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Hovel to Home Green Design Basics
Introduction to Green Design
We need to re-think the way we use resources on this planet.
There is only so much of this planet we can dig up and once we have used those resources they are gone forever. We need to use resources efficiently, produce less garbage and recycle more effectively.
One area of great concern is how we generate power.
We have to tackle this on three fronts:
- base load supply,
- individual building energy efficiency,
- and individual building supply.
A quick word about base supply first.
Coal is not a long term viable industry unless we can invent a workable carbon capture solution. It hasn't been invented yet and we should keep working on it, but we can't wait for it in case it doesn't work.
Algae farms are being built beside some coal fired power stations which may be a solution at least in part. Apparently you feed the CO2 to the algae and they turn it into sugars, proteins and oil which can be used as bio-fuel. This does not eat up all the CO2 but it’s a start. I don’t believe it will be enough but I still like it as an idea.
We still need to go nuclear to produce enough low emissions base load power while our populations are so high and growing. Yes, there is a problem with the waste (we could store it under parliament and hope it leaks) but nuclear power is a much safer and greener industry than coal. People always bring up Chernobyl or Three Mile Island but they are isolated incidents that can't happen with today’s technology.
Nuclear power plants should be built next to existing coal fired plants so they can plug straight into the existing infrastructure. If coal capture technology is ready by the time the nuclear plant is built then both plants could run, if the coal capture technology is not ready by then, we will just have to shut the coal plant down and give up on the clean coal idea. It takes somewhere between 10 - 20 years to plan, approve and build a nuclear power plant so that gives the coal industry more than enough time to invent technology to save itself, if it is in fact possible.
In some areas geo-thermal plants are also an option but like hydro they are limited to geographically suitable areas. Wave power is also promising. We also have large scale solar and wind options which can contribute to the generating of base load supply.
We also need to tackle this problem from the other end as well. An exciting option for solar, wind and hydro electricity is at the small scale level. There are many great options now available to produce your own power at home and save yourself a fortune while we also save the environment.
There are also many clever options for increasing our energy efficiency.
Let's talk now about these energy efficiency options and then we can go on to discussing more about home solar, wind and hydro ideas.
The rest of the information on this page has been compiled with the assistance of the altE store. To learn more visit their website.
Energy Efficiency
Using renewable energy to produce electricity and reduce your electric bill can be a sound long-term investment. Depending on the type of technology, you can expect a full return on your investment within 3 to 18 years.
However, the very first step to considering any renewable energy system must be how to make your home or business more energy efficient. Generally, the basic rule is that for every $1 you spend on making your location more energy efficient, you save $3 to $5 on the cost of the renewable energy system. Let's go over some basic ways you can make your home more energy efficient.
One of the easiest things that you can do to reduce your electrical consumption is change out your regular incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). CFLs use 65 to 75% less energy than a normal light bulb that produces the same amount of light. By replacing a normal 100 watt incandescent light bulb with a 32 watt CFL, you will save $60 to $80 in electricity costs over the lifetime of that bulb (10,000 hours). Now imagine how much you would save if you changed out all of your light bulbs to CFLs!
The technology for these bulbs has quickly evolved and improved in the last few years, while the cost has come down dramatically. You'll find that there are CFLs that will now fit most light fixtures and lighting needs—there are even dimmable CFLs!. Head out to your local department or hardware store and buy CFLs for as many of your light fixtures as possible. The investment is well worth it.
Another alternative to traditional lights are tubular skylights . Tubular skylights look a little like shiny stove pipes that start with a transparent dome on top of the roof and come down into some room for day lighting. We frequently see customers using tubular skylights to bring daylight into hallways and closets. The light is, of course, entirely natural and in some installations can provide as much illumination as a 100-Watt incandescent light bulb.
One of the biggest consumers of electricity in most households is the refrigerator. In most households, refrigeration is the number one electricity consumer after any electricity-based heating or cooling systems. If your refrigerator is over 10 years old, chances are it's electrically very inefficient. Consider replacing your current refrigerator with one that has a high Energy Star rating. Remember that just because a refrigerator may have earned the Energy Star label doesn't mean it's the most efficient model available—it only means that its efficiency exceeds the federally mandated efficiency standard by at least 15%.
When you shop in stores, consult the yellow EnergyGuide tags that are attached to all new refrigerators (and many other appliances). For maximum energy savings, select the model that's a leader in efficiency in its class.
