Saving Energy

I just got this months National Geographic magazine in the mail and wow was I blown away with this article titled "Saving Energy". I have blogged and written a couple of nice presentations about ways to save money, but this really hit home. I am on the right track with my presentations and the suggestions contained therein.
Click the title to read the National Geographic article on the web.

Here are some simple facts from the article:
A gallon of gas adds 19.6 lbs of CO2 to the atmosphere
A Kilowatt-hour of electricity adds an average of 1.5 lbs of CO2
100 cubic feet of natural gas adds 12 lbs of CO2

The average American household produces 150lbs of CO2 a day

We really can save the planet by simply using less or making the most out of what we have by using it more efficiently. If we will commit to changing our life style a little, spending a few dollars to upgrade or replace worn out appliances. Replacing old style light bulbs with CFL's etc. We can reduce our carbon foot print as families and then as a nation. All of the ideas and suggestions presented in the article and my presentations will pay for themselves in time. You spend some now, but you will get it back later as the savings pile up. The real payoff is the reduction you will make to your CO2 output per week, per month and per year.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single small foot step. May we all take small steps toward our goal, each one reducing our CO2 footprint and saving the money to pay for the next step.

Want to add more light, without electricity??

Do you have an interior room that needs more light, but you do not want to use electricity to get that light? No where or way to add windows?

There are 2 alternatives open to you:
Sky light
or
Solar tube
Both are simply a special window on the roof that lets in light.

The Sky Light is a great addition to a large interior room but is needs an attic or vaulted ceiling, with the roof above to work. Sky lights are great for single story buildings or for adding light to a room upstairs. They can be a messy addition, and not always energy friendly. You may need to get a structural engineer involved to add a large sky light and or move the HVAC system in your attic to make room for it. Sky lights can be the standard bubble type or the flat type, they can open for fresh air or even have shades to block light as needed.

The Solar Tube is a great addition to a large interior room, however it does not need much attic space and can be run through a second story closet to light up a first floor room. The solar tube is a shiny metal tube (middle) with a small glass dome at the top and a diffuser (lens) a the bottom. The sun light enters through the dome, reflects on the shiny metal tube, and exits through the diffuser to add the warn glow of natural light to your room. There are add-on kits that can damper the light as needed, allow the venting of fresh air or even have a bulb to allow for light at night. They come in various sizes and depending on the area to be lighted you can have several without much mess. In fact they often only take a few hours to install and the dust and mess are a bare minimum.

Solar tube facts:

• It provides exceptional lighting. The light output is incredible, providing as much light as you would expect from a skylight many times its size.
  It is cost-effective. Tubular Daylighting Devices (AKA TDD) cost considerably less than other daylighting options, such as windows and skylights, including both product and installation costs.
• Installing it is fast, clean and easy. They require no structural reframing, tunneling, drywalling or painting. A professional can install the product in less than two hours.
• It can go almost anywhere. The compact and flexible design of TDDs allow them to be installed in just about any room, including rooms without direct roof access and smaller spaces where daylighting would usually not be an option.
• It is “Green.” TDDs allow you to switch off electric lights during the day, which provides savings on energy bills and also reduces environmental pollution.
• It is actually good for you. It has been shown in several prominent studies that increasing daily exposure to natural light can enhance mental and physical well-being, boost concentration and energy levels and a variety of other unexpected perks.

The best option is which ever one fits your needs and home the best. I have a sky light in the master bath and want to add the tube light in the living room. You may need one or the other, or as in my case both.

Some companies make both sky lights and solar tubes, we install both and have qualified installers for all major brands. We can replace your broken or cracked bubble sky light, or can change it to flat sky light. We can install the solar tube even if there is a 90 degree turn, and still get you that true natural light you need. We are a complete roofing and remodeling company.

Call today for your free estimate and start enjoying natural sun light in your home, like you never thought possible. Rainy Day Construction Services866-596-2030

It is getting close to that time of year...Foundation Vent Covers

Do you hate having to remove the foundation vent covers off your house each spring and install them again each winter?

If you have a Pier and Beam home you will have foundation vents, most are designed to have a cover placed over them in the winter. This prevents the cold air from blowing under your house and making the floors cold or let in drafts. I have noticed that some people do not cover theirs and wonder way the floors are so cold or the heating bill is so high. Others would like to cover theirs but cannot find the covers or the bolt is missing to thread the cover on with.

In either case this new product will solve all your foundation vent issues. It is an automatic vent that needs not power to open and close. It uses a Bi metal coil, that opens and closes the vent without electricity. When the temperature reaches 70 Degrees F, the vent is opened fully to provide fresh air intake. When temperature drops to 40 Degrees F, the vent closes to conserve energy and protect pipes. It has a bug screen to keep out wasp, etc and a large attractive screen to keep out rodents. See picture below.



It installs into the wood, metal or brick skirting around the Pier and Beam foundation.

This little 8x16 inch beauty ends the need to install or remove the foundation vent covers and the hassle of remembering where you stored them. Have them installed today and check that twice yearly chore off your list.

Want to save money on electricity costs?

The are several ways if you click on the link in the title of this article you will get a to the point PDF of ways to save on electric use.

The main way to save is to use less, this is true of anything. Well compact flourescent light bulbs are getting cheaper and there are tons of CFL calculators out there on the web that can show you the ROI (Return on Investment) of purchasing and using CFL's. Lowe's sells a 7 pack that with tax is less than $10. In less than 1 year these bulbs will pay for themselves in electricity saving and after that is just savings. Pure saving is what going green is all about, we are saving money, saving the environment and most of all saving the future for our children.

There is another article on the blog about fire safety, it is worth a read an may save you more than money, it may well save your families life.

Try these educational/informational items about attics & insulation, windows, gutters and roofs.
If you find these items helpfull please post your comments and if you have additional ideas I would love to hear them.

My direct email is James@rainydayservices.com.

Cost of electricity getting you down?

Cost of electricity getting you down?

Then tame the beast, put your home on an electricity diet. You can reduce your homes electricity consumption if you download this PDF file from Rainy Day Services. There are several inexpensive ways shown to cut your electricity consumption. The main ones are switching from incandescent to fluorescent bulbs. Lowes has them on sale 7 bulbs for $9.00+tax. They save on electricity and pay for themselves, after that you are in the $aving$ Zone. Unplug or power off all unnecessary or less often used items, such as cell phone chargers, laser printers, monitor's, PC's, VCR's, DVD's and video games. All these items are either electricity hogs or vampires, using a small amount of electricity but added togther can really add up. Replace your thermostat with an electronic one that is programmable so when you are not home you are not heating and cooling the house as much, thus using less electricity. Check out the TXU website for a host of ideas. Saving electricity can be as simple as lowering the temperature in the house in the winter and raising it in the summer. I use every idea I can find and have found that average billing helps to keep those "surprise large electric bills" to a more modest sum I can handle each month. If you have other suggestions or web sites that can really save the green by going green, let us know.