I have never paid a lot of attention to how long it takes my clothes to dry, but the other day I put some wet clothes in the dryer and happened to notice that the dryer was still running three hours later. This seemed excessive. I pondered the likely cause of this problem for a few minutes before settling on the most likely suspect - dryer lint. In a fit of righteous environmental anger , I pulled out the dryer and detached the circular aluminum duct that normally carries the dryer's hot-air byproduct out the cellar window. Gazing into the circular duct was like looking into a clogged artery in a pharmaceutical advertisement. The passageway was about 95% closed. It was a wonder that any hot air got out of the dryer at all. I reached my hand in and pulled out a fistful of dryer lint. I imagined the dryer's angina lessening immediately. Within an hour I had removed an entire kitchen sized trash bag full of dryer lint from my dryer's aluminum tubing. It was extremely satisfying. Today my clothes dry in less than half the time it used to take. I'm sure my gas bill will be a tiny bit lower and the environment will be better off. It wasn't a major blow to global warming, but my blue jeans are dry a lot sooner than before, and I feel a little better about myself.
11/22/2009
11/21/2009
Energy Audit Results
The Energy Audit is done and
now comes the real work - making all the changes to turn my house into a greener
place. Here is my list of projects in the order I plan to complete
them:
1) Buy a dehumidifier (to keep basement drier).
2) Seal air leaks around dryer vent outlet.
3) Build up dirt around one side of house (also to keep basement drier).
4) Put insulation in front of basement fan.
5) Seal off crawl space with a plastic sheet.
6) Buy glass doors for fireplace.
7) Take electric baseboard heaters out of rental studios, put in more efficient heater/air conditioners.
11/17/2009
Energy Audit
Tomorrow we're having an energy audit. Am I a nerd for being excited about this? The audit is free, which is the price that I prefer to pay for things. Someone is going to examine our house from top to bottom, and then tell us how we can save money on our energy bill. So that is good. Plus, they are going to give us free stuff, like CFL light bulbs and low flow shower heads. The audit is being done by BGE (Baltimore Gas and Electric), but its not out of the kindness of their hearts. The state gave them money and told them to use it for this purpose. So really my taxes have already paid for this energy audit.
If you watched the video on yesterday's post, you saw that my neighbor had an energy audit by BGE, and then made changes (caulking, insulation) that BGE estimates will save him over $1,000 a year. Hearing that got me pumped for the energy audit. I would wrap the entire house in pink insulation for $1,000 a year. For $2,000 a year, I would caulk every door and window in the house closed and enter and exit the house through the dryer vent. But I digress. For anyone interested in living greener and saving money, I highly recommend an energy audit as step one.
11/16/2009
The Today show
I choose to believe that I played a small role in landing my neighbors on the Today show.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33964031#33964031
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The Kindle
My mother-in-law does her Christmas shopping (and mailing) early. She also gives wonderful presents. So last week a Kindle, or more correctly an Amazon Kindle 2, arrived on our doorstep. My wife, who is a major reader, took to it immediately. Within five minutes she had ordered her book club's most recent selection and was happily pushing a button to turn the pages. The price for the e-book was about half what a hard copy would have cost.
I'm writing all of this because I think the Kindle is yet another example of a product that saves money, makes life easier, and helps the environment all at the same time. In the United States alone, 30 million trees are cut down every year for book production. Deforestation is a major cause of global warming. Wouldn't it be better for the environment if we all purchased bytes instead of actual paper?
I think the newspaper business is a perfect example of what will become of physical books. In the past, people were paying good money to have a newspaper delivered to their door, then they read it once and threw it away. What an incredible waste of our natural resources. Today the internet is rapidly making the newspaper business obsolete. I think the Kindle is the killer application that will make physical books a thing of the past. The handing down of knowledge through the printed word has been a force for good on this planet for hundreds of years, but I think the age of the book is coming to an end. If we can share our thoughts and dreams more easily, more cheaply, and in a greener fashion, then I say hello Kindle, so long books.
11/15/2009
What the heck is a desuperheater?
In an e-mail the other day, someone referred to the "desuperheater" on their geothermal heat pump. What in the world, I thought, is a desuperheater? I was still feeling proud of myself for figuring out what a geothermal heat pump was (see blog post below) and now someone puts a whole new word into the mix! And it is such a strange word. Desuperheater. You can't really de-construct it to figure out its meaning. So I did what any self-respecting citizen of the world would do, I googled it.
A desuperheater, it turns out, is a device that works along with a geothermal heat pump system to provide hot water to a home or other building at ALMOST NO ENERGY COST! So not only do geothermal heat pumps heat your home in the winter and cool your home in the summer, and save approximately 40% of your energy costs in the process, but you can add a desuperheater to the system and have cheap hot water to boot! There are times in life when I really feel that I am living in the future. I think Al Gore is right, we have the technology to end global warming, we just need to put it to use!