Also known as "phantom loads", ghost loads are the sneaky devices that constantly consume small amounts of electricity 24 hours a day—even when they're not actually doing anything useful. While each device by itself may not consume much electricity, the combination of all of them within your household may easily consume the equivalent of two or three 60-Watt incandescent light bulbs left on all day and all night. Over the course of a single year this adds up to over 1 Megawatt-hour—in other words, enough electricity to power an entire energy-efficient house for 2 to 3 months!
What are these mysterious ghost loads? The most common examples are the "power brick" adapters, or power supplies, that charge or operate cell phones, laptop computers, cordless drills, answering machines, radios, inkjet printers, and many other household devices. They're actually small transformers, turning AC electricity from the wall outlet into DC electricity for use by the device. While any one of these devices may only consume a small amount of power (e.g., 3-20 watts), a dozen or so of them, running simultaneously and continuously, consume a significant amount of electricity. What's worse is that even when you're not charging your cell phone or the battery for your cordless drill, that AC adapter may continue to consume power just because it's plugged into the wall.
Other well-disguised ghost loads are those devices which have the "instant on" feature, such as most modern television sets, VCRs, DVD players, many radios and even many computers. While all of these devices are supposedly turned off, they are actually consuming anywhere from 3 to 20 watts continuously—just to stay ready for you to use them.
How can you decrease the consumption of energy by these parasitic loads? One of the simplest solutions is to simply plug these devices into a power strip which has an off/on switch. When you are done using the devices and shut them off normally, then just hit the off switch on the power strip. Many people make it part of their nightly routine to shut off these power strips just before they go to bed.
For AC power adapters that you use at night, like for charging a cell phone, put those on a separate power strip that you turn off during the day when you take your phone with you. Simple solutions like these could reduce your ghost electric loads by as much as 80%. In real-dollars terms, this means saving upwards of $120 per year in electricity costs, depending on your local electric utility rates and how dedicated you are to reducing your ghost loads.
If you're planning to use an off-grid solar, wind or hydro and plan to have a 12 or 24 volt battery bank, you will often be able to find devices and appliances that work directly with these DC voltages. The benefit to using the devices is that they will not need an AC power adapter which needlessly consumes electricity whether or not the device in use. After all, what an AC adapter plug does is convert normal AC household electricity to DC type of electricity to power the device, and it rarely does that conversion efficiently.
Energy Efficient Cooling.
Deciduous shade trees planted to the east and west of your home can cut cooling costs by 15-30%. Planting trees as a wind break can lower your heating bills by 10-20%. Planting shade trees over sidewalks and concrete areas help cool the entire neighborhood.
During the summer (and in warmer climates) air conditioning is frequently the largest consumer of electricity. An inexpensive way to reduce the demand on your air conditioner is to keep your attic cooler with a solar attic fan. Powered by the sun, solar attic fans turn on when your attic warms up during the day. By venting the hot air out of your attic all day long, the floors below stay cooler and as a result your air conditioner runs significantly less.
Solar attic fans can be installed by good do-it-yourselfers or carpenters. They require no wiring. A hole needs to be cut in the roof, the attic fan is slipped in and the edges are sealed up well with roof caulking. The solar electric panel built into the fan unit is designed to last at least 25 years. A solar attic fan is another wise investment that pays for itself very quickly.
For people who live in zones that are relatively dry but hot, evaporative coolers (also known as swamp coolers) are a cost effective and energy efficient alternative to traditional air conditioners. Evaporative coolers use about 25% the energy an air conditioner would need. Unfortunately, most people live in climates that when it's hot it is also relatively humid. In these conditions evaporative coolers won't work effectively.
Another simple and green method for reducing your home's air conditioning costs is to plant deciduous trees whose leaves will shade your home in the summer time and shed its leaves for more sunlight in the winter time. By shading your home it heats up less, and therefore requires less cooling by an air conditioner. Planting a tree in this scenario has double the environmental impact, you're reducing greenhouse gases by both using less electricity and because the tree itself absorbs carbon dioxide.
Energy Efficiency and Household Appliances.
Many other appliances throughout your household will have a newer and significantly more energy efficient version available. Here is a short list of other appliances you should consider replacing with higher efficiency versions: water heating tanks, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, telephones, VCRs and DVDs, ceiling fans, fax machines, computers and copiers. To find out how much your appliances are really consuming, invest in an inexpensive power meter like the Kill-A-Watt meter.
Heating Efficiency.
