Heating and cooling service is fast picking up demand in San Francisco, which is pushed by the climatic conditions of the city and due to the increased awareness among citizens to live in a healthy environment in and outside home.

With a correct heating and cooling system, a house will always feel like a paradise, no matter what the hassles of the outside world.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the air inside an average home is more polluted in comparison to the air outside, especially because of indoor air pollution. This is mainly caused by air borne particles (dust, pollen, dirt, pet dander, insulation), bio-aerosols (mold spores, dust mites, viruses, fungi, bacteria) and gases and odours (chemical vapours from gas ovens, water heaters, furnaces, fireplaces, paint, perfumes, pesticides, and tobacco smoke ).

A heating and cooling service provider offers good quality residential and commercial services at affordable rates.

The service provider generally provides heating and cooling services for all brands of air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, fan coils, and thermostats to residents and businesses in and around the city. They provide comprehensive maintenance, repair, replacement, construction, remodeling of heating and cooling equipments.

The main types of services provided by these experts are:

Heating services that include repair, maintenance and replacement of furnace, heat pump, boiler etc.

Cooling services including repair, maintenance and replacement of air conditioner, duct etc

Air quality services including repair, maintenance and replacement of air cleaner, humidifier, thermostat etc.

Construction and installation that is commercial construction services for office, warehouse, retail outlets, restaurant, manufacturing units, computer rooms, heating, ventilation, filtration etc.

While choosing a heating and cooling service provider, it is important to keep in mind -

· Whether the service provider is a licensed professional?

· Are there any outstanding complaints against the provider in the San Francisco Better Business Bureau?

· Does the service provider cover necessary insurance for business in San Francisco, CA?

· Talk to at least three different companies and carefully compare their bids.

· Check the service provider’s credibility from its association.

· Ensure that the service provider is experienced and complies with all the relevant standards.

After completion of the job, a thorough visual inspection should be done to verify the cleanliness of the heating or cooling system.

Remote photography of the ducts prior cleaning helps to compare with the present condition post cleaning. The service provider for verification should duly fill a Post-Cleaning Consumer Checklist. In case of deficiencies, the service provider is to be asked to correct unless complete satisfaction. A few post-cleaning consumer checklist points are –

· Did the service provider clean the entire heating and cooling system, including ducts and all components such as drain pans, humidifiers, coils, and fans?

· For heating equipments, is the heat exchanger surface apparently clean?

· For cooling components, is the coil drain pan entirely clean and draining properly?

· Are the blower blades clean and free of oil and debris?

· With the system running, is air leakage present through access doors?

Thus, check out for the best as per your requirements – a service provider who insures to meet and exceed the expectations of its customers.

To know more about Heating and Cooling Service offered visit http://www.mcheatingcooling.com/

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“A Little too soon

To start planning

Ahead for the winter

Because

Summer is not over

You would be a Fool

To be planning for Winter now” – Aldo Kraas

I found this poem called “A Little Too Soon,” while idly browsing through the internet. Well, if your poetic self wants you to relax on a couch, Best of Luck, because winter is here and there’s very little time before day turns to night!

You might still tend to go out with half sleeves shirt of the closet from summer clothing, and would realize that there’s no more sun. Kids are back to school and streets are empty. Leaves are turning yellow and almost ready to wither off. By the time all the leaf is gone… you will be entering full term winter.

1. Time to get the thick clothing out from your Self Storage or attic or large box that is hiding in a corner in closet.

2. Get the winter clothing washed or dry cleaned so you can avoid any possible allergy and have fresh welcome to winter.

3. Time for shopping some cold creams and lip-guards and any other protective skin creams.

4. Home Owners

a. Have your gutters cleaned after the fall and before full term winter. So drain gutters are clean enough to handle the rain water off your roof and sides and snow.

b. Have your snow blower ready, fill it up with gas, and start it for a few minutes to see if it’s ready for some work. Clean up the ignition plug; check the tire pressures etc…

c. Get some snow/ice melt (Salt) ready so you can have your drive way and walk ways clean from snow and ice. That would avoid any possible accidents from slippery walk surfaces.

d. Be sure to close and tightly lock all the open windows. You may have to use some packing strips to make sure the window joints are sealed properly from any possible air leaks. Detach any window air-condition units installed. Remember, if you have your house completely insulated, your heating cost you can at least keep heating cost to a minimum. Also, shut off your fireplace damper. It makes sure no heat escapes out of your home.

e. Before you switch on your heating unit make sure air filter is installed properly and it’s clean. If needed, please get the filter changed.

