In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you now that I love hot weather.  Now that we are finally creeping out of winter into some warmer weather, my spirits are rising accordingly.  Of course for some of us, this is not good news as the approaching summer heat also signals a rise in [...]]]>

In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you now that I love hot weather.  Now that we are finally creeping out of winter into some warmer weather, my spirits are rising accordingly.  Of course for some of us, this is not good news as the approaching summer heat also signals a rise in our energy bills. Central air conditioning can be one of the highest energy consuming systems in a house, beating out all other appliances.  So here are some ideas to help keep your cool before resorting to cranking up the AC:

1. Close the blinds while you are out: This is a small habit that can really make a difference.  Even if you haven’t invested in solar shades which are supposed to reduce the effect of UV rays, you can still keep your house cooler by closing the window coverings that you own.  Anything that stops the sun’s rays from getting in and heating up your home will help.
2. Plant shade trees: If you have a yard and the space to support them, consider planting some shade trees.  If you aren’t sure how to go about it, visit the Arbor Day Foundation web page.  Not only do they provide information about different types of trees, they will also sell you a tree that is appropriate for your region.  Spring planting time is now, so if this is something you are interested in, go check it out.
3. Change your AC filter:  Dirty AC filters cause the unit to work harder to push air through, so make sure you are changing out your filters.
4. Set your programmable thermostat:  Do not cool your home when you aren’t it in.  A programmable thermostat will help automate this good habit.
5. Take a shower:  Unless you are running a sauna in your bathroom,  a shower can help cool down your body temperature and leave you feeling relaxed.  Its a nice thing to do before bed.
6. Use ceiling fans:  A ceiling fan will keep air circulating around a room which creates a cooling effect on your skin.  Most fans have a separate setting for warm and cold weather, the difference being the direction of rotation, so make sure you are using the correct setting.
7. Get a cooling unit for your room:  Unless you have a need to air condition your entire house, it is probably cheaper to invest in a cooling unit for the individual room you are in.  This can be something as simple as a box fan, a portable air conditioner, or a window-mounted unit.  I even found this bed-mounted unit called The Bedfan which claims to alleviate night sweats and hot sleeping in general!  If you do decide to invest in a room air conditioner, please note that according to the Department of Energy, that using a unit that is too large for your room often results in fast cooling times but ineffective removal of humidity.  The result can be a cold clammy room, so check their recommendations for correctly sizing your room AC here.

So those are my tips for dealing with summer heat without upping your cooling bill.  Feel free to drop a comment if you think I missed one, but don’t you tell me to learn to love the heat, cause I already got that one down!

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics will be starting soon on February 12th, and though the Olympic Cauldron hasn’t yet been lit, there are still a lot of interesting things going on!  This year’s Olympic organizers appear to have put a great deal of thought into improving the sustainability of the event.  From partnering with indigenous peoples to attempting [...]]]>

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics will be starting soon on February 12th, and though the Olympic Cauldron hasn’t yet been lit, there are still a lot of interesting things going on!  This year’s Olympic organizers appear to have put a great deal of thought into improving the sustainability of the event.  From partnering with indigenous peoples to attempting to neutralize the Olympic carbon footprint, organizers have made numerous efforts to green up which you can read about on their Sustainability web page.

One aspect of the operations that I find fascinating, has been the work done to reuse otherwise wasted heat energy.  Several of the sporting arenas and the Olympic village are setup with heat reclamation systems.  For example, at Riley-Hillcrest-Nat Bailey Stadium Parks the waste heat generated by the curling rink refrigeration plant will be used to heat pool water and space at the nearby aquatics center.

Now several of you may be wondering what good this information does the average person.  Not many of us have the budget of a Host Olympic City to spend on sustainability projects.   It turns out that it is quite possible to reclaim wasted water heat in the home.  Here are a few facts from the U.S. Department of Energy’s website on Drain Water Heat Recovery:

• Between 80-90% of the energy used to heat water in the home, goes down the drain with the water.
• Drain water heat recovery systems can capture that energy and use it to pre-heat cold water before it goes to your water heater or other appliance.
• Heat recovery systems cost between $300 – $500, not including installation but will pay off between 2.5 – 7 years pending use.

So how do these heat recovery systems work?  The core concept is simple and relies on heat exchange.  Using a shower as an example, a heat recovery system could work as such:

1. Heated water from the hot water tank gets sent up a pipe to the shower.
2. As the person showers, the still hot waste water goes down the drain pipe.
3. Normally cold water would be piped into the water heater to replenish the hot water supply.  However, in a heat recovery system, the inbound cold water is sent through a pipe that makes multiple curls around the drainage pipe along the way.
4. The heat of the outbound shower water is transferred to the incoming cold water.  Usually these sections of the system are made with copper pipe to assist in the heat transfer.
5. After going through the heat transfer, the inbound water has been pre-warmed before entering the water heater.  This action reduces the amount of energy it will take the water heater to perform its job.

The system I’ve just described is basic and is only useful when doing something that uses hot and cold water at the same time. However, more advanced systems allow the capability to store the recovered heat for later use.  It is an exciting idea for improving energy efficiency that has yet to become popular in the United States, though it appears to be doing quite well in Canada.  So if you are considering some home renovations to improve efficiency or making changes to your plumbing, ask your contractor if they can perform this kind of work.

And next month, as you are happily watching the Olympics, just keep in mind that there’s a lot of green going on behind the scenes.