3 Tips for Choosing and Installing Energy-Efficient Doors

Selecting and installing an energy efficient door can help you reduce your electric bill, as well as keep your rooms at a more comfortable temperature without having to turn on the AC or the heater.

Some door improvements cost a lot of money. For example, if you decided to completely replace your door, that's going to be a heavy investment. Other improvements, such as weatherstripping, are easy and inexpensive.

Here's what you need to know about installing energy-efficient doors.

1. What Kind of Door Should You Choose?

There are primarily three types of doors you can choose from: wood, steel and fiberglass.

However, if you want to conserve the maximum amount of energy possible, the best kind of door you can choose is a steel door that's wrapped in wood.

This kind of door will give you the great look that a wooden door does, while giving you maximum insulating power.

2. Weatherstripping: Is More Important Than the Door

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even more important than the door are the areas around the door.

Most heat in the door area doesn't escape from passing through the door. Instead, it escapes through the gaps under the door or the seams on the side of the door.

As a rule of thumb, if you can slide a piece of paper anywhere from inside the house to the outside of the house with the door closed, you have a serious air and energy leak.

Weatherstripping is the process of sealing up these gaps to make sure no heat or coolness escapes to the outside. You do this by sealing the bottom of the door and the seams along the door.

Weatherstripping costs much, much less than buying a new door and can have a much bigger effect. You can even do it yourself by going down to Home Depot and buying the weatherstripping supplies you need.

3. Understanding "R Value"

One final thing to understand about door energy conservation is "R Value."

Your R Value is how heat resistant the glass on your door is. If you have a door panel, glass doors or even just decorative glass on your door, a lot of heat can escape through that glass.

The higher the R Value, the less heat escapes. When you're buying your door, make sure you take your R value into account.

If everything else in your house is designed to conserve heat but your door has a low R value, you might want to consider getting the glass replaced.

Choosing, installing and leak-proofing your door can take several weeks. Remember that all the effort you put into it will pay off in energy saving in the future. You'll also be helping reduce your environmental footprint by using less energy.

5 Green Energy & Fuel Saving Tips

More and more people are getting interested in going green - not just because it's good for the planet, but also because it can save you a lot of money. And with the sky-rocketing costs of energy and fuel, this is one area where you might want to seriously consider going green, especially if you're looking to save money.

Worldwide Renewable energy, existing capacities, at end of 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The problem with the current energy sources that we use is that most of them are based on fossil fuels, which means they are not renewable energy resources. So when they are gone they are gone, and that makes them a hot commodity. Of course since we're already hooked up "to the grid” so to speak, this makes using other renewable energy sources to power our homes and cars a bit more difficult. It is not impossible, though.
Here are 5 tips for "going green" with energy and fuel.

1. Call your electric company. They might already be offering some renewable energy sources. And if they aren't offering anything now, that doesn't mean they won't be in the future. You can make a small investment in the future of renewable energy with your electric company by switching to a greener energy choice if they offer it, and expressing your interest in doing so in the future so they are aware of the demand.

2. Install solar panels on your home. This will help you to rely less on the “grid” system of the utility company. While up front there is a large cost to this, there are also tax breaks and incentives through the government for making these kinds of efforts to save our resources. You can often save up to 2/3 of the cost of a remodel like this. And after that initial investment the cost to power your home is free! 

3. Use geothermal energy to heat your home and provide hot water. Geothermal energy is the earth's heat. Install a ground source heat pump to heat and cool your home with. Again, there is an up-front cost, but these systems usually last a good 30 years with little to no maintenance, and you won't have to pay the high costs of heating and cooling bills during that time!

4. Get a wood stove. This is a great way to heat your home, especially if you live in an area where wood is readily available. And many of the newer wood stoves give off little smoke and ash, and are very efficient.

2010 Honda Insight. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

5. Purchase a green vehicle. Having a smart car or other energy-efficient car offers many perks. Save money at the pump and you can even receive tax breaks and incentives again if you purchase a green vehicle.

While we might not be quite there in the technology to have everyone fully switch over to using green energy and fuel, it is most definitely becoming more and more achievable. And the government recognizes the importance of doing this to keep us from using up all of the earth's resources to fuel our lives, so you can often receive rebates or tax incentives for making the switch to a greener energy choice. Options are out there - and in the long run, they can save you quite a bit of money. 