5. Parents

a. Kids and children who have a history of flu or have not yet had the complete flu vaccination need to be vaccinated now. The Department of Health and Human Services has released detailed instructions about how to go about doing this. Also, you would find other instructions like what you should do in case of a flu emergency. Please visit hhs.gov for more information.

b. If you’re using a heater, put it up on a level- just for caution’s sake- and out of reach of kids at your home. Also, make sure it is not anywhere near flammable substances like carpets.

c. Make sure everybody at your home is wearing proper protective clothing. Hypothermia and Frostbites are not unheard of. Some of the major reasons which lead to Hypothermia include improper diet and alcohol intake. The least you can do is eat a lot of fruits and other fiber rich food. Also, go a little easy on your scotch.

Actually, this list hardly ever ends. So, go ahead tell me about what you think I might have missed in the comments section.

Vidya Garapati (GV)
Movers.com Team.

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1. Bundling your House Up for Winter – a Winter Check List
2. How to Prepare for Disasters in Freezing Temperatures

Disasters that occur in freezing temperatures present their own set of dangers that differ from other disasters. This is because in freezing temperatures frostbite, hypothermia, and death can set in within minutes of exposing the body to such extreme temperatures.

Other dangers such as iced-over and snow-covered, slippery roadways exist, which increases the rate of accidents. Fire disasters in homes and businesses also increase during freezing temperatures because of greater use of fireplaces, and portable heaters. Old furnaces and furnaces with dirty filters can cause disaster fires, and also fill structures with poisonous carbon monoxide fumes which can cause death. Frozen lakes and rivers can cause drowning disasters when the ice breaks, and the sudden submerging of someone into freezing water, quickly leads to hypothermia and drowning before anyone can reach them to help.

Prepare yourself for disasters in freezing temperatures with some preplanning. Make sure your home is insulated well to protect against the extremes of freezing temperatures. Make sure walls and attic have adequate insulation for protection. Check doors and windows in your home and replace caulking and weather stripping where needed. Place storm windows on the outside of your home or use plastic sheeting to insulate windows from the inside. Have your chimney cleaned and inspected before use in winter and freezing temperatures. Place protective insulation around water pipes situated against outer walls. Make sure your snow blower is working. Keep de-icing salt on hand to melt ice from steps, walkways, and drives to prevent slip and fall disasters and severe injuries. Place an outdoor thermometer near a window so you can see it from indoors to know when temperatures dip dangerously low. During a freezing temperature disaster, stay inside your home. Do not open exterior doors and windows to conserve the heat you have in your home. Wear thermal clothing, layered with cotton clothing to keep warm. Have plenty of packaged foods that need no cooking for eating and have a supply of drinking water, and prescription medications as well.

Prepare your car for disasters in freezing weather so that you can survive even if stranded on the roadside for a period of time because of an accident or because the roads are not passable. Fill the reservoirs for your antifreeze, windshield wiper fluid, and oil. Completely fill your gas tank and keep it filled. You may also consider adding an ice preventive to your fuel tank to prevent the fuel line from freezing. Install winter tires on your car for better traction and control of your vehicle on slippery roads. Make sure that your brakes, exhaust, lights, emergency lamps, radiator, heater, and defroster all work. Keep these items in your car as preparation for a disaster in freezing temperatures while in your car. Emergency flares for summoning help. A survival pack that includes the following: drinking water, (heat from your heater can defrost frozen water enough for you to drink). Bread, crackers, and energy bars to provide your body with the fuel to help keep your temperature up. Thermal socks and thermal clothing, a cold weather rated sleeping bag and thermal-insulated blankets. Fist aid materials and paper toweling. Tools, snow shovel, ice scraper. Chains, ropes, tire sealant, salt, and kitty litter to help melt ice and provide you with enough traction to get your vehicle back on the road, flashlights, car battery charger, and battery powered radio. It is helpful to carry a cellphone so that you could contact help in a disaster in freezing temperatures.

