Archive for November, 2009

Save More Money on Heating Your Home This Winter – Residential Pressure Washing Dallas TX

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 12:59 am  
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When many people think about conserving energy and heat, the first thing that often comes to mind is sacrificing comfort. You don’t have to deprive yourself in order to save money. There are several ways on how to keep your monthly heating bill low and still be comfortable during the cold winter months.

According to experts, households can save hundreds of dollars on the cost of heating their home when they conserve the amount of heat they use.  If you want to start saving more money on heating your home, try these tips on how to keep your heating bill low during the winter.

  • Make sure you check and change your filter regularly. You can purchase an inexpensive filter at any hardware store.
  • A professional heathing company should tune up your furnace once a year. This will help prevent any unexpected heating problems and keep your heating system running well. If you have a brand-new furnace, you won’t need a tune up for a few years to come.
  • During the day, keep your drapes open so the warm sun light can enter your home. Then at night, make sure you close them.
  • Make sure you replace your weather stripping on windows and doors. This will help prevent drafts throughout the home. A drafty home will cause you to turn up the heat, therefore, raising the cost of heating your home.
  • Consider a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temperature at pre-set times. If you have an older water heater, make sure it has a sufficient amount of insulation. You may want to consider installing a water heater jacket to save on the cost of energy.
  • Try reducing the amount of hot water you consume during the winter months. This will help lower your heating bill. Replace your old shower head with a low-flow showerhead. This will save you both energy and water.
  • You can conserve the amount of hot water you use during a shower by shortening the amount of time spent in the shower. For example, if you take 45 minute showers daily, consider shortening it to around 30 minutes.
  • Instead of using the hot water setting on the Residential Pressure Washing Dallas TX machine, try using the cold water setting.

Utilizing the tips above will not only help you save energy, it will help you save a considerable amount of money on your next home heating bill.


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Get Rid Of Your Roof Vent Pipe Leaks Once And For All

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 12:17 am  
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Getting rid of the leaks around your roof vent pipes does not mean getting rid of the vent pipes altogether. When you are frustrated because you keep getting those nasty water stains in your ceiling and you know there is considerable damage being done to the structure of your home before you even see the stains, you may be inclined to rip your vent pipes out forever.

Don’t be quite so hasty! Those pipes are there for a reason – not just as an anchor point for your roof top holiday display! Anywhere wastewater is produced in your home at plumbing fixtures such as sinks, toilets and showers a vent pipe is needed. The waste eventually ends up in the sewer system connected to your house, but the gases produced needs a place to go and that is precisely the function of your roof vent pipes. Without the pipes you would be inundated with foul odors inside your home.

  • To locate the leak, you need to climb up into your attic and locate the PVC pipe that goes through your roof. Be careful not to step between the ceiling joists or you may fall through the ceiling.
  • You will have to pull the insulation carefully away from the pipe where it penetrates the roof. If you see daylight you know you have a problem. That’s where water can come through.
  • If the roof decking is rotted, you will need to have it replaced. Hopefully you can locate the problem before it gets that bad.
  • If you think it’s going to rain again before your roofing repair contractor gets to you, tie a towel around the vent pipe to soak up the water before it reaches your ceiling. Most good contractors can be there on the same day you call.
  • One of the most common issues is a cracked boot around your vent pipe. The boot is the rubber cover that hugs the pipe and keeps it watertight. Exposure to the elements causes it to shrink and crack over time. Replacing it is a standard procedure.

 

You could also have the rubber boot replaced with other flashing solutions such as lead pipe flashing that are not nearly as susceptible to the weather as rubber. Your roofing contractor can advise you on the latest technology in repairing roof vent pipe leaks. The important point is to have it handled before it becomes more costly.


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Residential Hot Water Conservation Products

Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 12:12 am  
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Hot Water Conservation Is Harder Than Cold Water Conservation

Water conservation products for cold water conservation are prolific. There are low flow fixtures; actually these are now mandatory in most areas, low flow shower heads, water conserving appliances, low flow toilets and other flow restricting devices.

There are also things like dual-flush toilets, toilet dams, drip irrigation systems, and all sorts of other water conservation products.

A lot of these conservation devices do not really provide conservation for those individuals who are already practicing good water habits. For instance, low flow kitchen faucets only save water when someone leaves the water running based on time.

Filling the sink takes the same amount of water no mater how slow the flow is. The same is true with filling a pitcher of water. Water conserving appliances often need the user to use special cycles, which are often not used.

Most of these water conservation products do not address one of the largest wasters of water in the home… the hot water plumbing layout. Long pipe make for long delays in getting hot water. Low flow fixtures make the problem worse by slowing down the hot water.

Slow hot water loses more heat energy to the piping as it moves toward the fixture, thus the wait becomes even longer and more water gets run down the drain. So what can we do?

Water Heater Pumps

There are a class of water heater pumps known as hot water demand pumps. These are small pumps that mount under the sink furthest from your water heater. When you want hot water you demand it by pressing a start button. When you push the button it starts the pump which pumps the hot water from the water heater to your fixture at high speed.

When hot water reaches the pump, an electronic controller shuts the pump off. Now when you turn on the faucet you get instant hot water and no water was run down the drain.

The pump uses the cold water line to return the cooled down hot water that was left in the piping from the last use back to the water heater inlet. They use very little energy to operate since they run for a very short time and only when hot water is demanded by the user. Typically they consume about $2.00 per year in electricity for a family of four.

Solar Water Heaters

Demand hot water systems work fine with all types of solar systems. Some types of solar systems have longer than normal hot water distribution lines and demand hot water systems are particularly good for those types of systems. It’s not what type of fuel you use free or not, it’s how long the distribution piping and how long a wait it is before you get hot water. The longer you have to wait, the more water you are running down the drain.

Tankless Hot Water Heaters

Demand hot water pumps work great with tankless hot water heaters as long as the demand system pump has enough power to turn on the water heater. Tankless water heaters take 10 to 20 seconds longer to get hot water to the fixtures than a tank type water heater. This makes the demand system that much more valuable with tankless units.

Hot water conservation with a demand system not only provides significant water savings, but it does it in a way that adds the convenience of fast hot water. This makes it much more likely that the user will actually use it, and water conservation will actually take place.


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