One of the most important uses for energy in the Northern Hemisphere is space heating. This includes both residential and commercial applications where an area is heated above the ambient temperature. Energy has been so cheap in the US for so long that people think the number one choice for staying warm is to keep their home or office set at 72 deg. F.
This is not the assumption in the rest of the world. I spent several years working in the temperate climates of South America, in particular, Chile. For people in this part of the world, space heating is not the first choice. Instead, they just add another sweater. That being said, space heating is important in the US so it is something that solar energy proponents are really pushing.
One of the most cost effective ways to heat a home is with radiant floor heat. Combining solar and radiant floor heat makes a very affordable heating medium. It is very easy to incorporate in floor heating systems into a new home because whether the home has wooden floor joists or is on a concrete slab, the polyethylene tubing required for the hot water is easily added during construction. For an existing home it may be a little more difficult.
If an existing home has a crawl space then the tubing can still be strung between the existing joists. But, if it sets on a slab, about the only two options are to either cut into the slab or to lay out the tubing and then install a 2″ layer of floor cement over the top. Both of these are expensive and probably won’t offer a payback period that is acceptable. Most people who go this route do it because of their belief in alternative energy as opposed to the financial benefits to be gained.
Considering the load that space heating puts on the US energy grid, combining solar and radiant floor heat can add to a lot of savings.
Using alternative energy sources will be in the headlines over the next few years. With oil and gas prices spiraling upward and the threat always looming of Mid-east tensions, many individuals, businesses and government agencies are looking fro ways to use cheaper, cleaning and more energy efficient fuels to power their vehicles.
For example, home heating oil prices are about 50 cents higher this year than they were last year. That takes a lot of money out of consumer’s pockets and sends it overseas. To combat that, many people are looking at solar heating an also at switching over to natural gas and propane gas. Both are produced in the United States, so that would help cut down on our reliance on foreign oil. Natural gas production is at its highest levels now. Besides it being cheap and plentiful, it burns cleaner that crude oil.
A by-product of natural gas production is propane gas. The price of propane per gallon is lower than heating oil; so many people are now switching over to that. Not only is it cheaper than heating oil, but also it is also much cheaper than gasoline. This has led many police departments to switch from gasoline to propane-powered vehicles. This serves 2 purposes. One it will lower the cost of fuel, plus propane is cleaner burning than gasoline, thus helping the environment.
We talk a lot these days about renewable energies such as solar, wind and wave power. I love the ideas, and I hope that one day we can become fully sustainable, but I also believe that we can each contribute, if only in a very small way, to keeping the earth stable and clean.
Let me give you an example. For many years I groomed myself each morning with an electric razor. I plugged it in each night so it’d have a fresh charge by morning, and for years I just didn’t think about where the energy was coming from. I didn’t consider how much I wasted every day with my morning shave.
So one day I had an idea. I’d stop using every electrically powered device in my home if there was a more energy neutral way to achieve the same goal. I packed away my blender and bought a hand whisk. I put away my electric razor and learned how to use a straight razor (I can just sharpen it on a whetstone, rather than buying new blades all the time). Finally – and I was quite pleased with this one – I found the best nose hair trimmers I’ve ever seen.
em>Yes we can
The Groom Mate is a fully manual device. It’s a slim tube, just like any of the other best nose hair trimmers on the market, but this one doesn’t require batteries or mains. All you have to do is push the tip of the tube gently up your nose, where the hair will push through the blade shielding. Next, simply rotate the base of the tube to turn the blades, and they’ll cut through the hairs with no problem.
It’s funny how we never consider these things. For years I just used battery operated devices for this kind of job, but the fact is that even the best nose trimmers that run on batteries will take us one step closer to Armageddon. Do yourself (and the earth) a favour and follow my example.