If you are stranded in your car during a disaster in freezing temperatures, stay put. You will be more visible to passing emergency crews in your care than away from it in whiteout conditions. Staying in your car also protects you should another vehicle slide off the roadway and into your car. Put on the thermal clothing and climb into the cold-weather rated sleeping bag and cover yourself with a thermal-insulated blanket to keep as warm as possible until help arrives. Place a sign in your window alerting emergency crews that you need help or raise the hood of your car. For heating, do not run your car for more than 10 minutes an hour and do not run your heater when the engine is not running as this will drain your battery. Make sure your exhaust pipes are cleared of snow so that carbon monoxide isn’t backing up inside the care where it can make you violently ill or even cause death. Crack a window to ensure that you are getting some cleaner air to breathe. Move your body and extremities every so often to keep the blood circulating properly.

Remain calm by breathing harder and taking more cold air into your body will lower your temperature. You also need to keep your wits about you so that you can spot emergency crews before they reach you and send out a signal to let them know exactly where you are. Use your head, plan ahead for dealing with disasters in freezing temperatures and hold onto the fact that spring will be here before you know it.

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1. Why Glaciers and Polar Ice are Melting Faster
2. Winter is Here Folks !!!
3. Bundling your House Up for Winter – a Winter Check List

What is carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide or CO is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. Due to this fact, it is very hard to detect the presence of CO in your environment. It is, however, imperative that the CO levels in your home are carefully monitored. Even at relatively low levels, CO is poisonous because it rapidly accumulates in the blood thereby depleting its ability to carry oxygen. Extreme cases of CO poisoning result in death.

Where does carbon monoxide come from?

CO is a common by product of the combustion of fossil fuels. When properly installed and maintained, most fuel burning equipment (natural gas, propane or oil) will produce insignificant amounts of CO.

At what level does carbon monoxide become toxic?

For healthy adults, CO becomes toxic when it reaches a level higher than 50 ppm (parts per million) with continuous exposure over an eight hour period.. When the level of CO becomes higher than that, a person will suffer from symptoms of exposure. Mild exposure over a few hours (a CO level between 70 ppm and 100 ppm) include flu-like symptoms such as headaches, sore eyes and a runny nose. Medium exposure (a CO level between 150 ppm to 300 ppm) will produce dizziness, drowsiness and vomiting. Extreme exposure (a CO level of 400 ppm and higher) will result in unconsciousness, brain damage and death.

How to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning

- have a qualified technician install and regularly inspect all fuel burning appliances

- regularly inspect fireplaces and chimneys to insure proper ventilation

- never use a gas or charcoal barbeque indoors – never start a car or gas run lawnmower or snow blower in a closed garage.

- install a carbon monoxide detector in your home.

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1. The Importance Of Carbon Monoxide Detectors In Your Home Or..

A corn pellet stove is one of several types of pellet stoves – kitchen appliances that burn either wood pellets or biomass pellets that are fed into a burning pot. These pellet stoves are used in residential and even industrial sites mostly for heating and sometimes even for cooking. They can be free-standing or they can be inserted onto fireplaces and vented towards a chimney. The use of biomass matter for pellet stoves and heaters came about as a result of the global fuel crisis that necessitated the use of alternative and renewable sources of energy.

Fuel for pellet stoves

Users of pellet stoves utilize cherry pits, sunflower seeds, even wheat as biomass fuel, but a lot of these pellet stoves’ makers opt for the use of another biomass fuel – corn. While wood may be the original choice, and the other seeds and pits additional choices, most pellet stove users swear by corn pellets. Pellet stoves that are specifically made to use corn pellets are becoming more and more in demand because they have been proven to be more fuel efficient and less maintenance-intensive. Although a corn pellet stove looks almost exactly like a wood pellet stove, the former usually does not require a chimney as it is highly efficient. It can simply be vented through pipes to an outer wall. As such, corn pellet stoves may be used to heat almost any room in a house.

How it works – the basics

Like any other pellet stove that has a hopper, auger, blower, firebox, vacuum, and control box, a corn pellet stove feeds the biomass pellets from the hopper through the auger or screw onto the firepot. The auger is used to control the heat. The blower is used for combustion and exhaust as it blows combustion air over the pellets and forces smoke outdoors. The stove mechanisms allow for efficiently clean performance. The intense heat that is produced by the stove is highly concentrated. The convection blower and heat exchangers allow for the circulation of the heated air towards living or cooking spaces.