For many households the biggest bill is the heating bill. Probably the quickest, least expensive and easiest way to reduce your heating bill is to buy a programmable thermostat. You can set these thermostats to turn off the heat automatically when you're not home and turn it on just before you arrive. You will easily recoup your small investment in the new thermostat within one winter by running your heating system less. See your local hardware store or HVAC company for pricing and availability of different models.
Another basic step to reducing your home heating bill is sealing air leaks and adding insulation. According to Energy Star sealing air leaks and adding insulation can reduce your heating bill by as much as 10%. For homes with attics, one of the easiest and most effective places to put down insulation is in the attic. Visit your local home improvement store to find out how much insulation in different areas of the home is recommended for your region.
In the last few years, the use of solar air heating systems has become more popular. Mounted on an exterior, southern-facing wall or on the roof, solar air heating collectors can reduce a home's or business' annual heating costs by as much as 30%. Costing far less than a new conventional heating system, solar air heating systems usually pay for themselves in 3-6 years. They'll typically last for 18 to 35 years and require minimal maintenance. Working in conjunction with your existing heating system, the solar air heating system simply reduces your heating demand whenever you have even partial sunlight.
There are two basic flavors of solar air heating systems. There are ones that heat up fresh outdoor air and blow it into your home or business. The there are ones that take the air from inside your building boosts up the temperature by another 50 to 90 degrees fahrenheit and blows it back in (known as recirculating air solar heating systems).
Newer homes and buildings which tend to be tightly sealed and have stale winter air will benefit doubly from the fresh air solar heaters. Older homes tend to be inherently draftier and experience full air exchanges with the outdoors a few times a day. These homes will benefit more from the solar air heating systems that recirculate the indoor air and boost it up in temperature. Typically, one 4x8 foot solar air collector is recommended per 750 to 1000 square feet of home space.
Water Heating Efficiency.
Solar water heating systems can reduce a home's hot water heating demand by 60-90%. Designed to last at least 30 years, they typically pay for themselves in just 3-7 years.
More efficient models of domestic hot water heaters have also become available in the last several years. If you have an old hot water heater, chances are that it was not designed with efficiency in mind.
Another good alternative to the traditional hot water heating tanks are instantaneous hot water heaters. These systems heat the water only when its being used. Normal water heating systems used in much of North America maintain a large tank of hot water to be used only a few times a day. To keep the water hot and ready at a moment's notice these traditional hot water heating tanks consume energy throughout the entire day, whether you need it or not. Instantaneous water heaters only consume energy the moment you need the hot water, saving the typical household 30 to 50% of the cost of hot water heating. You can find instantaneous water heaters that use natural gas, propane and electricity from a variety of manufacturers.
Solar Water Heating is the Best Return on Your Investment.
The energy (natural gas, propane, electricity, etc) needed for hot water heating can be reduced by 60 to 90% by using a solar water heating system to pre-heat water before it enters your existing traditional water heater.
Remarkably effective and efficient, even in northern climates, solar water heating technologies have matured significantly in the past 30 years. Designed to easily last 30 years or more with minimum maintenance, typically solar water heating system will pay for itself in its first 3-7 years of use. Solar water heating systems heat your home's water with collectors that are usually placed on the roof of the home. The hot water produced is stored in an insulated tank until your home is ready to use it. Your traditional hot water will only kick on to heat up the water when the water temperature is not quite high enough. Solar water heating systems can be installed by advanced do-it-yourselfers, but it is recommended that a licensed plumber or installer review or do the more complicated plumbing.
The first step before purchasing a solar electric or wind power system to meet your electricity needs is to intelligently reduce those needs. Most homes can inexpensively reduce their electricity demands by 20 to 30% without ever having to make any adjustments in the lifestyles of the occupants.
Choosing the Right Sources of Renewable Electricity.
Without taking into account financial incentives available by state and national governments, solar air heating, solar water heating and micro hydro electric systems have the best financial payback periods. However, in part due to rebates and people's familiarity with solar electric and wind power systems, they are the most popular with homeowners and businesses.
Selecting what type of renewable energy to use to power your home or business is not always about what you would prefer to have but what is best available and economically most feasible. Here we will discuss reviewing your site for its potential in generating electricity from solar power, wind power and hydro (water) power.
Solar Power
Assessing Solar Power Potential At Your Location.
Most locations can make use of solar power as long as where you would install the solar panels would have a clear shot of the sun for most of the day (e.g. 9AM through 3PM). Most solar electric panels rapidly decrease in performance with just a little bit of shading. Literally the shadow of a twig upon a solar panel could cause it to decrease it's output by 30% or more.
