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EcoDrain – Make your cold water warm to heat your hot water less.
Quite some time ago I posted about the ReTherm drain water heat recovery system. It is a very cool system that uses the hot water going down your drain to heat the cold water going into your water heater. Doing so reduces the amount of heat needed to heat your hot water. Giving you a theoretical 30% reduction in heating costs.
Now a new product has come online called the EcoDrain. I have to say that I like the looks of the EcoDrain better. Also, from what I see, it appears that the EcoDrain heats the cold water going directly to your shower and it does not first send it to your water heater. By doing this they see a potential energy savings of 40%. A little more savings and a tidier mechanical makeup makes this a very cool product in my book.
So how does it work?
The EcoDrain™ is a small, easy-to-install device with no moving parts. The key to saving you money is the heat-exchange channels.
These flattened, sealed channels were developed to maximize the surface area of the heat transfer space and to create optimum flow turbulence in the outgoing waste water and incoming fresh water. The EcoDrain™ is installed directly in the shower drain line and features a double wall of separation between fresh and waste water to eliminate the possibility of mixing, plus an interior non-stick coating to prevent soap, hair or debris collecting inside.
Source: EcoDrain
Green retrofits make a 100+ year old home green.
The ecohome owned by Gil Schalom and Penney Poyzer and located in Nottingham, UK is an excellent example of everything that is right about turning existing home green. Granted there is a great need for new green homes and urban infill, but ultimately the greenest thing you can do is make an existing home green and avoid the disruption of more land and the use of new materials.
So what makes this home so special. Well, everything they have done over the last 10 years or so has taken this home from a leaky, drafty space to a tight, ecofriendly abode.
From Treehugger:
Penney and her partner Gil Schalom have been hard at work for over ten years converting their home into what they hope will prove a model for other retrofits. Along the way they’ve cut their gas bills to just UK£20 a year (US$30), and their modelled domestic CO2 emissions from 19 tonnes to just half a tonne.
Below, you can see a rendering of the home with the full list of updates.
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Flat-plate solar collectors for heating water -
Roof insulation 300/400mm thick, made of shredded surplus newspapers
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Roof lights with insulating (low emmissivity) glass
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Natural plasters - clay and lime based
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Super-insulated hot water tank100mm -
Ozone friendly drylining to front face to maintain exterior brick appearance
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150mm exterior wall insulation with rendered finish
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Space saving bath and thermostatic shower -
controls can save water Heat recovering fans limit ventilation heat loss
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Draught lobby in porch -
Environmetally friendly paints -
Energy efficient appliances -
Triple- and double-glazed timber windows treated with natural fungicides and stains
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Second hand, natural and reclaimed furnitur -
Stripped floorboard -
Copper rainwater goods with filter for rain harvestin
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160mm natural floor insulatio -
Rainwater storage for use in WCs, washingmachine and outside ta
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Low-flush WC -
Non PVC waste pipe -
Composting chamber for solid waste from WC
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Separator lets liquids drain off and solids into composting chambe
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Decking from English green Oak provides longevity without toxic pressure treatmen
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Organic land management utilising the principles of permaculture. Growing our own food saves on packaging and transpor
Source: Treehugger and ecohome
The sun shines brightly and the wind blows on the stimulus package.
There is a silver lining to every cloud and from the reports I have been reading, the stimulus package is a big dark cloud. So where is the silver lining? Well, let’s look at the green lining as laid out in this Cnet article.
Overall, there is $50 billion for energy programs, much of it focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and efficiency, according to a conference report released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office (click for PDF) and an Associated Press analysis. Provisions include:
- $5 billion to weatherize homes of up to 1 million low-income people.
- $11 billion toward smart-grid technologies to run the power grid more efficiently.
- $13.9 billion in loans to subsidize renewable-energy projects and transmission.
- $6.3 billion in state energy-efficient and clean-energy grants.
- $4.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient.
There is $2 billion for advanced battery manufacturing and over $2 billion for carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, according to a Wall Street Journal comparison of the House and Senate versions.
