Energy Trends For the Future

When it comes to energy efficiency, money is definitely the name of the game. This factor is what makes energy efficiency and maintenance efforts pay off. Information about costs is an important part of reporting accomplishments to other people. When you are able to track costs, it reveals pricing trends and helps with cost projections necessary to prepare budgets.

These current and projected future prices of energy are then used as the basis for determining whether potential energy efficiency policies will be cost effective. To give everyone in your organization a complete picture of the need for energy investment, any dollar savings figures you use should include actual costs, as well as avoided ones. You will also want to give management some information about what the dollars saved could be used for, such as buying or updating equipment, adding more services, etc.

Benefits to the Environment

Better energy efficiency is a cost-effective way to lower emission rates generated from burning fossil fuels. This added benefit should be very clearly pointed out in your energy management program. You may determine that it is worthwhile for your organization to track the lower level of emissions achieved when energy conservation practices are improved. When management is supportive of using energy resources more efficiently, they are probably very environmentally conscious. Your efforts to increase energy efficiency will likely gain even more support if they can be documented and shared with others in your organization (and possibly the public).

Standard procedures for calculating lowered emissions levels for specific fuels are becoming more available. Contact the Environmental Protection Agency, your state energy or environmental office, or your utility to learn more about making these types of calculations.

Matthew Shields

Energy Expert

Bathtub Refinishing Fumes - How To Protect Yourself

Bathtub refinishing is being used more by hotels, apartment complexes and homeowners because of a housing downturn, a mortgage-meltdown, and overall depressed and depressing economy as a way to save money in their bathroom renovation. Another interest in re-glazing is being fueled by informed masses who have shown a continued interest in "greening" their homes, particularly in making them more energy efficient. Consumers are looking for ways to save money, and the environment and that is what bathtub refinishing does- provide savings of up to 80% over replacement while sparing the landfills.

But unlike other services like carpet cleaning, plumbing, pest control etc, where consumers know what to expect from their service contractor, tub re-glazing business is unknown to many. And because of this lack of knowledge, many don't know what the process involves, what to expect and what the the final outcome will be. Here is the bathtub refinishing process in a nutshell: A tub is cleaned, fully etched, cleaned, prime coated andtop coated.

The equipments used are a turbine, a sprayer and a big exhaust fan. The protective equipment is similar to what you'll see used in mold remediation or asbestos removal. If the fumes coming out of the bathroom are not healthy for the one doing the refinishing in the bathroom, do you think it is safe for you, your pets and especially younger and older ones in the home?

Many bathtub refinishing companies will tell you that they use a proprietary coating formulated by them and for them. Ask for their sacred MSDS. It contained enough toxic materials to make their technicians suit up as if cleaning a room full of asbestos. Water based coatings are getting better but water condenses in the bathroom and on the tub. Go figure. Every etching product contain some level of acid. The concentration of VOC's is high. Unfortunately, from the biggest bathtub refinishing companies to the small town bathtub refinishing company using exhaust fans to get rid of the fumes and their smell. They leave a lot of toxic fumes and smell that linger for days.

There are air scrubbers that can suck up those fumes and odors and still keep the environment?
These portable systems operate in a completely sealed off bathroom. They are quiet, so that guests and tenants that sleep on while bathtub re-glazing is done next room. In fact, some companies are using hospital grade air scrubbers while re-glazing a tub because of the importance these companies put on the health of their customers and the environmental impact of their work. These portable units are in the bathrooms where the re-glazing is done.

All the fumes and odors are captured and there is no hoses or cords coming out of the bathroom as a safety hazard. The technology is here. Next time you call your friendly bathtub refinishing company, ask them how they are going to mitigate the odor and fumes. If they are still using old technology with its environmental impact in this century, they are not your company. Ask questions, protect your health, and those of your hotel guests and apartment tenants.

The sluggish economy is forcing hotels and hotel chains, to find creative ways to save money and the environment as they remodel their bathrooms. Many are concerned about the effects of over-spray fumes on their guests and their health, the noise created by antiquated bathtub refinishing systems, the impact of old technology on the environment. Ask questions and lots of them before you hire your next friendly bathtub refinishing company.

Wilson Uche Ukah, is the President of Refinishing Stars, a bathtub refinishing company serving the bathtub reglazing needs of homeowners in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville. Refinishing Stars, refinishes bathtubs, sinks, and countertops for hotels and motels nationwide. Wilson writes regularly on green remodeling and is a consultant to other bathtub refinishing companies. He can be reached at http://www.refinishingstars.com or sales@refinishingstars.com

Cement Rendering And Building Plastering

The purpose of rendering is two-fold, namely to weatherproof the building wall and to provide pleasing finishes of various textures. Plastering is a skilled trade and an expert plasterer should be employed wherever possible, as there are many points that can only be learnt by experience. However, if skilled help is not available, it is necessary to know the elementary principles involved, that is, how to prepare the surface, choose the mix, proportion the materials and apply the plaster.

