Posts Tagged ‘green’

According to certain estimations, the average person flushes 35 gallons of water down the toilet, everyday. Considering you’re a family of four or more, you can safely presume that nothing less than 300 gallons of water are being used just to flush toilets, other uses of water notwithstanding. Although water is not really expensive in the US (so far) it’s only a matter of time before we begin to feel the pinch. And the ironic part is: despite the fact that it is as cheap as it is, no amount of money can buy or create water, when it’s gone, it’s gone.
So what can we do to prevent this bleak situation? Get new toilets. Conventional toilets use about 5 gallons of water per flush, significantly more than the new toilets, which use about 1.6 gallons. Going by that estimate, you can save phenomenal amounts of water, anywhere between 8000 to 20000 gallons a year, depending on your current usage. This translates into some nifty savings on cash too, upto $100 per year.
The 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) limit is the newest upper limit enforced by the EPA for toilets, which means there are also toilets that use lesser amount of water, some even lesser than 1 gpf. Many homeowners worry that such ‘low-flow’ toilets will also be low on efficiency. However the latest generation of toilets are high on efficiency while being low on water consumption. Watersense labeled toilets are some of the best you can find today in this category.
Cost is another factor that bothers many homeowners when we suggest low-flow high efficiency toilets. Although these toilets are expensive than normal toilets, the annual savings on water bills pretty much offset the initial costs. In fact, according to certain estimations, the ROI on water efficient toilets is about 50%. Altogether, this makes water efficient toilets a very sensible option if you’re going to remodel your bathroom.

When trying to conserve energy and your wallet, one of the important factors many people overlook is weather. There is a certain ‘optimal’ HVAC system for every kind of weather, and by designing with that in mind helps to makes sure that your budget remains optimal too. Not every house needs air conditioning or furnace heaters. For instance, if you usually have moderate weather throughout the year, like we have in the Pacific Northwest, you could actually replace conventional heaters and A/Cs with heat pumps. And we generally advice our clients to go in for geothermal heat pumps. (GHP)
A heat pump works by moving heat from a warm area to a cool area. It operates on electricity and generally moves heat from the warm air outside to your cold interiors or warm air indoors to cool exteriors. Heat pumps that exchange heat in this manner are called air-source heat pumps. Overall pumps have high efficiency, in fact the highest, since they use very little energy and don’t really create heat, only move it. A geothermal pump works in a similar fashion, only, it exchanges heat with the earth, instead of air. Geothermal heat pumps move the earth’s heat through ducts into a cool house, and vice versa. Because the lower layer of the earth remains more or less at the same temperature, and is warm, GHP work in almost every kind of weather and are favored largely in extreme temperatures.
Geo Thermal Heat pumps are generally more expensive than conventional heating systems. However, the success of an installation depends on the weather, soil quality and certain other factors. Yet, over the long term, the operating costs of heat pump, especially geothermal heat pumps cost very little to operate and provide up to 300% efficiency.

We will all agree, that when it comes to home operating costs and maintenance, little else burns as large a hole in our pockets as heating and cooling. HVAC is one place where homes lose a lot of greenery – in terms of money, and in terms of the carbon footprint they add. Therefore, when we remodel homes, a lot of homeowners want to know how to restructure their HVAC systems, to make their homes (and their pockets) greener. Our answer to them – mini split systems.
Most homes run on centralized HVAC systems that use ducts and sometimes pipes to control temperatures indoors. While these systems are quite alright, they are not always feasible when you are attempting a remodel, especially if you are adding an extra floor or room space or making major design changes. Restructuring the entire duct and pipe system adds considerably to the cost. Mini split systems make it easy to manage indoor temperatures without any major construction or uprooting.
Mini split systems are also called ductless systems and are available for heating and air conditioning purposes. These systems come with three parts, which can be very simply explained as: one part which is mounted indoors to maintain air and temperature, one part outside which handles the condensing and compressing and a third part linking both parts with suction wires, electrical wires, drain and refrigerant tubing. This entire system can be fitted with minimal inconvenience and construction and works efficiently to heat/cool/condition as per your requirements.
The amazing thing about them is their efficiency. Bonneville Power administration just did a study that found that mini splits can be as high as 450 % efficient. For every $1.00 you spend you get $4.50 worth of heat. Nothing else on the market even comes close. Back that up with a supper insulated house and your heating bill will become a non issue.