The bill has $400 million in spending to create the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) “to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency in collaboration with industry,” according to Pelosi’s office.
In transportation, there is $8.4 billion for mass transit and $8 billion for construction of high-speed railways.
When it comes to you and I as consumers and homeowners, there is even more good news:
For us there is even more incentive to invest in renewable energy and a tax credit of up to $7500 for energy efficient vehicles.
The $2,000 cap for the 30% solar hot water credit has been lifted and the $4,000 cap has been lifted for wind energy investment.
And, very exciting news is out there if you are renovating an existing home:
To retrofit existing homes to be more efficient, the bill extends and expands tax credits for purchase “such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation,” according to the committee report. The House and Senate versions extended these credits to 2010 and increased the level to 30 percent with a cap of $1,500 on combined purchases, according to Environment and Energy Daily (subscription required
So see, Whether you are Republican or Democrat and have hope or no hope at all, you can’t help but see this silver green lining.
Finding the optimal location for your home just got a lot easier!
I stumbled across a pretty amazing tool yesterday! It is the Optimal Home Location finder which is an wonderful Real Estate Tool. Beats Walk Score all to heck, IMHO and it would work really well if you combined it with Walk Score.
Unique Relocation Tool for all Your Family needs.
- Find your family’s specific Optimal Home Location that minimizes your combined commute. Save on gas and avoid traffic frustration.
- Preview and compare your commutes from a number of alternative locations.
- Compare town demographics (real estate taxes, % of homes with kids).
- Map neighborhood attractions (schools, supermarkets, libraries, Starbucks, churches and temples).
- Explore how to live green: walkable neighborhoods and smaller carbon footprint.
- Print summary report to discuss with family and friends.
With more and more people wanting to save money, time and gas and finding that more valuable than living out in the middle of the suburbs, this site could be mana from heaven. All you do is simply input your work locations, school locations, daycare locations, friends locations and a couple of other frequently visited places and then notate how you commute between them. The program then uses mathmatic alogorithms and google maps to tell you where you should live for an optimal location. It also provides you with neighborhood demographics and current real estate values using Zillow (Zillow values are not accurate yet in Utah).
I already know that my home is pretty central to all of these things and when I plugged in my locations it placed my home smack in the middle of my own neighborhood. So it really seems to work well. As a Realtor, I am going to suggest that all my clients check it out.
Naturally Bamboo – Organic Clothing and Green Operations
Naturally Bamboo is another retailer that I came upon at the Outdoor Retailer Convention last week. I was very impressed not only with their product but also with their operations.
All of their products and manufactured using 100% organic cotton, Bamboo or Cotton-Bamboo blends. The raw material is harvested in China from Moso bamboo that is grown on family farms. This is not wild bamboo or feed bamboo for Pandas. It grows far too tall for them to eat. The yarn developed from the bamboo is then sent to California where it is woven into fabric and then the designs are sewn from that fabric. Currently they operate the production facilities outside of Los Angeles, but will soon be moving them home to Minnesota.
In an effort to reduce their footprint further they have also purchase yearly wind energy credits to offset 100% of their power consumption in their sewing facilities using Native Energy as the source. Their office power is also from Wind Sources and is purchased through Xcel Energy.
It is very impressive to see a newer company making such impressive strides from the start! For more information or to purchase the product, please visit their website here.
Baby Blend Tees – Green Retailer from Outdoor Retailer
As I was wandering the Outdoor Retailer Convention I discovered a location of vendors across the street and a block away from the main group of vendors. These were the new guys, the vendors who had never exhibited before and probably the most exciting group of vendors I had found, from a green standpoint.
So there I was on my cell phone and walking the halls when Baby Blend Tees jumped out and caught my eye. Being a new father and stay at home dad, baby stuff tends to stand out these days. These guys were different through. Everything was 100% organic and printed with non toxic dyes. So I stopped to chat.
