Dean of Green - HELP Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric

Keep Cool the Green Way

As the weather starts to warm up this spring and summer, your first inclination might be to crank up the A/C. However, this is both an expensive and, sometimes, unnecessary way to deal with high temps. Plus, it’s not a particularly environmentally-friendly way to cool down your home.

There are various “green” things you can do to keep cool and save money when the weather gets hot, such as drink a cold glass of water, invest in energy-saving windows or blinds, or even, for a long-haul approach, plant trees in your front yard that will eventually provide shade to block out the sun.  What are your green ways to keep cool this summer?

POLL:

How do you stay cool at home without A/C?

-          Drink cold beverages

-          Use ceiling/box fans

-          Energy-efficient windows or blinds

-          Hang out under a shady tree

-          Other

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The Dean of Green is written & published by Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling

 

 

(Photo By: Epsos )

Green Plumbing Solutions

Going green can mean more than just recycling paper and plastic, or buying local goods. There are many parts of your life that can be adjusted to help out the environment, even the plumbing system in your home.

For starters, check out tankless hot water heaters. These are installed in the home and provide hot water to the faucets needed by running the water through a heated box. This saves energy by only heating water when its requested, instead of using all of the energy it takes to continuously keep a giant tank of water warm.

There is even a green solution for your shower: low-flow aerators. These are attatched to the faucet head in your shower and reduce the flow of water while still maintaining water pressure. There are also low-flow showerheads that decrease the amount of water used, however they increase water pressure.

As for the toilet, look into purchasing a composting toilet, which requires very little, if any, water at all. A composting toilet doesn’t even require a sewage or a septic system. It doesn’t need the water to flush waste to a chemical treatment plant, because it breaks down waste into fertilizer.

You could also look into other green toilet models, such as a dual flush or a low-flow model that uses less water than a standard toilet.

By checking out these products, your home’s plumbing system could become a little more green, saving you and the planet some energy.

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The Dean of Green is written and published by Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling

 

(Photo By DannDalf)

Composting 101

Have you ever wondered whether there’s a more environmentally-friendly way to get rid of food waste rather than throwing it in the trash or down the garbage disposal? Well the answer is yes: the answer is composting.

Composting is a natural process by which organic materials such as plants and paper are broken down by aerobic bacteria and other microorganisms over a period of weeks and months.

You can compost everything from coffee grounds and egg shells to yard clippings and leaves – virtually anything made out of organic, or once-living, material. What’s more, once the material is composted, you can use it as a green fertilizer for your yard!

So what do you need to start composting food and yard trash? Just a little bit of space. Some people pile up organic matter to compost in an out-of-the-way part of their backyard, while others purchase or build a composting bin.

The composting process will happen naturally and is aided by shredding and wetting the material, and by turning the mixture regularly to promote aeration.

For more information on how to start composting, check out this resource on composting from the U.S. EPA.  And to further help the earth by reducing your household energy and water consumption, contact Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling.

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The Dean of Green is written and published by Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling

How Does a Tankless Water Heater Work?

Perhaps you’ve already heard of a tankless water heater, also called demand, flash, or even instantaneous water heater; named so because they heat water on an as-needed basis.

It is particularly known for combating high energy costs that are usually associated with hot water heaters. A standard hot water heater, with a tank, accounts for just about 17 percent of all home energy use in the United States because of standby loss.

A tankless heater works by heating the water directly through the pipes from heat sources, which can be electric, gas, or even solar. Since there is no large tank to fill with hot water, the warmer water comes to the faucet faster and doesn’t use as much energy doing so.

However, a tankless system is expensive. One of these water heaters can cost two to four times more to install than a standard water heater. They also aren’t the best route to take if you have a large family, with big water demands.

Despite the name, a tankless water heater doesn’t supply hot water instantly. It really depends on how far the heating system is from the faucet.

On the bright side, the system takes up much less space than a standard water heater. Of course, they are more efficient, saving up to 20 percent in energy compared to a water heater with a tank.

If you’re looking to purchase a tankless water heating system, pay careful attention to the flow rates. Some of these heaters have a minimum flow rate that won’t trigger the heater if the water isn’t flowing hard enough.

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The Dean of Green is written and published by Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling

Save Water with a Dual Flush Toilet

Toilets are among the biggest sources of wasted water in our homes. Old-fashioned toilets just weren’t designed to save water. Fortunately, dual flush toilets were created with just this purpose in mind, and replacing your old toilet with one of these water-saving models is one of the easiest ways you can cut down your household water usage.

A “dual flush” designation means that the toilet is WaterSense-certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These toilets provide just the right amount of water needed to flush down solid or liquid waste – and not a drop more. If buying and installing a new toilet sounds too expensive, consider getting a dual flush converter kit for your old-fashioned toilet.

SelectAFlush, for example, makes a dual flush toilet kit and water conservation device for standard toilets. Installation is simple and can save you a sizeable amount of money, while also enhancing your toilet’s performance.

So exactly how much water can a dual flush toilet save you? Statistics tell us that U.S. families, on average, can save 21 gallons of water each day, or 7,000 gallons a year, by converting to dual flush toilets. That’s a lot of water, and when multiplied across many households, it really adds up – if every family in America installed a dual flush toilet, we could save more than 700 billion gallons of water per year.

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The Dean of Green is written and published by Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling