Plastic Up the Windows, Winter is Here

One of the biggest scams with replacement windows is the installation. You can buy a window that is supposed to save you half of your home heating and cooling costs but if they are installed half assed you get nothing. When the guys making $10 or $12 an hour to install the windows just install a window then they just install a window. Much of the savings is lost when the installers do not insulate or caulk around the outside of the jams around the new window and you might as well still have that old window in its place. All that technology in a top of the line new replacement window you just paid top dollar for is lost because a twenty cent piece of fiberglass insulation was not stuffed in the gaps of the frame by a guy or gal making $10 or $12 dollars an hour. The sales pitch was great, the end result sucks.

We rent, the house has all new double glass windows, I feel bad for the original owner of the house who probably paid a fortune for the full replacement of all the windows in a three family house. They got screwed! Every winter we have to throw plastic window wrapping over the inside of the windows to not only cover the windows but the trim around them inside the house. I fear the house is going to lift off at any moment because the sails of the plastic are always full in our double pain windows. How do you fly a three decker house? Is there even a flight school for this? Maybe the people that sell the plastic window insulation kits should cover this topic in the installation directions?

Anywho, the plastic is going up in this house and if you want to save some heating dollars then you need to throw some plastic up on your windows too. It isn’t hard to do. Every home improvement store carries the kits this time of year for all sized windows. We covered our three bay bedroom windows with a large oversized window kit. The temperature in the room rose by ten degrees or more with just the existing heating system.

It’s simple, it is inexpensive, and it saves you big bucks on your heating bill. You put the supplied double sided tape around the window trim on the wall, you pull the protecting layer off the double sided tape starting with the top edge and half way down on each side of the window, start at the top of the window with the plastic and fit it to the surrounding wall and frame of the window. Remove the rest of the protective barrier on tape as you snuggly fit it to the window. Press and seal the plastic and you did it! Done! Now all you have to do is wait for the energy savings in your home heating bill.

Frost King has a great product and I’m sure that your local home repair store has other great products that would achieve the same goal. Saving you money on your heating bill this winter is easy if you put the plastic up on the windows.

Papamoka

Energy Saving Cargo Ships

With the cost of diesel fuel running so high the cost of shipping products of any kind is effecting many of the things you and I buy every single day. Those big tankers and container ships do not get the kind of mileage your Chevrolet does and any cost savings to the company is a direct savings to the manufacturers which can then be passed on to the consumer. In the nutshell, if Sony can ship a product from Japan to the United States and the bill to do so is 10% or 35% lower then that savings can be passed on to you the consumer.

Originally, I found this on the Boston Globe but they didn’t do the piece any justice. Picture a tanker or container ship with a couple of huge parachutes pulling ahead of them. This is new technology but then again it isn’t. We used to call them clipper ships but the sails were attached to the ship itself and not on a tow line. This technology has tweaked that and improved it to save energy. Testing is still going on now as I type to see how much savings.

SkySails: Energy Saving Ideas For Sea Travel
by Amanda Gore in Ethical Consumerism, Transport & Travel, Environmental

Inspired by the most traditional of water-travel methods, SkySails aims to get cargo ships using wind power once again. With oil prices rising considerably, and industry increasingly interested in searching out cheaper alternatives, SkySails’ ‘wind propulsion system’ claims to be attracting a considerable amount of interest and it’s no great surprise why.

Essentially the system is two giant kites that act as sails that are connected through a towing rope rather than on a mast directly attached to the ship, plus a wind-optimised routeing system to get the best puff possible. According to the company, using the system average annual fuel costs can be lowered between 10-35% depending on the wind conditions, and up to 50% under optimal wind conditions. They estimate that at the current price of oil that could equate to a saving of 1/3 of a ship’s diesel costs. This has yet to be proved, though the company aims to do just that through it’s first commercial pilot, which launched on Tuesday. - PSFK

You can check out the video here… SkySails

When it comes to any energy savings device then I am all for it. From time to time I find these interesting little morsels of new technology and post them on Papamoka. Apparently, so are the Germans that created this new idea for the shipping industry. One thing is certain, OPEC is going to be in trouble if ideas like this one spread and somebody builds a better mouse trap.