The proportions of cement, lime and sand to use depend upon the purpose of the plaster and the nature of the building surface to which it is to be applied. A pure lime plaster is comparatively soft and weak and is slow setting, so it is usually gauged with cement to increase its strength and hardness and to shorten the period of hardening. The strength increases and the period of hardening decreases as the amount of cement increases in proportion to the amount of lime, until with a pure cement plaster with no lime, the strength is a maximum and the hardening period the least. However, as the proportion of cement is increased the plaster becomes less workable and more difficult to apply. The proportion of sand should not exceed three times the combined proportions of lime and cement. A stronger plaster should not be applied to weak porous backing or a strong finish coat to a weak first coat.

For external building plastering or 'rendering' on a dense material such as concrete, dense concrete blocks and hard clay bricks of low porosity, the best proportions to use are 1 part cement, 1 part hydrated lime and 6 parts sand by volume. On exposed building walls subject to driving rains the proportion of lime may be decreased and the cement increased to say 1 :: 6 mix or a 1:4 cement plaster to which up to 10% of lime by weight of the cement is added to make it workable.

On external building walls of low strength and high porosity such as low quality breeze concrete blocks the external rendering should not be stronger than a 1:1:6 mix as above and a strong cement mix with little or no lime should not be used.

For internal plastering the best proportions are 1 cement, 1 lime and 6 sand; or 1 cement, 2 lime and 9 sand; or a lime mix only of 1:3 or 4 may be used, remembering that the cement increases the strength and hardness and reduces the period of hardening. For water containers such as fishponds only cement plasters should be used.

The weather during plastering and rendering may have considerable influence on the finished work. External rendering should be started on the shady side of the building to keep it unexposed to the sun as long as possible. No plastering should be done in frosty weather. In cold weather plaster hardens slowly and a longer period of time between coats should be allowed. In very hot weather the successive coats must be kept damp and protected from drying out for at least two days after application. Draughts and local sources of heat may cause too rapid drying out. Gentle heat and moderate ventilation are the best conditions for plastering.

Michael Russell Your Independent Building guide.

Alternative Energy Production

Would you like to learn more about alternative energy production and how you can produce free electricity to run your house? We are currently using fossil fuel sources like coal to provide for our home's energy needs. Unfortunately, these fossil fuels are limited and the Earth will soon run out of them if we do not find alternatives soon.

1. Why We Need to Start Considering Alternative Energy Production Seriously Now

It is estimated that the remaining amounts of coal in America can still last for 200 more years or so. We need to start researching alternatives and consider what will happen to our future generations if we continue to be ignorant about this problem.

As the demand for resources like coal, oil and natural gas are increasing every day due to the growth in China and India, it is possible that these resources may run out much faster than we expect. The best way to solve this problem is through alternative energy production solutions.

2. Alternative Energy Production

More countries are investing more money to researching alternative energy solutions. In fact, some households are already able to build their own homemade systems to generate free electricity on a small scale to run their own house. This is entirely possible as I have succeeded in doing so as well and am enjoying the benefits of creating free electric power. These alternative power sources are very clean and will never run out.

3. Which Are the Best Alternative Energy Solutions for Running a Home?

The 2 best methods would be to build solar panels to harness the sunlight energy and also by building wind turbines that can harness free wind power.

Do you want to learn how to Produce Alternative Energy for your house? Download the Best Step-By-Step Home Energy Guides at http://www.renewableenergysystemreview.com first!

The author has managed to reduce his energy bill by more than 80% by building his own renewable home energy system. Check out his website above to find out how to do it!

How in the World Do You Decorate Your Bathroom?

If you're bored with the cold winter months and want to do something to put a little spice in your life, you might consider doing some remodeling in your home or apartment. Nothing will perk you up like having bright, fresh rooms to come home to. As the two most important and used rooms in any home, the needs of your bathroom and kitchen are the first ones you should look into.

As we said, these rooms see more use than most of the other rooms do; however, they are often the most neglected and rundown, too. Think about how long its been since you made any attempt to make over one of these rooms. When you think about it, you're probably going to realize that its been a long time since you even considered it.

Even if you have noticed things around the bath that you thought looked kind of bad, you probably shrugged and went about your business saying you didn't have time to undertake a room overhaul. And back whenever you thought this, the room probably didn't look nearly as bad as it does now. Things like this tend to creep up on you. Even if you've been keeping your rooms white-glove clean, there are still things that get worn and outdated.