There are also quite a few other things you should keep in mind when buying an installing LED lighting. Having the services of an experienced electrician at your disposal is very important, as is the knowledge of an interior designer who’s worked with LED lighting. Bear in mind the following points:
1. White LED lighting tends to emit a specific kind of white light, which is different from other kinds of white light. This causes certain colors to be seen differently. Thus, you might find that your interiors don’t look the way they were supposed upon installing LED lighting. It is thus important to get a ‘test’ done, or seek professional opinion to see if your interiors will go with white LED lighting. (However, newer LEDs seem to have conquered this drawback)
2. Many people will opt for LEDs specifically because of their aesthetic appeal. However knowing where to use which LED lighting is another important factor determining the aesthetics of the entire setup. An array of LED lightings could be used to illuminate an entire room, while miniature LEDs are great for lighting up stairways, corridors and external paths to the house. Many will also use miniature LEDs for lighting up kitchen closets from the inside. Using the wrong LEDs in the wrong place could lead to an interior disaster.
3. LEDs are the most expensive option – only in the beginning. Their initial high price is off-set by their efficiency (and thus the lower bills) and their lifetime. However, using them correctly is important to ensure this happens. Another aspect we suggest to all our customers who look at green building – When it comes to making eco-friendly decisions, we need to look at life time costs, rather than one-time costs. In this regard, LED seems to win the race.

An eco-friendly option not many have explored in developed countries is rainwater harvesting. Today this option is not about placing barrels or cisterns on your roof top and no, it’s not uncool. Collecting rainwater for uses apart from drinking severely reduces the load on your water supplier and water supply facilities. It also reduces your water bills. In developing countries that get a good amount of rainfall, rainwater harvesting is implemented on a large scale and used for everything – including drinking, even though water is not a paid-for service. It is done purely as a way to conserve a resource from running dry.
Today, you can buy and install any of the modern and easily available rainwater harvesting systems. These systems collect, filter and then pump rainwater to parts of the house that it can be used. Depending on the amount of rainfall your region receives; and the amount you’d like to harvest, rainwater harvesting systems come in different capacities and with different installations. Systems are also distinguished by where the water will be used. Domestic systems collect and treat rainwater so that it is usable for domestic uses like laundry and cleaning and if purified further even cooking. A garden system on the other hand collects water and pumps it through your garden’s irrigation system. This gives you two benefits – you save on water bills, plus you also save on sewage treatment bills, since the water you use is automatically introduced back into the ground and thus (recycled).
A simple rainwater harvesting system is also quite affordable and makes a lot of economic sense in the long run. An eco-friendly option not many have explored in developed countries is rainwater harvesting. Today this option is not about placing barrels or cisterns on your roof top and no, it’s not uncool. Collecting rainwater for uses apart from drinking severely reduces the load on your water supplier and water supply facilities. It also reduces your water bills. In developing countries that get a good amount of rainfall, rainwater harvesting is implemented on a large scale and used for everything – including drinking, even though water is not a paid-for service. It is done purely as a way to conserve a resource from running dry.
Today, you can buy and install any of the modern and easily available rainwater harvesting systems. These systems collect, filter and then pump rainwater to parts of the house that it can be used. Depending on the amount of rainfall your region receives; and the amount you’d like to harvest, rainwater harvesting systems come in different capacities and with different installations. Systems are also distinguished by where the water will be used. Domestic systems collect and treat rainwater so that it is usable for domestic uses like laundry and cleaning and if purified further even cooking. A garden system on the other hand collects water and pumps it through your garden’s irrigation system. This gives you two benefits – you save on water bills, plus you also save on sewage treatment bills, since the water you use is automatically introduced back into the ground and thus (recycled).
A simple rainwater harvesting system is also quite affordable and makes a lot of economic sense in the long run. An eco-friendly option not many have explored in developed countries is rainwater harvesting. Today this option is not about placing barrels or cisterns on your roof top and no, it’s not uncool. Collecting rainwater for uses apart from drinking severely reduces the load on your water supplier and water supply facilities. It also reduces your water bills. In developing countries that get a good amount of rainfall, rainwater harvesting is implemented on a large scale and used for everything – including drinking, even though water is not a paid-for service. It is done purely as a way to conserve a resource from running dry.
Today, you can buy and install any of the modern and easily available rainwater harvesting systems. These systems collect, filter and then pump rainwater to parts of the house that it can be used. Depending on the amount of rainfall your region receives; and the amount you’d like to harvest, rainwater harvesting systems come in different capacities and with different installations. Systems are also distinguished by where the water will be used. Domestic systems collect and treat rainwater so that it is usable for domestic uses like laundry and cleaning and if purified further even cooking. A garden system on the other hand collects water and pumps it through your garden’s irrigation system. This gives you two benefits – you save on water bills, plus you also save on sewage treatment bills, since the water you use is automatically introduced back into the ground and thus (recycled).
A simple rainwater harvesting system is also quite affordable and makes a lot of economic sense in the long run.