I’m sure that there was thousands of ours engineering this idea and I heartily congratulate the people that are moving this forward. Any ideas that can make a dent in our worlds reliance on oil is a good thing. Sometimes it’s great being an infadel.

Check back here soon for the next tid bit of new thoughts on how to screw over big oil special interests. I have to tell you that this one blew me away and no pun intended.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Michaellinnjones.com and Bring IT ON!

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Tankless Hot Water Heater

There is nothing worse than jumping into the shower and all the hot water is gone just as you finish soaping up. Needless to say the expletives coming from Mom and Dad as they finish their cold shower can be heard throughout the entire home. In my home the culprit for the expletives is usually me because Mom is up first, followed by two teenage daughters.

In our previous home we had a tankless gas hot water heater from Bosch Aquastar installed that I loved. No huge tank heating water 24 hours a day burning natural gas even if we were off on vacation. When you turned the hot water on the water was instantly heated from the time it left the unit till you were damn good and ready to get out of the shower. Even if your wife and five daughters had all previously showered just before you. The true benefit is that even with long showers by every person in the house we still saved a ton of cash on our gas bill every single month. We averaged about $40 bucks a month in savings.

There is only one downside to converting from the ancient technology of heating water in a forty or fifty-five gallon monster that sucks money out of your checking account every month, the start up cost. Depending on the size of your home and your hot water needs you can spend between $1000 to $1800 to convert your gas or electric water heater over to tankless hot water. With some of the higher priced units supplying six gallons per minute of hot water you get what you pay for so sizing your home to the usage is critical before you invest dollar one. The payback according to some sites is a 20% to 50% savings on your hot water utility bill every month.

If you want to explore this just a tad further then you can Google search it in the link on the sidebar by copying and pasting:

Tankless Gas Water Heater
Or
Tankless Electric Water Heater
Or
Tankless Liquid Propane Gas Water Heater

One of the other advantages to having a tankless hot water heater is the lifetime of the products is far greater than any form of tank water heater. On our Aquastar it was rated for a 25 year lifetime based on average use. On these newer units you would have to do a little research and see what they are up to now. Needless to say the payback on any of the tankless hot water heaters is probably around the three to five year range.

Just for the record, some of these units are pretty complex with the installation so you might want to contact the appropriate trade for the installation of the unit. This is not the average do it yourself project since the work involves gas pipes and electric wiring to service most of the units. Make sure you ask them if they have ever installed one before you hire them to do your install. My guesstimate to convert your home to tankless hot water included the cost of having it professionally installed.

Happy Hot Water Showering,
Papamoka

This post is dedicated to my cousin Julie who inspired me to write it. Thanks Jules!

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring IT ON!

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Washington is Full of Methane Related Gas

Picture Courtesy of NREL

While both sides of the isle claim to be trying to resolve our nation energy policy the only thing really getting done is… well, nothing. Over on the right they are pushing for more oil drilling and over on the left they are pushing for alternative energy sources. What we end up with is… well, nothing.

It’s almost as if they need Moe from the Three Stooges fame to show up on the floor of the House and Senate and do his slap routine. Line up the entire crew and get a running start Moe.

Over at the Washington Post they have this to say about our nations lack of leadership on America’s energy policy…

A Wind-Powered Town, an Energy Bill and a Lot of Hot Air

By Dana Milbank
Friday, June 15, 2007

There's a certain irony in Washington's failure to devise a modern energy policy. This is, after all, the one place on earth that is powered almost entirely by wind.
Lawmakers are growing further apart on energy legislation, as Democrats demand alternative fuels and Republicans insist on more drilling. But for both sides, the ability to talk about energy is both plentiful and renewable.

Snip-a-roo

Talk about a large carbon footprint. The amount of CO2 emitted from the mouths of all these lawmakers, lobbyists and activists was enough to cause part of Greenland to melt into the sea.

"This bill's going to have a tough time," said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), demonstrating his mastery of the obvious at one of yesterday's many news conferences. "My guess is there are many hours of lengthy debate ahead." That's a safe guess, given that the Senate plans for about eight days of debate on the bill -- and Republicans such as Craig are hinting at a filibuster that could derail the whole thing.

