Comments on: Energy conservation http://polizeros.com/2007/10/31/energy-conservation/ Musings on politics: anti-war, global warming, peak oil and otherwise Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:00:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: woody http://polizeros.com/2007/10/31/energy-conservation/#comment-144751 woody Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:56:49 +0000 http://polizeros.com/2007/10/31/energy-conservation/#comment-144751 Simple Dollar just had a great blog on how to cut costs at home on heating. One of the big ones: Cook meals at home. Not only does it save on cooking costs, but the heat generated by the oven or stove contributes to both the cooking process and the house heating process. Theres 0 therm loss and lots of cash gain! Simple Dollar just had a great blog on how to cut costs at home on heating. One of the big ones:

Cook meals at home. Not only does it save on cooking costs, but the heat generated by the oven or stove contributes to both the cooking process and the house heating process. Theres 0 therm loss and lots of cash gain!

]]> By: DJ http://polizeros.com/2007/10/31/energy-conservation/#comment-144746 DJ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:04:52 +0000 http://polizeros.com/2007/10/31/energy-conservation/#comment-144746 Awesome. Up where you live, you might also consider storm windows & doors, even if you already have double-paned windows (which most newer homes do). There's a <a href="http://asymptoticlife.com/2007/10/30/federal-energy-tax-credits-a-convenient-summary.aspx" rel="nofollow">tax credit</a> for it, too. A friend told me our local Ace hardware sells a blower box that attaches to our stove pipe. It absorbs heat that would otherwise go up the chimney and blows in into the room, greatly increasing efficiency. The price: $140. We're going to get one for our stove. We don't have a duct system, just a wall furnace, which last year we kept at 55 degrees; this year we're going to try not to turn it on. But I bet with a little modification, the blower box could be used with central heating. Wood may not burn more efficiently than oil, but it's renewable, and thus (unlike oil) removes carbon from the atmosphere during its production (i.e. growth). Where we live, it takes very little petroleum to get the wood to our stove, but of course that's not true in every location. I've come to look at conservation as a journey-- something there's always room for improvement in. There are lots of ideas out there (some better than others), and it would take years to implement them all. If you haven't seen it already, check out "<a href="http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Half/Half.htm" rel="nofollow">The 1/2 Project</a>"-- it has some great energy-saving methods, along with cost and savings projections. Awesome. Up where you live, you might also consider storm windows & doors, even if you already have double-paned windows (which most newer homes do). There’s a tax credit for it, too.

A friend told me our local Ace hardware sells a blower box that attaches to our stove pipe. It absorbs heat that would otherwise go up the chimney and blows in into the room, greatly increasing efficiency. The price: $140. We’re going to get one for our stove.

We don’t have a duct system, just a wall furnace, which last year we kept at 55 degrees; this year we’re going to try not to turn it on. But I bet with a little modification, the blower box could be used with central heating. Wood may not burn more efficiently than oil, but it’s renewable, and thus (unlike oil) removes carbon from the atmosphere during its production (i.e. growth). Where we live, it takes very little petroleum to get the wood to our stove, but of course that’s not true in every location.

I’ve come to look at conservation as a journey– something there’s always room for improvement in. There are lots of ideas out there (some better than others), and it would take years to implement them all. If you haven’t seen it already, check out “The 1/2 Project“– it has some great energy-saving methods, along with cost and savings projections.

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