The Dawg Blog

Tankless Water Heaters Save Energy
By Thomas Henricks
The tankless water heater operates on the principle that it heats water on demand as it is called for. Differing from traditional hot water heaters that require a storage tank, the tankless water heater requires no storage tank and so you experience no standby heat energy loss. Standby heat loss is the heat lost and energy wasted by heating water and then storing it in a tank. This is a characteristic of traditional hot water heaters. Avoiding standby heat loss is the key to how tankless water heaters manage to be energy efficient.

Whether a tankless water heater is point-of-use or a whole-house unit, they work the same basic way. Cold water enters the unit and is heated by a heating element which is turned on by a flow activated switch. The heat exchanger can be electric resistance heating coils or a gas fired burner using natural gas or propane.

There are three variables that have to be considered in sizing the unit.

The volume of water the unit is required to heat, measured as flow rate in gallons per minute (GPM)

The temperature of the cold water entering the unit

The desired temperature of the hot water exiting the unit.

Those three factors are what determine the type, size and possibly even the number of tankless water heaters you need.

Types of Tankless Water Heater

There are two basic types of tankless water heaters, Point of Use and Whole House.

Point of Use Tankless Water Heater

It creates 170 degree F hot water instantly and you can pour water that is ready to make tea or coffee or soup right out of the faucet. The point of use tankless water heater is small enough to fit underneath a sink cabinet or in a small closet. They are normally dedicated use heaters which simply means that one unit serves one faucet. Point of use tankless water heaters are less expensive than whole house water heaters.

Whole House Tankless Water Heater

Whole house water heaters can provide higher flow capacity and can handle demand for more than one fixture at a time. For example they normally easily supply two shower fixtures at one time or a dishwasher, kitchen sink and a bathroom hot water faucet. Some shower heads can require as much as six times more water than a bathroom faucet.

The number and size of whole house tankless water heaters you need will be largely determined by flow rate. That is determined by the number and types of fixtures you would potentially operate all at the same time. You may find that you will need more than one whole house tankless water heater hooked up in parallel to meet your hot water demands.

Once you have made the changeover, you will be very pleasantly surprised at your energy costs.

To learn more about your home improvements visit please visit http://www.housevaluesecurity.com

Green Homes - What Does Green Mean?
By Bruce Kellby
When you approach your Charlotte builder, it is a good idea to work with a company who understands and creates green homes. This means using energy efficient design and as far as possible using sustainable construction materials and techniques. Energy costs can only go up and you not only will save money, you may also help to save the planet.

To begin with, you should understand what makes a home green to begin with. Green homes may use alternative energy sources such as solar and geothermal and even wind power where this is suitable. A huge wind turbine may seem extreme, but during winter with $100+ a barrel oil costs, it starts to look pretty nice. Some wind turbines have also been whimsically painted as decor as well.

When it is feasible, solar panels can provide light and perhaps satisfy other power requirements of your house as well. Naturally you have to be located where you can catch the sun’s rays. This may be impossible if your area is heavily forested or surrounded by tall buildings, etc. You should hesitate to take down beautiful and ecologically friendly trees for this purpose, but most properties can benefit by the use of at least some available solar energy. For instance, you might light your paths and backyard this way which will use less electricity and decrease your payment to the electric company.

Energy saving appliances with features such as on demand water heaters can help you save energy and money. These types of appliances are truly efficient to use. Water can also be conserved by reusing grey water in appliances such as low flow toilets. Full and half flushes are available in most models, but continue to conserve water anyways.

Green homes frequently feature wall, ceiling, and window insulation. Double pane windows will significantly increase insulation, as single pane, ordinary glass windows have a rating of only R1, which amounts to practically no insulation at all. The windows can be made even greener through the use of insulated window treatments. It is infinitely easier to insulate during the construction process than to try to upgrade after building is complete, so there is really no benefit to cutting costs during construction.

The use of bamboo instead of wood for flooring is regarded as one of the sustainable materials. By this, forests can be saved. The beauty of green homes is the usage of special paints that produce less fumes and toxic chemicals are also not released later. This helps the environment and it is good for people who are sensitive to chemicals and allergies.

Building green homes signifies that there is good resale value for a home. It also brings profits for the homemaker who constructs or buys one. The price of fuel will rise but not decrease, and there will be an increase in the value of dollars. Building green homes signifies social consciousness. People should save dollars, increase money through resale and protect the planet by selecting a green builder.

After you have decided upon a Charlotte builder, consider what type of home you desire. Many individuals have become interested in construction of green homes. If you choose this style, your home will be designed to save energy from the ground up. Proper companies will also use sustainable construction methods. It is typically somewhat more expensive in the short term to “build green”, but ultimately saves both cash and the planet. First of all, you should make sure you realize what makes a home green. These homes can utilize alternative sources of energy, such as solar, geothermal, or even wind power where it is practical

Solar Shingles
By Matthew Johnston
Solar shingles are an exciting new technology that replace existing roof shingles with solar shingle photovoltaic cells that convert the sun’s light into electricity for use in your home. Solar shingles can save you money and help save the planet. Solar shingles generate no hydrocarbons. Solar shingles can reduce or eliminate your home use of electricity produced by CO2 producing power plants. And the energy source for solar shingles, the sun, is free!

Solar shingles look like conventional shingles and, besides generating electricity and keeping the look of your house, they protect the roof from rain and weather just like the old fashion kind of shingle. Solar shingles can save you tons of money in energy costs. In some cases, solar shingles can generate more electricity than you need that can be sold back to the power company. Initial costs are higher than solar panels, but many believe that the aesthetics more than make up for it.

