Own Home Style .com » Heating & Energy

Heating and Cooling Your Home

Webmaster — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:00:19 +0000

Heating and Cooling Your Home

A properly insulated attic can help you save energy and money. And with tax credits available, its a great incentive to start now. Learn how to do-it-yourself.

Here is the video on Youtube:

Geothermal heat pumps – save 50% energy global warming

Webmaster — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 10:16:21 +0000

Geothermal heat pumps – save 50% energy global warming

Heat exchangers, geothermal heat pumps, payback period of 15 years. A geothermal heat pump or ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a central heating and/or cooling system that pumps heat to or from the ground. It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter) or a heat sink (in the summer). This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems, and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency

Ground source heat pumps harvest a combination of geothermal power and heat from the sun when heating, but work against these heat sources when used for air conditioning.Impact on power generators and power distribution, national grid impact. Reduce energy costs and carbon footprint of new buildings.

Here is the video on Youtube:

Solar Heater or Solar Furnace for home heating

Webmaster — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:09:39 +0000

Solar Heater or Solar Furnace for home heating

There are many kinds of solar heating. There are also many researchers devoted to continually creating more solar heating options in the future. When solar heating first began it was, very simply, a great idea. Since then it has grown beyond that into an undeniable financial benefit for many places, homes, hospitals, institutions and so on. Now solar heat can even be used for powering backup generators.

Here is the video on Youtube:

How To Reduce Your Home Heating Costs

Webmaster — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:08:34 +0000

How To Reduce Your Home Heating Costs

Saving the planet and saving money go hand-in-hand when you reduce your home heating bill.

Here is the video on Youtube:

Easy Energy – Heating and Hot Water

Webmaster — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:31:52 +0000

Easy Energy – Heating and Hot Water

This video shows the priorities and basics of energy efficiency in the home. This episode focuses on heating systems and hot water. Find out the practical steps you can take to lower your utility bills, save money and help curb climate change. Don’t waste time on time-consuming or expensive measures that only help a little. Start with the basics that are sure to pay off. And while this is geared toward homeowners, lots applies to renters as well.

Easy Energy – Heating and Hot Water

Webmaster — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:33:39 +0000

Easy Energy – Heating and Hot Water

These were produced by WARM Training Center (www.warmtraining.org) and Michigan Interfaith Power and Light (www.miipl.org).

Here is the video on Youtube:

Passive Solar Air Heater Heating System Alternative Energy

Webmaster — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:32:07 +0000

Passive Solar Air Heater Heating System Alternative Energy

This is a video of the Passive Solar Heating System in use at http://www.envirosponsible.com in Whitby, Ontario, Canada.

It provides a great deal of heat, and the installer, Chris, will be making it more effecient by adding a second computer fan to push the warm air at the top, painting the inside better and taping the duct work. Also, the duct work will be directed into the office where the door can be closed and used in a smaller air mass.

Here is the video on Youtube:

7 Tips to Winterize Your Home

Own Homestyle — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:11:22 +0000

“As Fall as surely arrived and is settling in, creating longer and darker days that lead you to increasing hibernation at home, you should really make sure that your house is safe and properly winterized for the cold season.”

Oh I know. In some parts of the country, this season is short, for others it’s looonnnggg and quite severe. We all have one thing in common: we need to take precautions to save money and protect from potential harm and disasters in this cooler season, so we can enjoy all the fun parts of Fall and Winter.

How to Winterize Your Home

Here are 7 tips for (little) winterizing projects for us all that my local real estate agent, Sam McCall, alerted me to:

Seal cracks and gaps around doors and windows with caulking and weather strips. Those little drafts can add to an unwanted hefty 10% to our heating bills !! A priority project for some…
We all know the gutters and down sprouts need cleaning when they fill with leaves. Again, this is a good preventative project to do as it prevents water from seeping into our homes ~ Which would be much more work to take care of, and it would cost more money…
Fire safety: inspect your furnace and replace or clean dirty filters.
Another fire safety tip: test that smoke alarm and replace the batteries if necessary. Some of us are blessed with a carbon monoxide detector, so check that one also if that is the case.
Just before it really gets cold, it’s time to drain our outdoor hoses, faucets and sprinklers. This prevents bursting pipes.
Consider this: you may want to invest in a programmable thermostat to vary the temperatures in your home at various times of the day/night. If you program it right, you can really safe a lot of money on heating while you’re sleeping or away from the house, and you can be nice and warm while you’re awake.
Now, if you really want to be ‘good’, drain the gas from your lawn mower to prevent costly service problems next summer.

