Forum | Free Home Energy Saving Tips

craig3d on Pre heating water before geyser

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:48:23 -0400

Hi, i am keen to learn how to go about saving electricity by introducing cold municipal water into a black pvc pipe coil on the roof for arguments sake, that then feeds into the geyser. I have seen a few you tube videos of these rigs. My main question is, what type of material should the pipe be made of given(1) That with the increase of tempriture, you will have a decrease in integrity of the pipe, and (2) more importantly, when heated, which pipe material will give of no harmful toxins.

I reakon that with the warm african sun that lives above me, i could pre-heat my municipal water to between 20 and 50 degrees celsius.

Does anyone have any ideas or experiance with plumbing, farming or anything to do with this question.

Thanks

Craig

tomaschiv on Do water softeners waste water?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:53:16 -0400

I have one installed...do they waste water or energy? Should i have it uninstalled?

tomaschiv on Recycling Water

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:52:17 -0400

Anyone have any tips on how to recycle water? I usually catch water from my gutters in a bucket, then use the water to water my plants during the spring, summer and fall months. I'd be interested to know or find out what other people do to recycle water.

tomaschiv on Can anyone recommend an energy auditor in the Columbus, OH area?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:50:13 -0400

I'd be much obliged if anyone has had any experiences with a good company in Columbus, OH.

tomaschiv on Multiple refrigerators

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:48:21 -0400

I know that running two or more refrigerators in the house is a no no, but are there any circumstances when it might be acceptable? I have a multiple refrigerator household and was just wondering, and no, the second fridge is not in the garage or anything.

tomaschiv on When to replace a furnace

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:44:22 -0400

acoliarti said:My friend told me that I should think about replacing my furnace soon, but I know this will be expensive. When should I replace my furnace? I've alsways been a proponent of running things into the ground....but this one I'm not so sure of. You know, since it heats my house and all.

Not that it matters, but what kind of furnace do you have? I would think that perhaps the type has to have something to do with it.

acoliarti on When to replace a furnace

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:21:38 -0400

My friend told me that I should think about replacing my furnace soon, but I know this will be expensive. When should I replace my furnace? I've alsways been a proponent of running things into the ground....but this one I'm not so sure of. You know, since it heats my house and all.

acoliarti on Best Time to do an energy audit

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:16:49 -0400

Hi all, just curious - when is the best time to do an audit? In cold months or warm months? And what time of day is preferred?

harry on What's the best electric heater for my room?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:14:55 -0400

I'm having a problem with the electric heater in my room and was thinking about replacing it. I have a 12x15 room - what heater should I use to provide aux heat overnight? I would like to keep energy costs down, obviously.

harry on Electric heaters in my room

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:13:36 -0400

I'm having a problem with one of the portable electric heaters in my bedroom. For some odd reason, whenever I turn it on, the oil inside warms very very hot, and then turns itself off. I verified the settings on the unit are okay, and should remain warm throughout the day or night. What could possibly be wrong?

harry on CFL versus other bulbs

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:11:30 -0400

I personally don't like the glow of LED lights, even CFL still bugs me. They take a little while to warm up, so to speak. CFL are still very expensive in my area, but I still use them outside in places where I don't really care if the lights are on. That said, though, I still use traditional bulbs and just keep careful tabs on my usage.

harry on Learning to shut down your PC

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:09:27 -0400

David Andersen said:How many of us put the computer to sleep vs shut it down vs just turn off the monitor either at home or at work? We could save a lot on energy by shutting all the way down, but sleep is the next best option, of course.

How much extra power does sleep mode take?

harry on What tools do I need to do an energy audit

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:08:32 -0400

Hi, perhaps this is a very simple question to answer, but what do I need to do a good energy audit? Do I need to buy anything?

Thanks,

harry

David Andersen on How much would an energy audit save me?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:10:26 -0400

acoliarti said:Hi, I'm a bit of an energy beginner...I read alot about energy audits both on this site and other energy sites. How much can I really expect to save by having an energy audit done on my home? I'm also a little afaid of costs. I don't want to spend a lot of money and then be told that I need to spend even more to make my house more energy efficient or reduce my bills by only a few bucks a month or something. Is it really worth it?

Its hard to say, each home and homeowner will see different savings. Bottom line, yes it is very worth it to do an energy audit, or have one done for you.

David Andersen on Does it really pay to bundle your services?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:09:03 -0400

colinf said:David Andersen said:

Recently I had a representative from the cable company come along and offer me a deal to bundle my phone, internet connection, and cable all in one. The catch was I had to sign a 2 year deal. Currently, my phone is not a contract (month to month) and my internet and cable are not under contract (month to month as well.) The advantage to having the contract for 2 years is to protect against price increases, but my rates haven't really risen in years anyways.

Anyone have thoughts about savings by bundling services together? I did the math and it would save about $5 a month, but to me, I'd rather have the freedom of no contract versus a 2 year deal with a $20 "buy in" installation fee AND and $150 cancellation fee rider.

Do you use Vonage?> Their prices have been going up steadily and I'm not happy about it. I considered switching services with another VOIP provider or my cable company, or even trying something like having just my cell phone in place of a home phone. I guess if you're getting a good deal you should look into it, unless you';re thinking about cancelling a service relatively soon. Then probably not so much.

Actually, yes I do. There's a few things that bug me about the cable company's phone service, and Vonage has actually been really reliable for me, so I think I'll stay put for now. The salesman was a little pushy, but when I stopped to think about it, I get flyers every two weeks in the mail begging me to switch, so the "offer" he was trying to sell me on certainly isn't going away.