The amount of energy you can get from solar electricity at your site, depends on your location in the world and the time of the year. Obviously, sites closer to the equator will tend to receive more solar power throughout the year than one's far north or south of the equator. Generally sites north of the equator receive more sunlight between the months of April through September, and sites south of the equator receive more during the opposite time of the year (October through March). As you can imagine, sunlight is also affected by the weather. Sites that frequently have long lasting fog or are overcast during large parts of the year will have less available solar power.
The measurement for the strength of the sunlight striking the earth at your location is defined as solar insolation. Using this value, you can determine how much energy you can generate through out the year for your site. Solar insolation data for all over the world and at different times of the year has been investigated and recorded. The peak, average and lowest annual solar insolation values for several different USA cities and countries across the worled can be found in the Reference Materials area at the altE Library. If you live in the USA, choose the city closest to you in the table and that will give you a good estimate of the amount of solar insolation for your location.
To determine the average daily amount of energy you would produce at your location, you would multiply the average annual solar insolation value times the total wattage of your solar panel array. As an example, let's say that you had a single 100 watt solar panel and you lived in Columbus, Ohio, which has an average annual solar insolation value of 4.15 sun-hours. To determine your average daily energy output out of that 100 watt panel you would multiply 100 watts times 4.15 sun-hours (100 x 4.15), which is 415 watt-hours (or 0.415 kilowatt-hours). This amount of energy would be about enough to power a color TV for a couple of hours every day.
Sizing a Solar Electric System to Fit Your Needs.
In reality, the process for determining the size of your solar electric system is the opposite order of what we just went through in the previous example. First, you determine how much energy you need on a daily basis in kilowatt-hours (kWh). This data can be found on your electric bill on a monthly basis if you have one for your location. Otherwise you will need to go through the process of estimating your energy consumption. altE offers a "load" calculator in the How To section. To estimate the energy usage on a daily basis, take your monthly estimate and divide by 30.
Second, you need to determine the solar insolation value for your site. If you're going to be totally disconnected from the electric grid/utility company then you will need to use the minimum (worst case) solar insolation value for your location. If you're going to be feeding your electricity into the electric grid then use the average solar insolation value.
Lastly, you need to divide your estimated daily energy usage (kilowatt-hours) by the solar insolation value and multiply by an system inefficiency factor:
Total Watts of Solar Electric Panels Needed = [(Daily Kilowatt-hours)/(solar insolation)] x Inefficiency Factor
The inefficiency factor for systems that are disconnected from the electric grid (off-grid) is 1.3. For systems that are connected to the grid (also called on-grid, grid tied, grid intertied or grid connected) that value is usually assumed to be 1.2. The reason that it is higher for off-grid systems is that these systems have to store the energy in battery banks which are not perfectly efficient. Most on-grid systems either don't use batteries at all or use them in such a way that their inefficiencies are minimized.
Choosing the Solar Electric Panels Right for You.
Now that you know the total wattage of the solar electric panel array you need, it's up to you select the specific solar panels that will make up this total wattage. For example, if determined that for your home you needed a total of 2000 watts of solar panels and you decided you liked Kyocera 130 watt solar electric panel then you would need 16 of them (2000 watts divided by 130 watts = approximately 16 panels, rounding up to the next whole number).
People make selections of solar panels based upon many different factors. Some people prefer only larger solar panels (150 watts or above) because it means they have to do less wiring in interconnecting the panels. Others choose moderate size panels (80 to 120 watts) because they're easier to lift and manuver. Other people will choose panels based upon color, electric properties, whether or not the manufacturer is a petroleum company, which country the panels are manufactured in, whether the panels are immediately availablity and, of course, price per watt plays a big role for most people.
Wind Power
Assessing Wind Power Potential At Your Location.
Generally speaking, you need at least a 1/2 acre (0.2 hectares) of open land where you can mount the wind turbine on a tower, and your average wind speed should average 10 mph (16km/h) either annually or during the months you intend to use the wind turbine.
There are several methods for estimating the average wind speeds for your location, some less accurate than others. Here is a list of possible sources:
- Collect data from your own weather station.
- Ask a neighbor who has a weather station.
- Rate how wind-whipped your vegetation is with Griggs-Putnam index.
- Search for local wind records online.
- Call local radio/TV station for wind data.
- Call a local/regional airport for data.
- Review general wind resource maps provided by NREL (if you're located in the USA) or your national government.