I am not an engineer, so even after reading multiple articles I really don't totally understand how a desuperheater works, but apparently heat is a byproduct of the heat pump unit that lives in your home when you have a geothermal heat pump system. Maybe this is especially so in the summer. Anyway, I guess a desuperheater uses that excess heat to create hot water at fraction of the cost that a conventional hot water heater would use. Damn! That is so cool! So there is a house not one block away from my home that is currently having a geothermal heat pump system WITH A DESUPERHEATER installed. I am definitely having a "living in the future" moment.
11/14/2009
Pressure Cookers Save Energy
Cold and rainy weekends like the one coming up are a perfect time to make a big pot of soup. One easy way to use less energy is to cook with a pressure cooker instead of a standard pot. The new generation of pressure cookers can reduce energy use by 70%. The amount of energy used to cook soup may not seem significant, but over time it adds up. I can personally recommend the Fagor Splendid Stainless Steel 6-Quart model (currently $65 at Amazon.com) I believe it has already paid for itself and will be in good working order long after I am dead and buried.
Good pressure cooker soup recipe for a cold weekend:
Curried chicken-coconut soup
|
(makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings). 3 cups low-salt
chicken broth
1 6-ounce package baby spinach leaves Combine first 6 ingredients in 6- to 8-quart pressure cooker. Remove skin
from chicken; add chicken to cooker. Lock lid in place. Bring to high pressure
over high heat. Cook 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain high
pressure. Remove from heat. Let pressure come down naturally 8 minutes.
Quick-release any remaining pressure.
Slowly release lid, standing back and allowing steam to
escape. Transfer chicken to work surface; cool briefly. Remove bones. Cut
chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Return chicken to soup; add spinach. Simmer until
spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Add lime juice. Season soup to taste with salt
and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve, passing lime
wedges separately.
*Available at Asian markets and in the produce section of
some supermarkets. |
11/13/2009
Tax Credits and Grants for Energy Improvements
In addition to lowering your energy bill and helping the environment, there is another reason to make energy-saving improvements to your home - tax credits and grants from the Federal Government and the State of Maryland. Here is a quick rundown on some of the money currently available:
Federal
Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit
This credit equals 30 percent of what a homeowner spends on eligible energy-saving improvements, up to a maximum tax credit of $1,500. The cost of certain high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters and stoves that burn biomass all qualify, along with labor costs for installing these items. In addition, the cost of energy-efficient windows and skylights, energy-efficient doors, qualifying insulation and certain roofs also qualify for the credit..
Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit
The residential energy efficient property credit also equals 30 percent of what a homeowner spends on qualifying improvements such as solar electric systems, solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines, and fuel cell property. Generally, labor costs are included when calculating this credit.
Maryland
Solar Energy Grant Program
The Solar Energy Grant Program provides funding for up to $3,000 for a solar water heating system, and up to $10,000 for solar energy systems.
Geothermal Heat Pump Grant Program
The Geothermal Heat Pump Grant Program provides up to $3,000 for the installation of residential geothermal heat pumps.
Geothermal Heat Pumps take root in Mt. Washington
Most people call them Geothermal Heat Pumps. They are also known as Geoexchange Heat Pumps, Earth-Coupled Heat Pumps, and even Earth Energy Heat Pumps. Whatever name they go by, they are catching on in Mt. Washington where a handful have either been installed or are under construction. Geothermal heat pumps take advantage of the fact that while air temperatures vary constantly according to the season, the time of day, and the current weather, the ground just six feet under our feet remains at a fairly constant temperature year round (in Baltimore about 57 degrees Farenheit). In a geothermal heat pump system, a tube is sunk into the ground near a home and filled with a liquid which conveys the relative warmth of the ground in winter into your home. Most often these tubes are looped for the ease of the pumping sytem. Some systems can double as cooling mechanisms in the summer. The warmth harvested from the ground is distributed throughout your home using your existing system (forced air or radiant heat).
The really nice thing about Geothermal Heat Pumps is that they are earth friendly. Fossil fuels are not burned in order to generate the relative heat of the ground in winter. It is there for anyone to tap. They are also largely invisible. In a neighborhood with a large historic district it is doubtful that we will be allowed to install large solar panel arrays or wind turbines. Because the largest components of Geothermal Heat Pumps are under ground, there is very little visible equipment to mar the historic look of our neighborhood.
So what is the catch? The cost of installing a Geothermal Heat Pump can be quite high. An average system in Mt. Washington would probably run about $15,000. Once a system is installed, however, it can lower heating and cooling bills by approximately 40%. For some families with very large utility bills, a Geothermal Heat Pump can pay for itself in just a few years. If anyone has any more information on Geothermal Heat Pumps in Mt. Washington I would love to hear it.
greenguy
I am a happy monkey.
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