… for a new clothes dryer? Here are some things to think about if you are:

Guess what? Energy Star does not label dryers because there is very little energy use difference between models. Well, aside from the Energy Star there are still a few other things that you can watch for that will help you decide which dryer is the best option for your household.

• It helps if your dryer is large enough to accomodate the majority of your clothes in two or three loads at the most.
• Many new dryer models have sensors that are able to tell when the clothes are actually dry.
• Timers that can be manually adjusted for the size and weight of the load are really good.
• Gas dryers are, in general, much more efficient than electric dryers.

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What are MEF and WF, and what do they have to do with choosing an energy efficient clothes washer? Those are the questions we will try to answer today.

The Modified Energy Factor, or MEF, is the quotient of the volume of the tub in the washer and the total clothes washer and dryer energy consumption as determinted through laboratory test procedure. In other words, it takes into account the amount of dryer energy used to remove the remaining moisture content from the washed items.

The efficiency of clothes washers, along with other household appliances, was once rated with the energy factor (EF), but was modified to account for the final spin speed. The higher the MEF is the more efficient the washer is. Clothes washers sold in the United States are now required to have a MEF rating as high as or higher than 1.26, and for it to be qualified for the Energy Star the MEF must be 1.72 or greater.

The Water Factor, or WF, is the number of gallons per cycle per cubic foot that the clothes washer uses. For example, if a washer uses 30 gallons of water per cycle and has a tub volume of 3.0 then the water factor is 10.0. So, the lower the WF, the more efficient the washer. The United Stated does not currently have a requirement for the water factor, but the goal is for all washers to have a water factor of less than or equal to 9.5 by January 1, 2011. For a washer to be Energy Star approved however, it must have a water factor no greater than 8.0.

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… for a new clothes washer? Here are several points to consider if you are:

Of course we all know to look for the Energy Star when we’re in the market for something like a clothes washer, but there are some other things to look at once you’ve found the Energy Star. Here’s a quick list of some of thos things to watch for; we’ll look at each point in more depth in different articles:

• Watch for washers with the highest Modified Energy Factor (MEF) and the lowest Water Factor (WF).
• Front-loading washers are usually more efficient than top-loading models.
• It needs to allow you to adjust the water level for smaller loads.
• Options are always good, especially when it comes to wash and rinse cycle options.
• Faster spin speeds will be more efficient in the long run.

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In 2004 the Oak Ridge National Laboratory concluded a three-year study of metal roofing materials; this study evaluated the energy efficiency as well as the service life of various metal roofing materials. These materials included painted and unpainted galvanized steel, painted and unpainted Galvalume®-coated steel, and painted polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) aluminum, and were tested on both steep and low slope installations.

This study showed that both painted and unpainted metal panels maintain their energy efficiency better than any other roofing system studied. Pre-painted metal roofing retains ninety-five percent of its initial solar reflectance over a three-year period. Some field data showed that PVDF painted metals maintained a resistance to soiling for at least thirty-five years! Infrared emittance increases over time, but the study shows that it isn’t in any way affected by the climate because of the overall uniformity of the increase.

A basic, unpainted metal roof will reflect much of the solar radiation that is usually absorbed into the attic and home by the traditional asphalt roofs. Pre-painted or granular-coated metal roofs will even go a step further and cool the home by re-emitting much of what solar radiation is absorbed. This is definitely a good choice for warmer climate homes.

By installing a metal roof you could cut your summer cooling costs by forty percent! If the roof is a highly emissive metal roof it could even reduce the urban air temperature by as much as twelve degrees Fahrenheit! Metal roofs sure seem like an energy smart idea.

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It is possible. These people have done it, even with small children!

These videos show how ordinary people have done the extraordinary, and how it is possible for everyone. They are also great examples of how an off-the-grid home has to incorporate several different energy efficient things in order to have enough power for a relatively normal American lifestyle.

Small scale hydro electric plants generally have no larger generating capacity than 10 megawatts; this can, however, be increased to 25 and 30 MW in Canada and the United States. This type of hydro electric power plant is usually used to serve small communities or industrial plants.

These plants can be divided up even more into two more categories:

• Mini hydro
• Micro hydro

Mini hydro plants have a generating capacity of less than 1000 kilowatts; micro hydro has a capacity of less than 100 kW. Micro hydro plants are usually serve very small, rural communities where it isn’t economical to tie it into the main grid, or even individual family units.

