ways to reduce – sometimes even remove – the need for air conditioners. Over the coming days, I’ll publish a mini series of posts on how to cool your home by more natural means.

Many of the techniques I’ll be writing about won’t cost you anything – and most won’t require any large-scale spending.

[UPDATE: The mini series is now done - click the links in the list below to see the individual posts]

Great habits for green home cooling
Simple techniques you can implement without spending any money at all. Nothing to buy, just stuff to do.
Effective shading for green home cooling
‘Shading devices’ (curtains, blinds, awnings etc), and in what situations the various types are best put to use
Best windows for green home cooling
Not all windows are created alike. This post helps you choose the right ones.
Green home cooling: The rest of the building
The windows aren’t the only place in your home exposed to unwanted heat issues. This post helps you pinpoint candidates for improvement.
Stuff for green home cooling
How your light bulbs, refrigerator and other objects will affect the indoor temperature and what you can do about it.
Landscaping and gardening for green home cooling
How you can use plants and landscaping to significantly improve the cooling performance of your home.

I hope the tips I provide will help you get away with running your airconditioner a lot less, perhaps even shutting it off entirely.

As always with these things, feel free to go wild in the comments section if you want to speak your mind or leave a tip I’ve left out.

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