The use of corn pellets ensure clean, pollution-free burning so that chimneys are no longer required for the corn pellet stove. A vent from the stove towards a window or opening outdoors will suffice. With its highly combustible nature, the use of corn in the pellet stove enables the heating of average-sized homes on less fuel, and less money spent for fuel of course, compared to other traditional and conventional fuels. Like a traditional furnace, a corn pellet stove is combustion-based – burning the corn pellets and warming up the surroundings as heat radiates from the flames. The secret is in the gradual feed of the corn pellets through the hopper, allowing for consistent heat which is not possible if the biomass fuel lot is simply dumped onto the fire. The larger the hopper, the longer the stove is able to continuously burn to provide long-term heating.

Another aspect of the corn pellet stove’s efficiency is the heat-exchanger inside the furnace. The heat exchanger, like that in a gas-furnace, extracts heat from the exhaust. The result is a more efficient heating system that allows for more space areas to be heated for less fuel consumption. It will only be a matter of strategically positioning the corn pellet stove in a residential or industrial structure to get the optimum heat from the contraption. Facility of locating is addressed easily as the stove is simply vented, no need for a chimney, so that smoke exhaust is forced outdoors.

Over and above the efficiency is the environmental issue. There are a lot of contentions that corn is a cleaner fuel, with less harmful emissions than traditional wooden fuel. Burnt corn leaves less ash, reportedly, less than the ash resulting from burning wood of equal quantity to the corn fuel. The construction of a corn stove pellet also allows for the ability to push ash out of the stove’s top towards a pan for easy emptying. The fire is thus allowed to burn continuously for a consistent, continuous heating. Then there is the safety issue, where fire is more controllable in a corn pellet stove, and outside areas are shielded and protected through the use of the blower that has an effect similar to bellows where despite hotter flames generated, the flames are confined to the stove area and are in no danger of accidentally touching on external or surrounding combustible materials.

With all these advantages of a corn pellet stove, including efficiency, economy, environmental-friendliness, and safety, a lot of residential and industrial users prefer it over the traditional wood-fed stoves.

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1. The Pellet Stove: an Underappreciated Heat Source
2. Pellet Stove Inserts are a Great Alternative Heat Source
3. Pellet Stoves Gas Stoves Room Heating Systems

Author: Max Hager

Article Source: MiNeeds.com, where consumers get competitive bids from Electricians. Read reviews, compare offers & save. It’s free!

Article Link: http://www.mineeds.com/Lexington/Caron-Electric-Inc/Articles/The-Importance-of-Carbon-Monoxide-Detectors-in-your-Home-or-Business

Tags: safety , electric , electrical , fire , carbon monoxide , MA , regulations , code , prevention , UL

For anyone unfamiliar with Carbon Monoxide it is Poisonous gas which is Odorless, Colorless, and Tasteless. That is why it is so important to assure your protecting your home or business from this harmful gas.

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:

Flu like symptoms including: headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, fainting. At higher levels CO exposure could result in unconsciousness, or death.

This information is relevant to Massachusetts residents and businesses

As of 11/4/2005, at the time Governor Romney signed “Nicole’s Law”, named after 7-year old Nicole Garofalo who died on January 28, 2005 when her Plymouth, MA home was filled with deadly amounts of carbon monoxide on January 24. The furnace vents had been blocked by snow during a power outage.

The new regulations require carbon monoxide detectors on every level of the home and within ten feet of each sleeping area and in habitable portions of basements and attics. The alarm you use must be approved by an independent testing laboratory such as Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL)

The CO detectors may be: Battery operated with battery monitoring; or Plug-ins with battery back-up; or Hard-wired with battery backup; or Low voltage system; or Wireless, or Qualified combination (smoke/carbon monoxide alarm). To assure compliance you can always check with your local Fire Department or Inspector before installing. Caron Electric always recommends having a licensed/qualified installer do the work.

On September 6, 2006, the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations passed additional regulations requiring carbon monoxide alarms in transient residential buildings such as hotels and motels, institutional buildings such as hospitals, nursing homes and jails, and day care centers and after school programs. The Legislature has given owners of these buildings and those owned by the Commonwealth and local housing authorities until January 1, 2008 to complete installation.

Landlords must inspect, maintain, and replace, if necessary, required CO alarms annually and at the beginning of any rental period. Tenants should report any problems with detectors to the landlord immediately and learn to recognize the difference between the smoke alarm and the carbon monoxide detector. Fire departments are currently required to inspect smoke alarms when one-five unit homes are being sold and transferred

For residential homes the following will help with the protection of your family:

• CO detectors on every level of the home except unfinished basements and attics

• Locate the detectors near bedrooms to allow for the family member to be awaken by the alarm

• Detectors should not be located near windows/doors to exterior of home, excessively hot, cold or damp areas or corners or rooms and peaks of ceilings.