When reviewing your location to see if you have at least a 1/2 acre of land available to mount the wind turbine, keep in mind that the tower also needs to extend the wind turbine at least 30 feet above nearby (i.e. within 300 feet (91m)) obstructions such as trees, buildings or hills. These obstructions create turbulence in the air around the causing the wind turbine to work very inefficiently. The turbine needs to get up above the turbulence to smoother air flows.
There are exceptions to these rules of thumb, such as people who would like to use small wind turbines for their boats or RVs. In these cases, the location and weather conditions can vary widely from day to day. Usually, in these applications the turbine is used in conjunction with other power sources such a solar electric panels or a generator to charge up a battery bank.
Sizing a Wind Power System to Meet Your Needs.
Once you've determined the average winds for your location and determined if you have a suitable location for a wind turbine, you can then select the specific wind turbine to meet your needs. Simply go to the specification page on the altE store website for any wind turbine and look for a chart or table which will tell you how many kilowatt-hours of energy you can expect to product given the average wind speed for your location. If the estimated energy the turbine you selected isn't enough for your needs, go to larger turbine and see if that will meet your needs.
If you find that the turbine you would like to have doesn't supply the energy you need at the average wind speeds you have for your location, then you have a few options besides going with a larger wind turbine. An option is to consider using a hybrid system. That's a system that combines two different renewable energy technologies together, such as a wind turbine and a solar electric system. A benefit to a hybrid system is that the two different technologies frequently compliment each other. For instance, when the sunshine is low due to a rainstorm, there tends to be more wind - providing more power to the wind turbine.
Hydro Power
Assessing Microhydro Power Potential At Your Location.
While only about 5% of the population in North America has access to suitable streams or rivers, micro hydro electric power is one of the least expensive ways to generate electricity for your home with renewable energy.
It is estimated that only 5% of the population in North America is fortunate enough to have a location suitable for generating microhydro electric power. To take advantage of this form of renewable energy, you need a river or stream that provides sufficient water flow rate and head. Head is the vertical distance between where you would divert the water to your turbine and where it would re-emerge to be joined back with the original water source. You can have heads as low as 6 feet (2 meters) but you will need to have relatively high flow rates to generate any significant power.
To estimate the amount of instantaneous power (watts) you could generate from your location multiply the head (in feet) by the flow rate (in US gallons per minute) and then divde by ten:
Equation for estimating power for micro hydro: Head (feet) x Flow (US gpm) / 10 = Output (Watts)
For example, let's say you had a site which had a head of 60 feet and 100 gallons per minute. Your instantaneous power available would be 60 x 100 / 10 = 600 Watts. This may not sound like a lot of power, however, remember that in most cases the river is flowing all day and all night long. As a result, to estimate the total daily energy being produced you would multiply the 600 watts times 24 hours, which equals 14,400 watt-hours. Over the period of a month (~30 days) that would be 432,000 watt-hours (or 432 kilowatt-hours). This particular scenario would provide enough electricity to power most energy efficient homes.
Determing flow rate of a stream or a river is usually more challenging than determining the head. One method for determining the flow rate is to see how quickly the stream fills up a bucket of a known volume (e.g. a 5 gallon bucket). For instance, if a five gallon bucket can be filled up in 10 seconds, then you know that over a period of a minute (60 seconds) there would be 35 gallons (5 gallons x 6 re-fills of the bucket in a minute), or 35 gallons per minute (gpm). This method is somewhat challenging as you sometimes need to dam up and divert the stream entirely through a single tube that outputs into your bucket of known quantity.
Another method for estimating the flow rate of a river or stream is to figure out how how fast the water is travel through a particular cross-section. To do this you need to find a length of the stream which is relatively consistent in its width and depth. Measure what those cross-sectional dimensions are (width and depth). Then at the beginning of that known stretch of the stream drop in a floating object such as a ball or stick and time how long it takes to float to the other end of that known stretch. With this information you can estimate the total float rate. For details on exactly how to do this, see the How-To article on Determining the Flow of Your Stream with a Simple Float at the altE store.
I would like to thank the altE store for their assistance is compiling this information. To learn more, visit their website.
As you can see, you are able to change your energy expenditure and generation habits and save money with a little easy, clever design. Also take a look at our design tube network video sharing site to watch green design videos or even upload your own.
And take a look at the design gallery for more ideas.
So, now you have read my thoughts on interior design, I invite you to take a look at how our design store and green energy store can help you with your interior design or renovation projects.
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