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Hydro electricity is just another name for power that is generated by harnessing the power of moving water. The water does not have to be falling, just moving. The potential energy in water is directly proportional to the head, or the difference in the height between the source and the water’s outflow. The exact amount of potential energy that can be converted can be calculated from the head.

Pumped storage is another type of hydro power. It is not quite as efficient, but often more practical for smaller operations.

Hydro electricity is the largest source of renewable power in the world. The hydro electric capacity has more than doubled since 1970. Current worldwide capacity is at 776 gigawatts, and another 100 GW is under construction. The UN estimated that the total “technically exploitable” hydro power potential 15 trillion kilowatt hours per year; this is half of the world’s projected electrical use by 2030. Only 15 percent of this is being converted currently.

In America, hydro power electricity production covers 7 percent of all the power needs. This 7 percent comes from the 2378 hydro plants in operation, but there are many closed plants that could be re-operated without too much trouble.

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When installing a VDR it is important that it be continuous and as perfect as possible. This is not quite as important in very moderate, heating dominated climates. Also, any tears, openings, or punctures in the VDR that occurred during the construction should be completely sealed. If all the appropriate surfaces are not covered there is an increased risk of dampened insulation. The thermal resistance of damp insulation is extremely decreased, and, if the situation continues over a protracted period of time, could eventually create mold growth and wood rot.

Specific places for VDRs to minimize condensation and moisture problems include: walls, ceilings, floors, under concrete slabs, and crawl spaces. Be careful though, it is against some building codes to seal crawl spaces completely. It is important to use a VDR with a perm rating of less than 0.5o if the house is in an area with a high water table. For those more moderate climates mentioned above painted wallboard and plaster wall coatings are acceptable VDRs, and no other VDR is necessary.

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There are many ways to compost, so I think I will just mention a few and post some links.

You can build your own compost bin out of pallets or fencing, or you can buy a compost barrel. The barrels usually have some sort of built-in turning system that makes it much easier to keep the compost moving along. Here are some pictures of both types, and some links to several articles and websites.

How to Compost.org

Compost Guide

How to compost on Wikihow

Eartheasy: Composting

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It’s really easy to see the benefits, so I thought we’d look at that first.

There are many environmental benefits. It has the amazing ability to regenerate poor soils. The micro-organisms break down the organic material to create extremely nutrient-rich humus. Compost is also able to clean-up contaminated soil; it absorbs odors and volatile organic compounds. It also traps heavy metals preventing their getting into the water. By using compost it is like organic recycling. The soil will improve which will enhance your garden produce, making them healthier for you.

Now, however, it’s time to take a moment to look at the disadvantages of composting.

Composting takes time. You’ve got to be willing to collect, pile, and turn you waste. It also requires at least some amount of land, somewhere to pile your compost and allow it to age. It takes a good deal of labor too. If it is not done properly compost can have a disagreeable odor, but this can usually be remedied by adding more carbon material. Depending on what you put into your compost pile, it can also attract animals. This obviously isn’t usually the most beneficial thing that could happen for your compost.

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Compost is organic material that can be used to amend the soil or even as a growth medium. It is a way to organically rid yourself of the kitchen and yard waste. After a period of decomposing and aging, the compost turns into a wonderful material that can be used on your garden. Compost drastically helps eliminate the need for other fertilizers as it puts natural nutrients back into the soil. However, there are some disadvantages to composting. We’ll look at this subject more in the next few days.

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Many countries are experiencing water shortages, and, according to the UN, even more are expected to by 2025. So, with that in mind, is it really worth catching the rain? Those facing the shortages would certainly say so! The average American individual uses 100 gallons of water or more every day. Take that and compare it to the average African family that uses only 5 gallons a day!

Yet there is still another aspect that would be worth looking into: there is always the same amount of water in the world. So, the water just circulates and lands in different areas, causing some to have too little and some to have too much. When the time comes for your area to experience too little, it sure would be nice to have some sort of system in place to catch what little rain comes your way.

Time to tie in the cisterns again. They are an excellent way to hold excess rainwater. Though historically they have been kept underground in order to keep the water at a more constant temperature, with modern technology there is absolutely no reason why you couldn’t have an above-ground cistern almost as easily as you can have an above-ground swimming pool! Cisterns keep every pollutant out of the water except the contaminants that are already in the water itself, so that water is actually probably cleaner than normal fluoridated city-water. The water that is caught can be filtered, cleaning it even more, and used for small-load places such as hunting lodges and weekend getaways that are only used every now and then.

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Cisterns are storage tanks that collect rainwater from roofs or other catchment areas. The water is non-potable, or not for human consumption. Cisterns are usually located underground, but they can be at ground level or even elevated. They should be made from non-reactive materials such as: reinforced concrete, galvanized steel, plastic, etc. Concrete blocks or wood, but these can be difficult to keep watertight. They should have a smooth interior surface and an enclosed lid.

Some places have incentives for installing cisterns and rainwater catching systems. Some places even have laws requiring water catching systems to be installed on every new construction. Greenhouses often have cisterns that supply all its water needs.

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Even since the year 2000, around the time this article was written, there have been many changes and lots of research done in this area. That article said Zero Pollution Motors in France would probably have the first air-powered vehicle, the e.Volution; this same company will be unveiling a competitively-priced six-seater in North America next year. But, even considering all the changes that will take place in the next year or two, we do good in looking at this subject a little further today.

The aforementioned e.Volution is supposedly able to go about 124 miles before it needs to be refueled with compressed air. It still requires oil, but less than a quart, and it only has to be changed every 31,000 miles. This vehicle made its debut in Johannesburg, South Africa at the Auto Africa Expo 2000.

There is still much debate as to whether or not this type of vehicle is actually more environmentally friendly. They still require electricity to compress the air in the tanks, and some argue that the pollution is merely transferred from the car’s exhaust to the electrical power plant. That power plant most likely still relies on fossil fuels for its energy.

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Okay, so you’ve planted a rather large garden, and now you have the produce coming like crazy. What are you going to do? The only answer, besides let it all go to waste, is preserve it in some way or another. We have briefly looked at root cellars; that’s one way to do it, especially for those crops that don’t can well (potatoes, carrots, melons, etc.). Tomatoes, beans, relishes and pickles, jams and jellies, and juices can very well; corn, squash, and peas freeze well. Preserving is yet another thing that must be done if the garden is going to be efficient. You can get lots of produce from it during the growing season, but it is worth so much more when you can still get produce from it, indirectly, in the winter. Some things, like herbs, dry well and can be stored in cool, dry places waiting to be put to use. Preserving is an excellent way to “stretch” you garden! There are lots of places out there to guide you step by step through just about any canning/freezing/drying/preserving method you could want.

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We slightly touched on the topic of a “green” garden in this post. We mentioned the importance of truly organic gardening, and gave the reasons for avoiding the big companies. We also told about the fuel and grocery savings when you have your own in this article. So now I wanted to write about the amazingly aesthetic and flavorful benefits of an organic garden, and how you can be a part of an organic garden indirectly.

Can you ever drive by a beautiful, thriving garden and not think about how good the corn and beans taste? What about your grandparents? Wasn’t all the food out of their garden so much more flavorful than the exact same thing from the grocery store? That is because the fresh produce from the grocery store has to be able to be shipped all across the country or even world! Sometimes the produce is even harvested way before it’s ripe because it will ship better that way. Obviously this does nothing beneficial for the flavor. With the rising fuel prices the fresh section’s prices are also soaring. This is something you can help by growing your own. It doesn’t really matter, if you’re only going for flavor and savings, if you don’t know how to grow anything. Buy a couple of tomato plants down at the local co-op and water them well. Allow the tomatoes to get good and red before you pick them; almost nothing beats fresh, homegrown tomatoes. Of course, being if you’re going for a “green” garden, you can’t do this. The seed you use must be heirloom, so that you can save them for next year’s garden. And, obviously, you must save them! This is ultimately the best option, in my opinion, but there are a lot of things to learn in taking a step like that if you’ve never done a garden that way before.

I mentioned being a part of an organic garden indirectly earlier. This is another way to get delicious produce without actually doing the work yourself. Farmers markets are great for every-now-and-then customers, but if you love a variety fresh veggies all the time a CSA is the way to go. CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture. Most are vegetables, but some, where the laws allow, have farm raised meat too. Each week the operators of the CSA will put together a box or basket of the produce that is fresh that week. Granted you probably don’t have as much say in what you get like picking things out at a farmer’s market; instead you buy shares in the farm, and then pick your box up at an appointed time. Here is a good article about a new CSA explaining how it works. Here is their website.

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Let’s take a few minutes to look at this aspect of gardening. First, glance at the interstate. What do you see? Despite the rising fuel costs there is little change from when fuel was reasonably priced. There are still a lot of cars, probably more SUVs, and tons of semi trucks. Focus in on the semis for a second. Now think, many of those semis are bringing in grocery items from various parts of the country and world. There are, in my opinion, at least two things wrong with this picture: 1) the food they often truck in is not the best quality, it’s nothing like you can grow; 2) diesel exhaust accounts for approximately 26% of the total hazardous pollution in the air, and 66%  of the particulate pollution from on-road pollution. Those truck create noise and smog; they’re just not good for us or our environment. One way that we can do our part in not contributing to bringing those big trucks through our area is to buy locally grown produce from local suppliers. By reducing the demand it is conceivable that the trucks, who bring in the supply for the demand, will drastically reduce also.

Okay, so you don’t really want to pay the higher prices for the premium produce from the farmer’s market. How are you going to do your part? There’s that ugly patch of nothingness out in the back landscaping. Why don’t you turn that spot of uselessness into a lushious garden that gives you top-notch vegetables for not much more that your labor? This would be the best option because you would, at the same time, not demand anything from the suppliers who use the semis to truck the produce in, and reduce your own air pollution by not going to the grocery store or even the local farmer’s market. I would imagine that if you had a green roof this would also be a wonderful area to transform into a productive garden. Gardening can be very therapeutic. You can pull up weeds when you angry, and watch the plants grow when your meditative. They’re a great way to work out stress.

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We had looked at green roofs and root cellars pretty well recently, so I think that this topic comes in quite seamlessly. Gardening is an excellent way to save on energy. Growing your own food would save a good bit of money both in the fuel it takes to get to the market and in the produce you would normally buy there. How extensive your garden is is entirely up to you, the amount you feel capable of handling, and how much space you have available both for the garden itself as well as the area for the food you decide to preserve.

If a garden is going to be truly “green” it should be based on heirloom varieties and utilize “organic” methods. If the garden is not primarily heirloom and “oraganic”, then it is necessarily connected to gigantic seed and chemical companies. These companies do not have a policy of protecting our environment through the production of good seed and safe chemicals. their policy is instead one of profit. They will sell whatever as long as it rakes in a bundle of money. As I thought about this article I took a look at one very major seed company and its policies. There are fears that this company has too much influence in the government and that it is developing “Terminator” seeds. Terminator seeds are those that cannot be saved. The mature plant develops seeds, but the seeds are unable to complete the natural cycle and grow  into mature plants. This is feared by many because of its potential to completely wipe out the small farmer who has been growing and saving his own seed for generations. There is even a campaign that is completely against this seed company.

This is another reason for doing your own gardening. You are able to control what seed you are able to use and what chemicals you apply. It would be a major step in both personal and even national security if people would once more turn to gardening for their food supply. It makes complete sense that the more food products we import the more we make ourselves vulnerable to subversive attack. Just think for a minute, we import food from hostile countries as a political move. That is endangering the entire country by opening it up to any sort of poisoning that the hostile country could come up with. The inspections that the food undergoes is not perfect, and all the hostile country would have to do is come up with a new type of lethal poisoning that the inspections would not catch and they’d have the whole country in its power. We’ve got the same thing going on here in the food industry as we do in the oil industry! Think national security and personal protection, people! Pull your head out of the lion’s mouth quickly before he decides to bite!

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After looking into root cellars a little, the only natural step is, of course, to delve into spring houses a bit. Spring houses were used to store things that couldn’t necessarily keep very long or well in the root cellars. Milk and butter specifically come to mind. Spring houses were build directly over a stream or possibly as an outlet for a hillside spring. The water would be directed through a trough before going out the other side and continuing on it’s natural course. Jars of milk and butter would be stored right in the water. This kept them plenty cool to stay fresh for several days. There are many elaborate stone spring houses, but there were some that were much simpler made out of wood. However, as we have seen, stone is a much better insulator than wood, so they probably stay a little cooler, besides standing longer without as much maintenance.

The placement of the spring house is fairly crucial. They should, if at all possible, be placed in shade; this will help them stay even cooler. They were usually placed on top of the spring or small creek or stream, but in areas where there were no natural springs, parts of larger creeks were often diverted through the spring house. The water from these sources, but especially from the spring, stay at a fairly constant temperature throughout the entire year. Spring houses were very important in history, and many of them still stand. They may even still be operable if the spring hasn’t dried up through the years. What a legacy! Families passed their land and everything on them down through the generations. That included the spring house. I rather doubt that we could had our modern refrigerators down too much!

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I linked to a couple of websites about root cellars yesterday, including one that told how to change an old freezer or refrigerator into a root cellar. I thought I’d do the same thing today. So, without further ado, here are a few links that tell how to make root cellars, how to pack root cellars, and so on and so forth:

This site tells how to make a root cellar out of pallets.

In this article, Mike Wells tells about his root cellar adventures.

The Return of the Root Cellars is a rather long, but informative article that covers several aspects of a root cellars.

This article tells how to turn a  corner in your basement into a root cellar.

Here’s another article taking you through the steps of turning a basement into a root cellar.

This page lists several food items and what they particularly like in the root cellar.

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The key to root cellaring is knowing when to harvest the produce. There are fairly specific times when only the best produce is harvested for that type of storage. This website has a lot of information about several types of produce that can go into the root cellar as well as having a handy chart at the bottom of the page that shows what temperatures and humidity levels are optimum for many types of produce. For example, winter squash, pumpkins, onions, and garlic like the humidity level much lower than celery, beets, and parsnips.

As well as know when to harvest and how to store though you’ve got to have a working root cellar. Many root cellars are like hobbit holes, if you will, but there are some that are made of things that you may well have in your trash pile. Do you have a use for that old, broken refridgerator? or perhaps it’s a deep freezer? or maybe just a trash can that you don’t have a use for? Well, turn trash into treasure! Solve two problems with one cellar. Don’t worry about hauling that freezer off; use it! This website gives the steps involved in turning your old freezer into a root cellar.

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Have you ever visited an old farmstead or a living history museum where they allow you to go down under the ground into a dark, cool, and damp room? What were your thoughts? Perhaps you thought that it was something akin to the modern day basement. Possibly. Or maybe you immediately guessed the significance of that room for the early pioneers. Root cellars were just about the only way they had to store crops that needed to stay cool in the heat of the summer. They were also used, in the more northern areas, to keep things from freezing in the winter. Well, root cellars are still capable of doing that today. They are a cheap and effective way to store your potatoes, carrots, apples, etc. In the early pioneer days people would have to dig out their cellars with pick axes; today we have the modern convenience of a back hoe.

There are basically three types of root cellars: 1) The ones that are built into the side of a hill. 2) The ones built flat on the level ground, and 3) those that are in someway connected to the main house. We’ll look into these different types in a later post. The main purpose is, and has always been, temperature control. The most effective temperature control is attained about ten feet under ground, but going that far down is not always feasible or practical.

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Green walls are full of benefits! They have the obvious benefits of attracting attention which could turn into business and then there’s the aesthetic benefit. Of course people would rather look at greenery than concrete; in this way, it may even have a psychological benefit. There’s also the environmental benefits: adding organic life to a sterile environment helps alleviate polluted run-off and improves the air quality. This is just a few of the benefits of living walls.

Here are several links to more information about green walls:

• The Green Walls Column

• Building Green

• Patrick Blanc

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Green Walls, also known as vertical gardens, living walls, and biowalls, are typically composed of three parts:

1. Metal frame
2. Layer of PVC
3. Layer of felt

The metal frame can be mounted onto an existing wall or free-standing. A 1 centimeter-thick layer of PVC is then attached to the frame. This adds rigidity as well as waterproofing. Then a layer of polyamide felt is stapled to the PVC. The felt gives good water distribution; the roots of the plants grow on the felt.

There are two main categories in green walls: green facades, and living walls. Green facades are usually climbing plants growing either directly on the wall or on specially design structures. Living walls are made up of pre-vegetated panels attached to a wall. These walls can be put up anywhere as long as there is access to artificial light, water, and fertilizer. The walls are watered from the top, and the watering and fertilizing are usually automated.

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