BBT has been around for a few years and has generated a fair amount of press for themselves and they should, they are unique. Started by a Chicago Mom, Jennifer Leaphart, who wanted to the same things in clothes for her children that she was buying in food. Something Organic and Natural. Because this product is very hard to find, she decided to make her own and then it blossomed into the company they are today. Each product is made of 100% organic cotton and printed with non-toxic, water based inks. The manufacturing process is local as well, very local, immediate family doing all the screen printing local. You can’t beat that! To top all that off, they also donate 1% of all revenue to 1% For The Planet.
If you are looking to try the product for yourself, just jump over here to purchase some. My boy loved the shirt I picked up for him! Soft, cute and very high quality.
EcoGear – EcoTech, outdoor industry pioneers with green products from day 1.
What is my definition of an outdoor industry pioneer? For me it is a company that hasn’t created just one line of green to satisfy a niche in their market. It isn’t a company now buying offsets to make up for current, not past, transgressions. It is a company that saw a need and started to make a difference from day 1. EcoGear – EcoTech is just such a company.
So the big guys that attended the Outdoor Retailer show are getting all the press over at sites like Treehugger and the little guys making a difference from day 1 have been lost in the news, it seems. My focus on the show will be on the little guys.
So bring ‘em on! EcoGear – EcoTech is a company founded in 2006 with the desire to create a line of backpacks and bags that are both good for the environment and good for the user. Their motto is “saving the world one bag at a time.”
You may not know it, but most bags—from your luggage to your backpack—are loaded with toxins and chemicals. A common chemical coating in bags is PVC, an everyday plastic that is actually toxic in nature. PVC can have long-term health effects. The dangers of PVC—Polyvinyl Chloride—include:
• Inclusion of toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium and phthalates (which can leach into children’s mouths)
• Release of chemical gases
• Byproducts include carcinogens such as dioxin
• When burned or heated, PVC creates hydrochloric acid
• When buried, toxic chemicals from PVC leak into the earth
EcoGear organic cotton bags
EcoGear bags are manufactured with non-toxic dyes, sustainable wood and organically-grown accessories.
EcoTech PVC free ballistic nylon bags.
EcoTech bags are constructed of PVC-free, rip-stop and ballistic nylon. Dyes and components are toxin-free. They also feature ECOWEAVE (EPO) Technology.
I had the opportunity to sample a bag and it came it quite handy during the show. I found the quality to be at or above the quality of the big guys and was quite pleased with the comfort level as well. Storage capacity was cavernous and I found pocket for everything from business cards to MP3 Players.
If you would like to purchase your own bag, be sure to visit their online store.
Is the outdoor industry a big green disappointment?
I, as I posted earlier in the week, had the opportunity to attend the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market as part of the working media. I went with the hope of seeing exactly what this industry has done to green itself. After all, if anyone should be concerned about the environment, the Outdoor Retailers should. Right?
So Friday I wandered over to the convention center to register and get my bearings. What happened next was pure sensory overload. I have NEVER been so overwhelmed at a convention before. All I saw for what seemed like miles, was gear; fabric, knives, shirts, shorts, sandles, shoes, the list just goes on, and on. I paused, a bit overwhelmed, regained my wits and moved on.
Let’s find something green! Anything? Well, what about these guys? There is the sign above every product. “green since 2008!” So, I dove right in, approached the lady at the table and said first, “I’m not a buyer, I am with media and blog on green topics.” She was happy. “Oh great! We are green.” She said. I asked, what made them green. Continue reading
Insurance is getting greener everyday.
It has been some time since I last posted on the availability of insurance for green homes and insurance that would allow you to rebuild green. Since that time there have been some great developments in this area. Continue reading
Watch the video and then visit eattheview.org
The other day I posted a story on urban condos where I urged you to consider the alternatives, which included suburban farms and gardens. Today I stumbled upon a video very much worth watching over at Groovy Green, thanks to Alltop.
The video presents the journey of one man as he converts the lawn in front of his home into a garden and then he presents his call to action for the White House to do the same. If you like what he has to say then visit eattheview.org and sign the petition.
Source: Groovy Green via Alltop
