Water Heating Tips

1. Repair leaky faucets promptly; a leaky faucet wastes gallons of water in a short period.

2. Insulate your electric hot-water storage tank and pipes, but be careful not to cover the thermostat.

3. Insulate your gas or oil hot-water storage tank and pipes, but be careful not to cover the water heater's top, bottom, thermostat, or burner compartment; when in doubt, get professional help.

4. Install non-aerating low-flow faucets and showerheads.

5. Buy a new water heater. While it may cost more initially than a standard water heater, the energy savings will continue during the lifetime of the appliance.

6. Although most water heaters last 10-15 years, it's best to start shopping for a new one if yours is more than 7 years old. Doing some research before your heater fails will enable you to select one that most appropriately meets your needs.

7. Lower the thermostat on your water heater; water heaters sometimes come from the factory with high temperature settings, but a setting of 115°F provides comfortable hot water for most uses.

8. Drain a quart of water from your water tank every 3 months to remove sediment that impedes heat transfer and lowers the efficiency of your heater. The type of water tank you have determines the steps to take, so follow the manufacturer's advice.

9. If you heat with electricity and live in a warm and sunny climate, consider installing a solar water heater. The solar units are environmentally friendly and can now be installed on your roof to blend with the architecture of your house.

10. Take more showers than baths. Bathing uses the most hot water in the average household. You use 15-25 gallons of hot water for a bath, but less than 10 gallons during a 5-minute shower.

My four season porch is too hot.

Four season porches are very popular in northern climate. When the summer comes the mosquitoes come with. So you can't sit outside with out bugs and bees bothering you. The spring is wet and fall is cool. Well winter, all of us in the Midwest know what winter is. You and all your neighbors hibernate in home. The problem heating and cooling a 4 season porch with your home heating/cooling system is difficult to get the proper amount of duct work in the room for good air flow. Mitsubishi ductless heating/cooling systems are a great choice. Our most popular model now qualifies for a 30% tax credit because it is so efficient. The new Mitsubishi 9,000 and 12,000 BTU models are up to 26 SEER. The typical home cooling system is 6-10 SEER. SEER is like gas millage, the higher it is the less money to run. Mitsubishi now has a feature called "eye see". Meaning the unit actually has an eye that looks at your room to see what temperature each spot is. The unit will then automatically blow air in that direction. Mitsubishi heat pump systems are great because they provide a very low cost heating. These units will run at 300% efficient on average. A typical heat pump usually can't supply enough heat on a good cold Minnesota day. So when it is -15 outside you may not be able to keep your porch at 70 degrees. But there are not many days that it is that cold. If you want perfect heat all year adding a fireplace is a great choice. Talk to your local heating professional for details.

It is hard to go wrong with ductless systems.

• More efficient because you don't have duct work to leak air
• Better technology
• Multi speed units adjust as the temperature gets hotter or colder
• Proven technology for over 25 years just in USA, longer world wide
• Easy to operate
• Low maintenance
  

Wood Burning Stoves Qualify for $1,500 Tax Credit

The tax stimulus package now includes the Lexington Forge Wood burning Stoves.

Lexington Forge Models Eligible for US Tax Credit

PARIS, KY (June 4, 2009)-- Recent economic stimulus legislation has included a 30% (up to $1500) consumer tax credit on the purchase of a 75% efficient biomass burning stove. This legislation takes effect immediately and, though the qualifying guidelines were just released this week, is retroactive to any eligible stove purchased since January 1, 2009. The credit is available through 2010. Tax payers should keep in mind that this is a credit, not a deduction, on their income tax returns. Therefore the entire eligible amount is credited to their tax bill.

Stimulus tax credits have been an interesting move by the IRS. There is a large amount of money that has been allowed to pay for energy efficient heating and cooling equipment in American Homes. Tax credits will vary by individual tax situations. You can confirm your status with your CPA. You can contact Comfort Matters about tax credit questions at www.ComfortMatters.com.

Are you sick of Allergies?

The season is at prime for pollen floating in the air. According to wrongdiagnosis.com 37 million Americans suffer from pollen allergies. A whole house air cleaner can greatly reduce allergens in your home allowing you to sleep well and wake up feeling rested. I have heard from countless customers that good air filtration will make the difference. Be careful using some big box store brands like 3M filters for example. See earlier blogs I have done about that.

One product I have learned is Trane CleanEffects has the greatest effect for people with allergies and asthma. The great part about it is you don't have to pay for expensive replacement filters once it is installed. You just wash the unit out.