• Do not place a CO alarm in a garage, furnace room, near the stove or fireplace.

Some other helpful tips to keep CO levels down at your home or business:

1) have a yearly inspection of your heating/cooling equipment

2) Check vent pipes, flues, and chimneys for leaks or blockage

3) Un-vented kerosene heaters are illegal in MA

4) Never use a charcoal grill indoors

5) Never use your gas oven to supplement heat for the home

6) Never leave a vehicle running indoors/garage even with the garage door open , the fumes build up quickly

7) Do not use gas powered engines i.e. generators, chainsaws, blowers, weed trimmers, mowers or snow blowers indoors or near doors or windows

At Caron Electric we understand the importance of safety and hope this article has been helpful to better understand the reason for CO detectors.

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A home energy audit is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. During the audit, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy. Audits also determine the efficiency of your home’s heating and cooling systems. An audit may also show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough audit.

A professional auditor uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. Thorough audits often use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.

To start you can even conduct a <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.techstore.ie/Renewable-Energy/Home-Energy-Efficiency/Home-Energy-Audits.htm>home energy audit </a> yourself. With a simple but diligent walk-through, you can spot many problems in any type of house. When auditing your home, keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you found. This list will help you prioritize your energy efficiency upgrades.

Locate Air Leaks

First, make a list of obvious air leaks (drafts). The potential energy savings from reducing drafts in a home may range from 5% to 30% per year, and the home is generally much more comfortable afterward. Check for indoor air leaks, such as gaps along the baseboard or edge of the flooring and at junctures of the walls and ceiling. Check to see if air can flow through these places:

* Electrical outlets
* Switch plates
* Window frames
* Baseboards
* Weather stripping around doors
* Fireplace dampers
* Attic hatches
* Wall- or window-mounted air conditioners.

Also look for gaps around pipes and wires, electrical outlets, foundation seals, and mail slots. Check to see if the caulking and weather stripping are applied properly, leaving no gaps or cracks, and are in good condition.

Inspect windows and doors for air leaks. See if you can rattle them, since movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame, then the door or window leaks. You can usually seal these leaks by caulking or weather stripping them. Check the storm windows to see if they fit and are not broken. If you are having difficulty locating leaks, you may want to conduct a basic building pressurization test:

1. First, close all exterior doors, windows, and fireplace flues.
2. Turn off all combustion appliances such as gas burning furnaces and water heaters.
3. Then turn on all exhaust fans (generally located in the kitchen and bathrooms) or use a large window fan to suck the air out of the rooms.

This test increases infiltration through cracks and leaks, making them easier to detect. You can use incense sticks or your damp hand to locate these leaks. If you use incense sticks, moving air will cause the smoke to waver, and if you use your damp hand, any drafts will feel cool to your hand.

On the outside of your house, inspect all areas where two different building materials meet, including:

* All exterior corners
* Where siding and chimneys meet
Professional Home Energy Audits

Professional energy audits generally go into great detail. The energy auditor should do a room-by-room examination of the residence, as well as a thorough examination of past utility bills.

Many professional energy audits will include a blower door test. Most will also include a thermographic scan.

Preparing for an Energy Audit

Before the energy auditor visits your house, make a list of any existing problems such as condensation and uncomfortable or drafty rooms. Have copies or a summary of the home’s yearly energy bills. (Your utility can get these for you.) Auditors use this information to establish what to look for during the audit. The auditor first examines the outside of the home to determine the size of the house and its features (i.e., wall area, number and size of windows). The auditor then will analyze the residents’ behavior:

* Is anyone home during working hours?
* What is the average thermostat setting for summer and winter?
* How many people live here?
* Is every room in use?

Your answers may help uncover some simple ways to reduce your household’s energy consumption. Walk through your home with the auditors as they work, and ask questions. They may use equipment to detect sources of energy loss, such as blower doors, infrared cameras, furnace efficiency meters, and surface thermometers.

Selecting an Energy Auditor

To have a valid <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.techstore.ie/Renewable-Energy/Home-Energy-Efficiency/Home-Energy-Audits.htm>home energy audit </a> you need to have a certified auditor inspect your house.

