Tag Archives: green living
Oroeco Makes It Simple To Track Your Carbon Footprint
If You Make Only One (More) Green Change
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10 Helpful Tips for Avoiding Electricity Bill Shock this Winter
NY Times Andrew Revkin On Sustainability (Plus His Great Guitar Performance!)
12 Reclaimed Wood Problems & How to Fix Them
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Solar Shingles or Solar Panels: Which is Best for Your Home?
The Pros And Cons Of Solar Panels
There are many individuals and homeowners that think of solar power and solar technology, solar panels especially, as futurist ideals of clean energy. Even more numerous are the individuals and homeowners that believe solar power and solar energy for the home would be a good idea eventually, but only if the technology advances further to make the applications more realistic.
Set the thermostat and leave it alone. You might think that it’s okay to change the temperature to suit the needs of the day. Maybe you usually turn the AC off completely at night. Odds are that your air conditioner will have to work twice as hard throughout the day to cool your home down, and so it doesn’t advantage you anything.
A simpler solution is to set the temperature to a warmer-but still comfortable-temperature and leave it alone. If your home is set to 75 degrees, your air conditioner will keep an even temperature throughout the entire day, and as soon as the temperature gets to 76, the AC will turn on and maintain the atmosphere.
Not using something? Unplug it. Almost everybody hears the advice to just turn off the lights in a room. That makes a difference. However, light bulbs are more efficient now than they used to be, so it’s not going to equate to saving as much as it used to. So if you’re not using an appliance or something like that, unplug it. A little bit of power going to a dozen different gadgets can add up.
The exact cost of installing solar panels on the home will vary from home to home and is dependent upon several factors including the home itself, the location, and the size of the system being installed. Another drawback to having solar panels on the home is the fact that while after installation the power produced and stored by the solar panels is free, the power source itself can be inconsistent.
An Upside Down House: Daniel Czapiewski, a Polish architect, decided that he wanted to turn architecture on its head, literally. That is exactly what he did when he designed a house that looks like it fell out of the sky into a Wizard of Oz movie set. The home is actually upside down, as if it was flipped over. Instead of steel roofing, Czapiewski’s house has concrete roofing!
So the cons for solar panels include its initial high costs and regular maintenance requirements, but for many these negatives to owning solar panels do not outweigh the multiple benefits. First and foremost, those with solar panels on their home are essentially free from the monthly power bills thanks to their solar power.
Saving money on your utility bills isn’t an easy thing to do. But there are simple things everyone can do to save a little bit at a time. When you use more than one strategy, your savings are compounded, and your electricity dollar goes further. So before you invest in a wind power or solar mounting system, make small, everyday changes and see how big a difference small things can make.
TRA Snow & Sun is the right company to improve your home by amplifying your energy efficiency with solar tile mounts and ensure your roof is ready for the winter with snow fences, snow guards, and more.
Green infrastructure for an eco-friendly world
Green infrastructure is an eco friendly medium of storing and managing the storm water by the process that was used earlier by nature. These processes has been used and maintained by the nature ever since it was created.
Why green infrastructure?
With the development of structures and buildings in a habitable area, the systems occurring naturally to handle storm water have been greatly disturbed. Roads were built, buildings came up and the soil was compacted by equipments used in construction. A result of these activities was that the amount and extent of soil that could allow storm water to drain was greatly reduced. Only about 2-3 percent of rain that fell on a particular area flowed in the surface area.
Since less amount of the rain water is absorbed by the soil many other problems has raised. The most important of all is the erosion which provides threat to the stream banks and the foundations of the buildings. However these kinds of the problems are saved by process of costly shoring. Problems like accumulation of accumulation of water on the electricity workings of the buildings and flooding of the roads have also come up.
To counter act these problems, green infrastructure concept has been put in practice. Green infrastructure was developed in mid nineties in USA to tackle the increasingly severe issues concerning storm water. Storm water also called non-point source water is the biggest source of water pollution in USA.
50 years back the rain water was collected and taken to faraway place through a network of pipes. In modern times Green Infrastructure has replaced this obsolete method.
Elements of Green infrastructure
To manage storm water, green infrastructure use vegetation. In addition, the storm water source itself is examined. The two green infrastructure elements are —downspout extensions and Rain gardens and bioswales.
The greatest source of storm water is rain falling on rooftops. Many rooftops presently have a storm water collection system with downspouts and gutters. However, in some cases, the downspouts connect to pipes that surface on a downgrade and storm water drains into adjacent properties. In some other cases, the collected storm water drains onto road ways and driveways.
But with the downspout system the collected rainwater is drained onto the nearest rain garden. It is the simplest and the cost effective way to deal with rainwater.
Rain-gardens and bioswales are lower in elevation than areas surrounding them. The soil is so engineered that it allows rain water to percolate through several soil and gravel layers. The rain-garden or bioswales captures rain water and even filters it reducing storm water runoff and pollution.
The rain gardens and bioswales are placed close to the structure that produces storm water. Native plants are used for vegetation. The vegetation in the rain garden retains the soil’s permeability. They are designed in such a way to capture 1 inch rainfall completely.
A lot of positive thinking, with productive planning and tremendous effort the idea of the green infrastructure projects have come into being. It has also been proved to be comparatively less expensive and simpler than the other methods of the environment conservation.
Find out more about Environmental Consulting Insurance here and how Beacon Hill Associates can help you.