OK. And when we’ve done all this, let’s bring in the hot chocolates!

‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!’

p.s. Don’t forget to also winterize your vacation home. This might mean a special, last trip to that wonderful place… Bring the hot chocolate and cookies along!

May Home Maintenance Tips

Own Homestyle — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:52:39 +0000

Spring is the time of preparing for summer, repairing damage done in winter, and with a sense of renewal, give new sparks and sparkles to tools and equipment year-long in use.

May Home Maintenance Projects

These projects that are ideally undertaken in or around May:

1. Check furnace filter. Clean or replace if necessary. Do furnace or central air-conditioner maintenance recommended by he unit’s manufacturer.
2. Clean and prepare swimming pool, pond and fountain.
3. Repair cracks in driveways, walkways and sidewalks.
4. Check weather vent screens to attic or crawl space are damaged. Repair or replace as needed.
5. Remove accumulated mineral deposits from shower heads and aerators by soaking or scrubbing with white vinegar.
6. Inspect and service clothes dryer, cook top or stove, dishwasher, trash compactor, counter-top appliances, exhaust fans, etc. according to the manufacturers’ recommendations.

Monthly Maintenance Projects
These projects should be undertaken every month, or at least every few months:
1. Test and inspect smoke, heat and gas detectors.
2. Practice family fire-escape plan and review earthquake preparedness.
3. Inspect electrical cords for damage. Repair or replace if needed.
4. Be alert to safety hazards, such as cracked walkways, hazardous materials that aren’t properly stored, or unsecured heavy bookcases or other furniture that could topple during an earthquake.

The Modern Eco Home Movement

Own Homestyle — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:24:31 +0000

By Kristen Sky

For several years there has been a strong movement that grows continuously, involving the manufacturing of modern eco homes. This movement has seen many new and existing companies, mainly located in the United States, which are successfully marketing modern prefab homes to a much wider audience than before.

But why would anyone buy modern prefab homes when so many preconceived prejudices make them unattractive? Simply because it is more profitable not just economically, but also environmentally. Modern prefab homes can reduce construction costs while lessening the environmental impact of construction projects.

These modern eco homes are designed by professional architects, many of whom previously only worked in traditional construction, but now find themselves drawn into this more eco-friendly and flexible building.

One reason these architects are turning to this construction method is the amount of control they can have over every aspect of construction. It is far easier for them to oversee every detail in a controlled environment, like a prefabricated home construction centre, than it is on a cold, wet traditional on-site building location.

Another reason is that a house may look fine on paper, but as construction continues problems may arise in terms of practical design or a feature that is unappealing to the eye, it is a much simpler and cost-effective to alter the design in this situation, than it is out on a construction site.

Modern prefab homes are also intended to be reproduced multiple times with slight variations, as opposed to a one-off construction on the site. Therefore, it is far more practical to make changes to a plan when the same design may be used multiple times, rather than it is when you are dealing with a single unit.

Eco friendly prefab homes are beautifully adapted for modern life, and it make sense from a financial point of view, because of the lower cost of construction. Also these prefabricated houses are of superior quality because it is easier to control the quality of work in a factory than on a construction site.

This modern eco homes movement was born from the needs of ordinary people for affordable housing. Typically, modern houses are too expensive to build for many peoples pockets; modern prefab homes offer an affordable, quality alternative to traditional construction methods.

One reason is the care and craftsmanship that is needed to build modern-style prefab homes compared with a traditional-style, on-site built house. For example, the architecture of the modern-style house often needs a backbone of steel or concrete, which costs far more than modern wooden frames.

The prefabricated house is an option for ordinary people to have access to modern eco homes in an architect designed style that works in harmony with nature, rather than abusing it.

Kristen Sky is founder of Modern Eco Homes dot com, which sells a wide range of environment friendly
prefab homes, certified organic pet furniture and indoor and outdoor eco-friendly furniture