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2. Energy
3. Choosing a Fireplace to Heat your Home

Without a doubt, if you have a fireplace and use it, it can be beneficial to your energy bills. However, if you have one and do not use it, it can be a leading cause of escaped energy within your home.

Hmmm….

Where does your home stand and what can you do to improve these things?

Is the fireplace a good thing for energy conservation or is it a potential pitfall?

Points to Consider:

1) The first thing to take into consideration is how much you actually use the fireplace. If you honestly do not use the fireplace all that often, then consider having it permanently closed. This will keep a tremendous amount of energy from escaping from your chimney during the winter and the summer months when the air conditioning and the heat are on full blast. If you do make this happen, make sure that you do not light the fireplace at all as the smoke will have no place to go.

2) If you do use your fireplace have it checked carefully. Make sure it has a flue in place and that it is able to keep air from coming into the home. Also, have it cleaned. A clean fireplace is one that is safe for your use. To make the most of the heat that a fire can produce, you may want to consider a heater blower which will blow the heat from the fire out into the home. This can significantly increase the amount of energy that you actually get from the fireplace.

3) To make this worthwhile, you do need to have a good amount of wood on hand that has been seasoned and is ready to go. Although you may not like the work of hauling wood into and out of the home, running the fireplace for just several hours a day can considerably bring down the high cost of heat during the winter months.

When used properly, the fireplace is an ideal tool for energy conservation. If you are looking for a way to save on energy, this may be a good way to do it. Yet, you must take care of a fireplace or you will burn wood too quickly and ineffectively for it to really benefit you. On a cold winter night, this is just the place to be. Hence, consider your true usage of the fireplace and your ability to benefit from it.

It’s the Little Things in Life

When it comes to energy conservation, the small things can add up quickly. If you think that you can not afford to find a way to save on your energy bill, consider the various small things that you can do that will easily add up to savings across the board. With so many different things out there, there is no way that you will not benefit from them.

Little things do add up. If you didn’t think that by turning off a few lights that you could save a considerable amount of money on your next energy bill, think again. Here are several tips that you can do today to start seeing improvements right away.

• Check for leaks of air coming through from the electrical outlets in your home. If you feel a draft coming in, this could be why. To conserve energy here, make sure you caulk and insulate the area.

• For car fuel savings, step on the gas pedal much slower. Do not get to the street’s mileage as quickly. Slow down early when approaching red lights. Ease onto the gas when the light turns green again. These things will greatly benefit your miles per gallon of gas.

• Unplug all of your LED appliances. If your coffee pot or other appliances in your kitchen have LED lights on them, they are taking up electricity just by being on. Unplug your appliances after use.

• Use your ceiling fan instead of using your air conditioning. Moving air just feels better and it will also help you to actually cool down without the cost of air conditioning.

• Turn off the lights. You will save a good deal of money just by turning off extra lights in your home. Open the drapes and allow the sunlight to be used instead. You will save a good deal of money by turning off just a handful of lights each day or week.

Energy conservation starts with little things. Make a plan of it. Play a game and see just how many different lights the kids can keep off. There are many small things that you can do in your home, outside of your home and in your vehicle to save on energy costs. Doing so will improve your bill but also will improve the environment as well.

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Its view on ice melting has been especially cautious. The panel report predicts that ice on glaciers on mountains and in Polar ice sheets is melting and is going to raise levels of world oceans by 7 to 23 inches by 2100. Sea level rise has two major components; water expands when being heated and water from melting ice on lands flows to the oceans and raises their levels. Exact measurements of sea levels are extremely difficult. Atmospheric pressure, Earth movement, global wind patterns, and ocean currents affect readings.

We all have read that mountain glaciers are receding or disappearing, we have read that the Polar Bears are threatened, and we may have read that snow making equipment is now used in skiing areas.

The culprit for what is happening to glaciers and Polar ice sheets is global warming. However, the fast acceleration of ice melting during the last few decades can not be explained fully by rising global temperatures.

A specialty in engineering science deals with the prediction of heat and mass transfer in industry. It is a discipline that is shunned by many engineering students. Heat transfer courses deal with three quite different modes of heat transport. Heat is transferred by conduction, by convection, and by radiation. If you have ever burned a finger by touching a hot surface you are aware of these three modes. If you touch a hot surface you feel pain almost immediately. Heat is conducted to your finger and the nerves in your finger report pain to protect you. If you hold your finger under the faucet and cool it with cold water, your finger is being cooled by a moving liquid and you feel the effects of convection. You can feel radiation, when sitting in front of a burning fireplace.