Solar shingles are the result of the great advances made in solar cell technology in the past few years. Most solar shingles are about 12 inches wide and are laid in an overlapping pattern either grouped together in one area of the roof, mixed in with asphalt shingles in a patchwork pattern, or covering the entire roof. The solar shingles are connected to each other and then either into an inverter that converts the electric current into usable AC, or into a battery for storage to use after dark or on cloudy days. If a battery system is not used then the excess electricity the solar shingles produce goes directly into the power grid where it is sold to the local power company.

Solar shingles are more expensive to install than larger solar panels. However, when you take into account the savings on the roofing tiles that the solar shingles replace and the tremendous savings in energy costs, it can reduce the impact of the up-front costs.

Installing solar shingles on you roof is much easier and faster than installing solar panels. Solar shingles come in thin squares that are the same size as conventional asphalt shingles. They are layered in the standard shingle patterns.

Initial costs are high, about $30,000 installed for an entire roof of solar shingles. But, most don’t cover their entire roof with solar shingles, just a section or two, depending on how much they want to spend and their energy needs. However, an entire roof of solar shingles in a sunny area could power your entire home and then some. The excess is sold back to the power company (if you are not off the grid) and you can actually make money on the deal.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to install solar shingles yourself unless you have training from the manufacturer and roofing experience. Also, don’t expect a conventional roofer to know how to install solar shingles, no matter what they might tell you. Go with an experienced installer. You can get a referral from the manufacturer or retailer, or you can find one in your area from an on-line contractor referral service.

There are two primary manufacturers of solar shingles. Atlantis Energy Systems and United Solar-Ovonic. The Atlantis Solarslate solar shingles produce about 13 watts each. The Uni-Solar Shingles produce 17 watts each. Expect to pay about $12 per watt by the time they are up and running.

The federal government offers a one time tax credit for solar energy installation. Many states offer increasingly generous credits and subsidies for home owners who install solar shingle roofs. Check with your state to see what kind of incentives they have.

Matt Johnston - Want to learn more about solar shingles? Visit http://www.zebindustries.com/solar-shingles/ or http://solarshingle.blogspot.com for more information and resources for solar shingles.

Choosing Quality Camping Air Beds
By Jake Swingler
Choosing a quality camping air bed can be frustrating and time consuming. When you are out looking all you can do is touch or feel and trust what the sales person is saying to you. Don’t you wish you could inflate it, put it into a pool of water and see if it is leaking or not, because all camping air beds seem to leak right? Wrong! Modern styles of camping air beds are made of much sturdier materials and most come with some special features.

Most modern styles of camping air beds are not made from the cheap thin plastic materials they used to be. You can really tell by the touch and feel of the new camping air beds that they are made from a much thicker material. Some are made with a memory foam topper built into the air bed itself. There are also self inflating camping air beds, air beds with pillows built in and actual sleeping bags built into the camping air beds! The sad part is that with quality comes price. Most of these high quality camping air beds are very expensive considering that you can buy a standard everyday camping air bed for about $35 dollars. Don’t get me wrong, the standard air bed will work for a little while and it will leak sometime soon, but the old saying of “you get what you pay for” really comes into play here. The higher quality camping air beds are going to run about $175 and higher. Now I don’t know what a good nights sleep is worth to you while you’re camping but, it could be worth investing the money and having a good quality camping air bed to sleep on.

Jake Swingler owns an online wholesale camping equipment store, allstarcampingequipment.com. He also loves camping with his wife and kids. He tries to go once or twice a month during the summer. If you have any questions about Any other camping gear, sleeping bag or tents please feel free to drop him an e-mail at the website.

Camping & RV Campgrounds for Outdoor Recreation
By D Jenkins
Camping is a fantastic outdoor experience for the entire family. Campgrounds exist throughout the world and there are plenty of sites for setting up tents, pop ups and great resort style campgrounds with RV parking in many campgrounds.

Camping is one of the ultimate outdoor recreation experiences and many campgrounds have all the facilities needed to provide campers with certain “creature comforts” we like to have available. Hot showers, clean and spacious restrooms, public areas to name a few. Whether you’re pitching a tent for a weekend camping experience or parking your RV, there are many campgrounds throughout the USA that are ready to accommodate the camping enthusiast.

Camping trips for family vacations are very affordable, even on a modest budget a family can have a fantastic camping vacation and experience the wonders of the outdoors. Pitch your tent, pop up trailer or park your RV at one of America’s campgrounds and you’re sure to have some great times with family and friends.

Hiking, fishing, boating, canoes, kayaks, swimming, these outdoor recreation activities abound at most campgrounds. Adults and children all can benefit from a family camping trip and will enjoy the adventure that awaits with a camping outing.

Camping trips provide many good times and fond memories for young and old. Even a novice can cast a line in the water for a little fishing. If fishing is not your thing, enjoy a nice walk in the woods and explore the great outdoors. Maybe hiking, boating, swimming or other water activities are more appealing. Whatever the case, there’s sure to be something to please everyone.

Pitching a tent is a little work but most campers don’t have much trouble getting the tent up once they arrive at the campsite. RV parking has some set up too, getting hooked up and settled in at the campground is an experience in itself. Sure RV’ers have some advantage with RV camping, it’s a different level for sure.

Being outdoors is a good experience for everyone and what better way to experience it than a good old fashioned camping trip. Camping is highly recommended, great family fun by day and who doesn’t like a good bonfire in the evening. Roast some marshmallows, make s’mores, sing a few folk songs, tell a few jokes, have some laughs and enjoy the company of friends and family. Camping is great, get out of the house, away from the TV and spend some quality time at a nice campground. Summer is coming and there’s no better time for a camping trip. Why not plan one soon…..easy on the budget and so much FUN!

For more on camping, visit us at http://www.CampingMichigan.net
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