Even if you can't make huge changes to your lifestyle and home, that doesn't mean you can't do something. If you can't install solar panels on your home, that's okay; you can at least use the sun to your advantage. In the winter months, opening your blinds to let the sun in during the day will help heat your home - therefore using less heat, saving you money, and helping to save the environment - all for no cost!

You can also use public transportation or a bicycle whenever possible to get yourself around. Carpooling too is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint on the planet. Any one of these things is a great way to turn your life in a green direction to help make sure there is a healthy planet for our future generations to enjoy.

Solar Box Cookers: Using the Sun To Cook Your Food

Solar box cookers are the be-all and end-all when it comes to harnessing the sun to cook food.  They run solely on the sun's rays which makes them the ideal cooking solution for many areas where electricity and fuel aren’t options.  They’re also wonderful for outdoor cooking because they pose little risk of forest fire and are much lighter than hauling fuel around in your backpack.

Solar Bacon (Photo credit: Earthworm)

How Solar Cookers Work

There are actually more than fifty different variations on the solar cooker theme.  However, they typically fall into three basic designs or design principles.  These include:

* Concentrating sunlight.  In this type of device the sunlight is concentrated or focused by some type of reflective metal or a mirror.  The heat and energy from the sun then becomes concentrated and much more intense. 

* Converting light to heat.  In this type of design the solar cooker makes use of heat-absorbing elements, like the color black, to amplify the cooking process.  One example would be to coat the inside of the cooker with black paint or to use a black material to collect the sunlight and convert it into heat.  If you’ve ever worn a black shirt on a sunny day, you know how effective this is. 

* Finally, a third type of design traps heat by using a clear device, like a lid, to keep the heat inside and thus to use it to maximize cooking.

Of course, some designs take advantage more than one of these solar cooking elements to really maximize the sun’s effects.  A solar box cooker is one of the most basic types of solar cookers and can be made at home with few resources or technical skills.

Ingredients for a Solar Box Cooker

If you’re going to make a solar box cooker at home (and why not!) then you’ll need to collect a few things.  They include:

Box cooker in the works (Photo credit: EBKauai)

* Two cardboard boxes.  One box should be larger than the other and ideally the bigger the better because it’s awfully difficult to make much in a children’s shoe box.  There should also be about ½ inch of space between the two boxes all the way around.

* One sheet of cardboard for the lid.  You’ll want it to be several inches larger than the top of your largest box.  So for example if your box is 10X10 you’d want your cardboard to be around 13x13.

* A roll of aluminum foil.

* Flat-black, non-toxic, spray paint or tempera paint. 

* White glue, non-toxic.

* A Reynolds oven cooking bag or a sheet of glass.  The oven bags are ideal because they’re inexpensive, durable, and easy to find.  They’re also designed to withstand up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

That’s it; that’s your supply list.  For more information on building a solar box cooker, see related articles below. Solar box cooking can be a fun way for your children to learn the amazing powers of the sun and to learn a bit about solar energy.  You can also take advantage of this wonderful device and cook outdoors when the weather permits.  You’ll save energy and have fun in the process!

Related Articles on Solar Box Cookers:

• How to Make a Cardboard Solar Oven | solar cooker
• Easy Solar Cooker
• The power of solar cookers
• Solar Cooking with Kids
• Cooking With Solar Power

Implementing Sustainable Business Practices

There's so much to think about when running a business. Switching over to green business practices might not seem like top priority, but you might want to consider it.

More and more people are taking an interest in things that are green. That also means they are choosing companies which follow sustainable business practices. Also, there are so many ways to save money when you are being more green. So if you're considering switching over to green business practices, here are some tips for how and why you should make the switch.

Prevent Air Pollution

Look for this logo when considering business appliances & materials. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By installing Energy Star qualified products you can help reduce the air pollution your company produces. By making your company more energy efficient, you will save money on energy bills while helping the environment. Energy efficient products use less energy and therefore emit less pollution into the air by using less fossil fuels. 

Switch to Renewable Energy

Using fossil fuels is costly and bad for the environment. Look for ways to add solar panels, geothermal technology, wind, hydro energy, and biomass. There are incentives for using renewable energy sources through the government which can help “buy down” the cost of these kinds of upgrades.