Trane CleanEffects utilizes patented, breakthrough air cleaning technology to remove up to an astounding 99.98% of airborne allergens from the air that passes through the filter, making it 8 times more effective than even the best HEPA room filters and up to 100 times more effective than a standard 1" filter. What's more, Trane CleanEffects has been performance-tested by LMS Technologies and Environmental Health &Engineering, Inc. (EH&E), with the results verified by professors from the Harvard School of Public Health, so you know you're getting an air filtration system like no other.

Trane CleanEffects™ specifics

• Removal of up to 99.98% of particles and allergens from your filtered indoor air. It removes particles as small as .1 microns – 1/1,000th the diameter of a human hair – a size that eludes most air cleaners.
• An industry-leading clean air delivery rate of 1,200.
• Low operating costs, with no replacement filters to buy.
• Cleaning indicators easily visible on the outside of the unit.
• Easy to clean filters—just vacuum or rinse once every 3 to 9 months (depending on usage).
• Easy installation.
• Quiet operation
• Trane CleanEffects was designed to fall well below the 50 parts per billion (ppb) FDA voluntary emission limit for medical devices. Trane CleanEffects contributes a negligible amount of ozone – less than .3 ppb to the living space.
  • To put this into perspective further, typical ozone levels during the summer outdoors are at about 60 to 90 ppb, and indoor levels can vary greatly but are typically between 12 ppb to more than 80 ppb. Testing of Trane Clean Effects by third parties has shown there’s no more ozone in a home installed with Trane CleanEffects than naturally occurs in the environment already
• Trane CleanEffects is the industry benchmark supported and verified by third parties who make it their business to know about clean air. Experts from LMS Technologies, EH&E, Harvard School of Public Health and other major university research shows Trane CleanEffects to be the best air filtration system on the market.
• Low pressure drop.

Test Your Energy IQ

From: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Public and Consumer Affairs, Consumer and Public Liaison, Energy Information Administration (10/95).

Answers follow the questions from ComfortMatters.com

1. For which jobs are microwave ovens used most?

Defrosting frozen foods

Cooking meals

Reheating foods

Preparing snacks

2. Microwave ovens are currently found in what percentage of all U.S. Homes?

23%

54%

84%

3. Almost all of us use ovens for cooking. What percentage are electric?

17%

63%

81%

4. How many gallons of hot water does the typical dishwasher use during a normal cycle?

7

14

25

5. Ceiling fans are currently found in what percentage of U.S. homes?

10 to 15%

25 to 30%

50 to 55%

6. Switching to fluorescent lighting can save consumers a lot of money. How much money could Americans save collectively each year if we all made the switch to efficient lighting?

$500,000

$ 1 million

$750 million

7. Energy-efficient lighting can reduce home electricity demand up to what percent?

15%

50%

75%

8. In a family of four, if each member takes one 10-minute shower a day using a standard showerhead, how many gallons of water will the family use a year?

13,000 gallons

73,000 gallons

150,000 gallons

9. How much does the typical family spend in a year to run its electric home appliances?

$100 to $300

$400 to $1,000

$1,100 to $1,500

10. How many gallons of gasoline does a typical driver use each year?

1,070 gallons

3,500 gallons

5,100 gallons

11. What percent of home heat is lost up an open chimney flue after a fire has died in the fireplace?

1%

5%

10%

12. Industry consumes what percent of the total energy used in the United States?

10%

36%

57%

13. Which renewable energy source generates the most electricity?

Wind power

Hydropower

Solar power

14. What energy source provides more than half of the electricity in the U.S.?

Nuclear

Coal

Natural gas

15. What is the nation's most plentiful energy source?

Oil

Coal

Nuclear

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Answers 1. Cooking meals 2. 84% 3. 63% 4. 14 gallons 5. 50 to 55% 6. $750 million 7. 75%

8. 73,000 gallons 9. $400 to $1,000 10. 1,070 11. 10% 12. 36% 13. Hydropower 14. Coal 15. Coal

H1N1 aka: Swine Flu Prevention

Swine flu (H1N1) has created a new world of panic that American hasn't delt with in a long time. This is just a wake up call about simple things that should be done. Like washing hands.... Beside that there are many methods of controling health problems like the flu. The flu will kill on average 36,000 people per year according to the CDC. That is just the everyday flu that we deal with. There have been products around for a long time to control flu virus. Like Trane CleanEffects home filtration system or Ultra Vilot systems like Sanuvox. CleanEffects kills 99% of airborne flu virus that passes through it according to a Harvard School of Public Health.

Below is a press release by Sanuvox about there findings with the H1N1.


PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Web: www.sanuvox.com

PRESS RELEASE April 28th 2009
Sanuvox UV Air Sterilization System's ability to destroy airborne
Type A Influenza including Swine Flu (H1N1)
(Montreal, Canada) Sanuvox Technologies has been receiving inquiries following the recent swine influenza (H1N1)
outbreak in Mexico, United States, and Canada as well as in other parts of the world. Sanuvox UV Air Sterilization
Systems are designed to destroy airborne biological contaminants including the swine influenza.
Sanuvox wants to inform the public on the ability of Sanuvox Ultraviolet Air Sterilization Systems to destroy the influenza
virus including those that fall into the family of Orthomyxoviridae. These include type A, type B and type C influenza
viruses. The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least some of the human cases are a never-before-seen
version of the H1N1 strain of the influenza type A virus.
The Sanuvox In-Duct Ultraviolet Air Sterilization System (UV Bio-Wall) has been tested by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the US National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) against biological warfare
agents. Installed into the ventilation system, the Sanuvox UV Air Sterilization unit achieved on a single pass with no
recirculation >99.97% destruction on S. marcescens bacteria, 99% destruction on the MS2 virus and 93% destruction on
B. atrophaeus bacterial spore.
McGill University has tested the Sanuvox portable / stand-alone UV Air Sterilization unit (P900GX) against tuberculosis,
and achieved a destruction rate of 90% while operating in the sputum induction room of the Montreal Chest Hospital.
Sanuvox testing which has been completed by the US EPA, NHSRC and McGill University on bio-contaminants which
require up to ten times (10X) the dosage of UV energy to destroy in comparison to the weaker influenza virus.
According to Dr. Normand Brais, President of Sanuvox Technologies Inc. "The use of high-intensity ultraviolet germicidal
systems can control the transmission of the airborne influenza virus thus preventing cross-contamination of occupants
and co-workers." Dr. Normand Brais goes onto say, "Sanuvox UV systems are specifically designed to deliver the
necessary UV energy to effectively disinfect the indoor air."
To read the EPA / National Homeland Security Research testing on the Sanuvox UV Air Sterilization System please visit
www.epa.gov/ordnhsrc/pubs/600r06053.pdf .

For information on Swine Influenza please visit http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu .

Sanuvox Technologies manufactures UV Air Sterilization Systems which are installed into the ductwork designed to
sterilize the biological contaminants as they pass through the UV system. Sanuvox also manufactures mobile
decontamination units and stand-alone HEPA Filter / Ultraviolet Air Sterilization systems designed to destroy biocontaminants
while trapping particles down to .3 microns in size.

For more information on indoor air quality go to www.ComfortMatters.com.

My Air Conditioner is low on freon.

Summer time is almost here. It is getting warmer outside and you will soon be using your a/c. The most common question by homeowners is "does my a/c need freon?". First thing is "Freon" is a trademark name by Dupont. Freon is actually regrigerant of many types. Most common residential a/c systems use R-22. Saying freon is like saying Xerox instead of copy machine. I am going to call it Freon for now. People think because the air coming from there registers feels to warm, or there house isn't cooling off fast enough it must need freon.

Freon should not leak from your a/c. Air conditioning systems are sealed and should never leak. This isn't like putting gas in your car. If freon has leaked there is a problem. You need to have a qualified HVAC technician repair the leak or else this will keep happening. When an A/C gets low on freon it is very normal for the indoor coil to freeze to a block of ice. Then when that ice melts you will get water leaking in the furnace and on the floor. Water will damage the furnace and just make your problems worse. Majority of service calls for "my a/c is low on freon" turns out to be just a plugged air filter. It is important that you change your furnace filter every month if you use a standard 1" thick filter.

Signs A/C is low on Refrigerant

• You feel low airflow coming from registers
• Air starts to feel warmer from registers
• Water on floor by your furnace
• Ice building up on copper lines from a/c to indoor coil
• High electrical usage
  
• House takes longer than normal to cool off

Now above are typical signs, but remember the majority of problems are something else beside low on refrigerant. Having your a/c cleaned and tested annually by a HVAC company can save you a lot of money over the years.

One new fact to keep in mind is R22 refrigerant is in the process of being discontinued. 2010 all manufactures have to stop using R22 in there new equipment. As this happens the cost of R22 will keep going up. So if you have an a/c leaking this is just another reason you want to get it fixed so it doesn't happen again. If your a/c is over 10 years old you may want to think about replaceing it. New a/c units will typically cost 30% less to run and will use the new enviromentally friendly refrigerant called R410a.