Snip-a-roo

"We do not believe in the president's theory, the Republicans' theory: Drill, drill, drill, more of the same," Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate majority leader, taunted. "It reminds me of Iraq."

The senators displayed a chart contrasting two families: The energy-efficient "Baileys," who spend $1,600 a year less than the inefficient "Martins." "You notice it's not just any old chart," said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). "There are families mentioned on that chart."

His colleagues had forgotten to tell Casey that the Martins and the Baileys were fictitious. - Washington Post

Rather than griping and pissing and moaning how dead wrong the other side of the isle is why don’t they all just meet in the damn middle of this legislation and call it a damn day? If everyone insists on the Bush mentality of governing (My way or the highway) then we as a nation are stuck with an energy policy that favors using more of what we have less and less of.

Papamoka

Energy Savings 101

If you are like me then you hate your friendly electric utility and those nasty pieces of mail that they insist on sending you once a month called your bill. No matter how much you try to save on your electricity usage it never seems like it makes a dent in the ever rising bill. Downsizing your life to the point of living like a caveman (Sorry Geico) is not the answer to your electric bill woes. Burning candles for your lighting needs is not even remotely practical. Putting the kids on an electricity generating treadmill will only last as long as the sugar shockers they had for breakfast take to burn off. So what do we do for relief?

Take a survey of your home and look at all the light bulbs you have. Count the bulbs and write down the wattage for each bulb. Even if you don’t use that light in the closet you need to count it. It adds up quickly when you really do the math. Just in most bathrooms in the average house there are anywhere from two bulbs to an outrageous ten lights going on and off every time nature calls. Look around your own kitchen and amaze yourself with the amount of lights you actually have. Don’t forget the lighting over the stove in the vent hood! Out door lights that burn power all night long too!

Now that you have your list you can add up the wattage of each one of those bulbs. Write down the numbers seven and ten and next to that put down your last months electric bill. Put that piece of paper in a safe place that you can access it six months from now or even a year. Go to your storage bin or cabinet where you store that mega pack of replacement bulbs that you are constantly restocking. Let’s talk about saving cash on your electric utility bill.

Think fluorescent. Not like you are on a bad acid trip! Think lighting, think of soft serve ice cream cones on a hot summer day. Those funky looking bulbs you see all the time at Home Depot or Lowes. I’ll let you in on a secret, Walmart has the same bulbs that I’m talking about for almost half the cost but that will be our little secret. They had a deal the last few weeks where a three pack of 17 watt bulbs that will cost you about five dollars. Other brands are available at higher prices. Pick up a couple of different wattages in the fluorescent ice cream cone light bulb section. Sixty watts will run you about 15 to 17 watts electricity to run, 75 watts of the old bulb will run you about 23 to 26 watts to operate. Replace the old light bulbs with the equal fluorescent. Focus on replacing all of the old bulbs in the rooms you spend the most time in first and venture out from there. The cost up front is hard to swallow but if you buy them over the course of a couple of months it will not kill your budget.

The progress and long term savings of using these kinds of light bulbs will save you more money than you think. In six months to a year you can pull out that piece of paper again that you recorded the number seven and ten on, and what your electric bill was. Compare what the actual electrical kilowatt hours or KWH usage was in the same time period from six months or a year ago. If you converted half of the lights in your home you should see a huge savings. If you converted your entire home to compact fluorescent bulbs you should see an enormous savings.

Let’s get back to the seven and ten that you wrote down on your initial energy survey of lights. That is the average number of years one fluorescent bulb will last given normal usage. If you think about it, in one year’s time you have not had to replace even one fluorescent bulb. In seven years you may have to replace one or two, in ten to twenty years you may have to replace five. Looks like that storage area for replacement bulbs can be used for something more important like hiding the Oreo cookies from the kids!

There is a dizzying array of light bulbs on the market today -- bulbs that last longer, burn brighter, cost less to operate, are more environmentally friendly or cast a more natural light. Here's a basic guide to keep you out of the dark: - Washington Post

Papamoka

Send me your home energy saving tips and I'll post them here at Papamoka Straight Talk.

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