If you're a small business who cannot afford to buy all of these environment-friendly products, then contact your energy companies. You can purchase green energy at a slightly higher cost. Don't forget, people might just buy your product just because you have taken more steps to be more green, so the added cost can potentially lead to more sales.

Reduce the Use of Paper

Giving electronic receipts over paper receipts for things will help use less paper and fewer trees. The energy used to produce paper is significant as well. So the less paper you use, the less energy is being drawn to produce said paper. Not to mention the energy used to harvest trees and transport them, and then ship the paper to you.

Aside from offering electronic receipts, you can also do double-sided printing. Use paper that has high recycled content. Recycle your paper as much as possible.

Graph originally published in 3rd International Congress on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources Proceedings, 2007 paper: DETERMINING ENERGY SAVINGS USING UTILITY BILLS. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reduce Waste

This can save you huge amounts of money by having smaller removal costs, as well as cost savings on raw materials, and it can make you more efficient, productive, and will improve your public image. To accomplish this, simply produce less waste. You can do this by:

* Exchanging, selling, or giving away unneeded goods
* Redesigning products to use less material
* Redesigning packaging
* Designing a packaging return program with your customers
* Reusing shipping/packing materials
* Developing a product take-back program
* Eliminating, reusing, or recycling cardboard
* Repairing broken furniture to extend its life instead of tossing and buying new
* Buying products made from recycled material
* Using and maintaining durable equipment and supplies
* Purchasing environmentally preferable products
* Not using catalogs or sending junk mail
* Finding ways to reuse products you no longer need or passing them along to someone else
* Recycling. Whenever possible recycle.
* Conserving water. Getting water to your building uses energy unless you have a well system. So to save here, make sure you repair broken pipes, use water efficient appliances, have controls that turn faucets off automatically, water efficient landscaping, install an energy efficient water heater, and insulate pipes. 

Doing these things will save you and your business money in the long run, and in general will be good for business. As more and more people become interested in energy conservation, they will also seek out companies which have the same values.

The Benefits of Geothermal Heating & Air Conditioning Systems

Geothermal heating and air conditioning systems are gaining in popularity, and for good reason. Geothermal heat pumps are not a new idea - they have been in use since the 1940s - but with the recent green movement, more people are gaining awareness of this efficient technology. Here is how it works, and some of the benefits.

Renewable Energy: Geothermal Heating and Cooling (Photo credit: Argonne National Laboratory)

Every day, the earth absorbs solar energy and stores it. This is why the temperature below the earth's surface is relatively constant. Below the frost line, it's warmer underground in the winter. In the summer, it's cooler underground (this is the principle behind root cellars). Geothermal heating and cooling systems make use of this sun-to-earth energy.

There are two main types of heating and cooling systems: closed loop and open loop. Both are based in the principle of the heat pump.

An open loop system actually taps into ground water which is, like the earth underground, at a fairly constant temperature. The water is pumped into the geothermal heat pump where it is warmed, circulated through the dwelling, then returned to the earth or used in other ways in the dwelling. Because the ground water temperature is warmer than the cold, outside air, the heat pump does not have to work very hard to heat the water.

Closed loop systems circulate water and anti-freeze through a closed network of pipes. The pipes are laid underground, beginning and ending at the heat pump in the building's basement. As the liquid in the pipes travels underground, it gets heated or warmed by the pump, depending on the season.

A hand-drawn picture of a heat pump system schematic combined with cold and heat storage, based on a schematic from Geotherm Energy systems. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Benefits of Geothermal

The benefits of geothermal heating and air conditioning systems are numerous. For example:

1. Much less electricity is used in the generation of hot or cold air with geothermal systems. Because electricity requires fossil fuels to be produced, this helps reduce the use of such fuels. It also lowers your electric bill.

2. Geothermal systems can save energy and water, too, as the hot water produced in an open loop system can be used in various other household applications.
 
3. Geothermal systems are said to be much more comfortable. There is much less fluctuation in indoor temperature.

4. There are no visible, above-ground components that make noise and can be unsightly. The geothermal system is underground and in the building's basement.

5. No emissions are produced by geothermal systems.

6. There is a great deal of versatility with these systems. They can be customized for just about any dwelling, even going underground vertically in the absence of horizontal property.