I dare you to go into your bathroom and take a really close look. So what do you see? Maybe the curtains look limp and worn, and the bathroom rugs are getting a bit threadbare. Are those soap dishes you're still using those two-piece plastic models that were popular back in the '70s? As I'm sure you've heard before, they don't make things the way they used to, and if you look at your outdated items, you'll probably see why.

Start by getting rid of all the unnecessary junk, and buy yourself some new, updated accessories. There is an amazing selection to choose from these days. You may have even been eying a gorgeous bathroom set in a store. By getting rid of the old junk, you'll have a reason to go out and treat yourself to it.

Make sure that whatever you buy is sturdy and water resistant. After all, these items are going to get a lot of use, and they're going to be exposed to water, soap, and other spills. You'll want your rugs to be machine washable so that when they get dirty you can just pop them into the wash and have them come out looking like new.

If you'd like to find some new, innovative ways to decorate your bathroom, there are numerous places you can draw inspiration from. For instance, there are mail-order catalogs with everything you could possibly want. It's possible that the catalogs will give you ideas you can use in order to substitute a less-costly item for the one they have pictured.

All it will take to get you going is some catalogs or websites where you can start getting ideas. Then your own ingenuity and creativity will start coming into play as you begin designing the ideal spaces for your kitchen and bath. What started as a small change could end up snowballing on you, and, if it does, you're going to love your gorgeous new rooms.

Have you considered any bathroom decor ideas lately? How about a Lladro Bathroom? It doesn't have to be expensive. Find out more at http://www.bathroomstyleguide.com

Five Marvelously Simple Ways to Save Energy

With the economic slowdown, more people are wisely slashing down their budgets. But saving doesn't have to be painful. Try these five easy tips to save on home energy costs and you may actually free up enough cash for that cute dress you saw at Macy's or that long overdue vacation to the Caribbean!

The Tips!

1. Lights out

There are not enough ways to stress the importance of turning off a light to save energy. When you leave a room, remember to turn off the lights. And try to turn in early. This way, you not only save electricity but you also get a decent night's sleep.

2. Stay "disconnected"

You can save energy at home by turning off unused electronics such as the fan, the TV and your computers. Make sure you pull out the plugs too. Although they're innocuously in "off" mode, plugged equipment are still consuming energy, albeit at smaller amounts. These small amounts, when combined, can be substantial. If you hate pulling out the plugs, you can buy an adaptor with a switch. I use several at home. Then, you can simply flip the switches to allow or discontinue the flow of electricity.

3. Go CFL

Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL). There are CFLs that give off that warm, sunny glow you so love in your energy-hungry incandescent bulbs. CFLs are also more durable than incandescent ones. With CFLs, you save up on both electricity and bulb replacement costs!

4. Insulate

Covering up all the little holes in your room can also cut down on heating and cooling costs. A lot of heat exchange occurs at these sites and this puts a strain on your air conditioner and heater. Foam strips can readily obliterate all these nasty openings and they're very affordable too. In the winter, simply use thicker blankets and snuggle up. You can then set your heater at a lower temperature and save energy.

5. Let the sun shine

Work during the day and open the blinds! This allows you to work without lights, set your monitor at a dimmer setting, and stay warmer in the winter. What more can I say? These are energy saving habits that you can acquire without altering your lifestyle. What's more, these simply marvelous ways require little or no effort to do. So save energy now and free up some of your budget!

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Problems With Building Contractors

Sometimes as contractors we get in a hurry and we just want to finish the job. We told the homeowner we would be done in three months, at the same time the homeowner keeps adding new work to the list.

I ran into a problem like this on one job where the contractor was in a hurry to finish the flooring and chose to go right over the existing floor that was out of level. He told the homeowner he didn't have time to repair that section of the floor. He was installing half-inch plywood over 1 x 6 diagonal floor sheeting to strengthen up the floor.

This floor was going to require quite a bit of attention from the contractor and his crew. The homeowner should have hired another contractor to repair the floor while the original contractor finished the house remodel. When your contractor gives you that much grief about any work, you need to start thinking about hiring another contractor or at least finding one to complete the task your original contractor has no interest in.

I felt sorry for the homeowner because this was not what he wanted and he was upset with the contractor but the job was done. This is my warning to any contractor, handyman or home repair specialists. When installing a new plywood floor over an existing floor to strengthen it up, use some common sense and repair the floor correctly or don't do the job at all.

I wrote this article for contractors to have a little more sympathy for the homeowners you are working for because sometimes they can't see the whole picture like you can. I also wrote this article for homeowners to listen to your contractor carefully when he is explaining a potential problem that you can't visualize further down the road. Any contractor with over 15 years experience remodeling homes has a pretty good idea what's going to happen next.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.