All three processes take place when ice is melting. During summer, warmer winds strike ice surfaces and heat the surface. First the snow cover is melted. Only after the snow cover has melted completely, can the ice be heated. During the day the ice surface my get wet, during night the melted water on top freezes again. Why are these processes important?

When winds blow over a snow or ice surface, the warmer air transfers heat to it. In the process the air cools down and looses its ability to heat. Only warm air can transfer heat and melt snow or ice. After giving off its heat and lowering its temperature, the blowing air has lost its excess energy. If only air temperatures were responsible for ice melting, we would experience snow and ice melting rates that would be only marginally higher than those 100 years ago and melting of ice deposits would not be threatening, yet.

Radiation heat transfer from surface winds is the one variable that has changed dramatically during the last century. Air now contains one third more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are optically active, they emit heat by radiation. Therefore, the air that is blowing over ice surfaces has increased its radiating power by a third, too. This is why ice melting is accelerating.

There is an additional, more insidious reason. When thermal radiation hits the surface of a snow blanket, it melts only the surface of the snow. When thermal radiation hits the surface of wet ice, another process takes over. Thermal radiation is able to enter the ice itself and will penetrate deeply if the ice is clean. Dirty ice absorbs heat within a shorter distance. The ice is heated from the inside! Worse, the heat inside the ice mass cannot get out anymore. During summer, the ice is heated from within. During winter, when the ice is covered by a snow blanket, the heat cannot escape. Instead, it penetrates the entire ice mass by conduction.

The next summer, after the snow on top has melted, the ice continues to soak up heat again. The amount of heat each year is small but continues to accumulate for years and decades. Shortly before melting, the ice looses mechanical strength rapidly and becomes prone to throw off large pieces on its outer periphery. Sometimes another phenomenon can be observed. If the ice sits atop a layer of mud or silt, the mud looses strength at the same time when the ice is weakening. The melting mud serves as a lubricant and may let the ice sheet move downhill.

Can we do anything to reverse these threatening processes? Realistically, nothing. Reversing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations would be effective. While it is conceptually possible, it will take more than fifty years before we can expect to begin using large scale greenhouse gas removal technology. Otherwise, we can protect bare ice with a snow or dirt blanket. Right now, there seem to be no other alternatives.

Obviously, the described processes are not part of the models that forecast ice melting and sea level rises. Therefore, the world must prepare itself for an ugly surprise. Sea levels will rise much faster than the IPCC has been predicting. Prudent governments will prepare for rises that are twice as high as predicted by the IPCC in the year 2100.

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Pellet stove inserts are a great alternative heat source for keeping your home heated during the cold months. If you choose a freestanding pellet stove or the insert both use pressed sawdust pellets as the fuel. The difference in what you choose is based on personal preference or the available space you have.

People that use pellet stove inserts or the stove itself report that they see a large drop in their energy bills. These are both economical sources of heat that more people are choosing to use every year.

Pellet stove inserts give the look and feel of a fireplace rather than a stove. Whereas, the freestanding stove obviously gives more of a look of a stove. The insert type is generally chosen for a bedroom, kitchen or family room. The installation of an insert is more complicated than a freestanding stove. Therefore, they are usually easier to install in new homes or during a large remodeling job.

Some pellet stove inserts come with a thermostat that allows the homeowner to set the exact temperature they want. The thermostat works with the insert and allows pellets to be fed to the stove whenever it needs it. Many people like this feature because it means they do not have to stand there all the time and add pellets.

Another positive feature of pellet-stove inserts is that the pellets burn clean and is thus much cleaner than wood burning stoves. You can find these inserts in many different sizes, just choose one that fits your current situation.

You will find that most pellet stove inserts share some of the same features. There is not a lot of work that needs to be done once they are installed. Fill the hopper with the pellets and set the thermostat and that is about it. BTU’s range from 14,000 to 60,000. If you have a small room, you want heated then do not get a large insert.

Other features that you can get with your pellet stove inserts are blowers, remote control and automatic lighting.  Some units come with different size hoppers so they do not have to be filled as often.

Pellet stove inserts are a great way for homeowners to save money on their energy costs. Take some time and look into one for your home today.

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1. The Pellet Stove: an Underappreciated Heat Source
2. The Corn Pellet Stove – a Brief Explanation
3. Pellet Stoves Gas Stoves Room Heating Systems