Seven Easy Everyday Planet Saving Tips

Saving the planet, conserving and using sustainable products, has become more than a passing fad.  It has evolved into a way of life.  Being environmentally conscious often also means being financially conscious – it often saves money.  Let’s look at 7 things you can do every day to save the planet.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#1.  Buy and use reusable shopping bags.  Whenever you go shopping, whether it’s at the grocery store or clothing store, use reusable bags.  You can often purchase these durable cloth bags at your local market or home store but you can also order designer reusable shopping bags online.  You can even make your own.  The cost of a reusable bag bought at the market costs just a few dollars and you’re saving the earth from overfull landfills.  Plastic takes 1,000 years to decompose and paper bags use 14 million trees a year.

#2.  Turn it off.  Whether it’s lights or the water faucet, turn them off when you’re not using them.  Every day we leave the water running while we brush our teeth, wash our face, shave and shampoo our hair.  Turn it off when you’re not using it and save thousands of gallons of water each year.  And if you’re in the habit of leaving the lights on when you leave the room a simple change in habit, turning them off when you leave the room, will save energy and money. 

That goes for your computer too. When you’re not using it, rather than putting it into sleep mode, turn it off.

#3.  Adjust your thermostat.  This is an easy one. Simply lower your thermostat in the winter by 5 degrees and raise your thermostat 5 degrees in the summer and you’ll save both on your electric and gas utility bills, and you’ll save resources.

#4.  Walk when you can.  Walking is great exercise.  It allows you to get valuable fresh air and sunshine and of course walking conserves fuel.  If walking isn’t an option, consider a bicycle.  You can cover the same amount of distance in about half the time and biking is exceptional exercise.  You don’t have to be Lance Armstrong to get on a bike, and your bike doesn’t need to be fancy.  They’re making wonderful cruiser bikes which are comfortable and uncomplicated, no gears or disc brakes to worry about, and they’re good for holding baskets which you can fill with groceries or other items.

#5.  Reduce, reuse, and recycle.  We’re not just talking about the basics here.  Yes, it’s great to reuse that bag your last birthday present came in however what about reusing the same water glass throughout the day to save washing as many dishes.  You can also pour the stale water in your pet’s water dish into your plants.  You can use food containers to pack your lunch instead of plastic baggies and plastic wrap.  The options to reduce, reuse and recycle are endless.  Take a look around your home and see where you can conserve.

Compact fluorescent light bulb (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#6.  When your light bulbs burn out, instead of replacing them with another standard light bulb, replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs.  They’re energy smart and while they cost a touch more than a standard bulb, they last 10 times longer. 

#7.  As you run out of cleaning products in your home, replace them with natural or environmentally friendly cleaning products. Look for biodegradable products and if you’re unsure whether a product is environmentally safe, look for the health warnings.  If it’s warning-free, meaning nothing on the label says toxic, dangerous, warning or any other alarming notation, then you’re probably safe. (For some examples of eco-friendly cleaning products and more, visit http://www.newholisticliving.com.)

There are hundreds of small steps you can take every day to make the planet we live on a healthier and safer place to be.  Start with these everyday tips, integrate them into your daily routine.  Once they become a habit you can look for new eco-friendly habits to adopt.

Video - Home Winterizing Tips

In this short video, a home improvement expert demonstrates several tips for winterizing your home and getting your home ready for the energy needs of winter, while keeping your electric bills down through increased efficiency.

How to winterize your home for comfort and energy efficiency
Lou Manfredini discusses ways to winterize your home. Tips include: getting a professional furnace inspection and tune-up; replacing old, drafty windows and doors with quality, energy-efficient products from a manufacturer such as Marvin; weather str...

Recommended Resource: The Eco Energy Saver 400

The Eco Energy Saver 400 Package is a great purchase that is packed full of energy- saving products. Not only will these products help you to save your hard-earned money, but you will also help the environment by being eco-conscious.

The package includes a lot of different energy-saving small products that will make a big improvement to your energy bill. It includes: Window Energy Film, Hot Water Heater Insulating Jacket, SmartStrip Power Strip, 6 Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, Low Flow Showerhead, Foam Outlet Gaskets and other products to turn your home into an energy-saving household.

The purchase price of this bundle of energy-saving products might seem quite high at first, but you will certainly notice the financial savings over a relatively short period of time. I think that this package would make a fantastic gift/purchase for anybody wanting to improve their energy consumption in their home.

Where to buy: www.neutralexistence.com
(in the Search box right at the top, type "Eco Energy Saver 400")