My mission is to live as sustainably as I can and share my actions and ideas so that others may benefit from what I have learned.
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Saturday, July 18, 2015
Upgrading my TV and recycling the old one
I found another clearance deal at Sears for a 50 inch LED TV that is rated around 60 W. It is impressive that this larger TV uses much less power and has a very favorable Energy Star rating compared to other TVs in its class (actual label shown at left) and I am quite pleased with its quality overall.
Incidentally, as an engineer I need to point out that TVs are marketed as "LCD" (Liquid Crystal Display) or "LED" (Light Emitting Diode). The current crop of TVs are all sold as "LED TVs" yet they are still really using LCD imaging technology but LEDs as the back light which is what helps to make them thinner. Older style "LCD" TVs used fluorescent lamps for the back light that used more power and added more bulk to the back of the TV. My old TV was this latter style.
The Sears salesman also suggested that I replace my old style stereo amplifier and speakers that I use for the sound system for the TV with a new sound bar and subwoofer. I declined, but ended up being curious about the idea since it might simplify the whole setup. Eventually I drove down to Best Buy since they had a big selection of them and ended up purchasing a relatively affordable sound bar that fits very nicely right below the TV on our stand. The salesman reminded me that Best Buy accept old appliances and recycle them so I just got back from dropping off the old TV to Best Buy. I am so pleased that major retailers are stepping up and offering to recycle old equipment. Most electronics appliances contain a variety of toxic chemicals that do not belong in the landfill. I have also returned computers and printers to Staples.
I made the 32 mile round-trip in my solar charged Chevy volt (note the license plate is SUN PWRD!) with no carbon emissions.
Solar water heater tank failure
The tank is a Whirlpool 40 gallon electric water heater that had a warranty of six years and by replacing the anode rod I extended that out to nine years or so. My system is designed so that I can change the position of three gate valves to isolate the solar tank and continue to use hot water from our tankless water heater. I did a web search to try and find a direct replacement for this tank because of its unique properties of having additional ports on the side and eventually found one in a Lowe's store about 40 miles away. Fortunately it barely fit in the back of my Chevy Volt and I was able to spend the following day removing the old tank and replacing it.
I am an experienced plumber and engineered this system myself (I have a background in photo processing engineering from the 1970s) so it was relatively easy - yet time-consuming - to swap out the tanks.
I was quite disappointed that the water leak alarm that I had installed at the bottom of the tank (at bottom right in the top photo) did not alert me to this issue. Perhaps it had run its battery down while I had been out of the house for a day. Or perhaps I could not hear it in the rest of the house considering that the water heater is in a utility closet in a corner of the basement. As part of the replacement and upgrade I have installed a deep drip pan under the tank and will find a better/louder leak alarm. Lessons learned!
The old tank will find its way to the landfill eventually next time I do a major dump run with the help of a neighbor's pickup truck. It bothers me that water heater tanks have a planned obsolescence of 6 to 10 years, but at least they don't contain any toxic materials!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Reducing waste - repairing my trash can
Here is a close-up of my surgical style stitching:
I added a little Crazy Glue around each hole to secure the twine. Dr. Frankenstein would be proud! I am hoping this lid will last many more years. It is the little things like this that when added up represent my personal commitment to reducing my footprint on our planet. Given a little patience and ingenuity almost anything can be repaired and kept out of the landfill.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Solar panel and equipment warranties
A year ago I was using the Enlighten web interface for the microinverters on my solar array and noticed immediately that one of the solar panels was dropping out at different times of the day and producing only 1 or 2 Watts. (Microinverters convert DC from the solar panel to 240 Volts AC that feeds into the building and electric grid). The Enlighten user interface lets me replay the energy produced by my array throughout the day showing Watts produced per panel and the brightness of each panel representing relative power output. This system granularity is a very helpful tool and is one of the best features of using micro-inverters because you can isolate and identify issues at specific panels very readily.
screen shot of Enlighten web portal |
Enphase inverters have a 15 year warranty and solar panels ALL come standard with 20-25 year warranties. Once the replacement inverter arrived, it was a relatively simple matter to shut down the array and go up on a couple of ladders with my neighbor and remove the solar panel to access the inverter. At which point it is largely plug and play to replace and then bolt down the new inverter and solar panel. Here is then new microinverter:
And now I am back to normal again:
The value of my solar power system is enhanced by excellent warranties and customer service. I hope that by sharing this experience I will allay any concerns my readers may have about their potential investment in solar energy.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Safe disposal of unused medications
Me disposing meds in the MedReturn box at our local police station |
The other reason it is a good idea to dispose of these medications this way is to keep these chemicals out of the waste water treatment plants which cannot process them. For instance, when birth control pills containing synthetic estrogen or other hormones enter the waste water stream they can have significant adverse effects on aquatic life. According to this NPR article, it has caused some species of male fish to become feminized, even causing them to produce eggs in their testes. The issue can be severe enough to cause a collapse of an entire fish population resulting in near extinction.
From a sustainability standpoint is up to us to take full responsibility for all aspects of our waste, particularly to protect the environment from harmful side effects of these chemicals entering our streams, rivers and lakes.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Solar water heater benefits and ROI
Back in 2006 I decided to install solar collectors for the domestic hot water system in my home in Maine. At a purchase price of around $3000, I calculated that it paid for itself within 4.6 years (after incentives) by reducing use of propane to heat domestic hot water by nearly 50%. I did do some modifications of my own to improve performance and I expect to save well over $11,000 in propane costs over 25 years.
I enlisted friends and neighbors to assist in the installation and it went quite well. Just a few hours one afternoon to get the collectors mounted, and a few more afternoons to do all the interior wiring and plumbing.
I wrote a detailed blog about the installation on my website that details the entire process of installing this well-designed kit. I purchased the kit from Butler Sun Solutions in California and could not be more pleased with everything they provided. The system has required little to no maintenance and continues to perform extremely well.
The chart above shows two days worth of temperature readings for the collectors and storage tank from June 17 and 18, 2015. Click on the image to see a live version of this chart on my website. Because the collectors are mounted vertically to the south facing wall of my house, the performance is a little compromised during the summer when the sun is higher in the sky. (Solar collectors for work best when they are pointed directly at the sun). I get best performance in spring and fall when the sun angle is lower and the temperatures are moderate. Water from our well comes into the house at approximately 55°F and temperatures in the storage tank can exceed 110°F after a good sunny day. Performance is quite good in the winter depending on outside temperatures which remain below freezing for most of the winter here in Maine.
Preheated water from the solar storage tank is fed directly into a propane tankless demand heater that I installed in 2010 to replace the old tank water heater that failed. By feeding pre-warmed water into the demand heater I am dramatically reducing the amount of propane needed to bring the water up to temperature.
The image above diagrams the complete system and makes it look relatively simple. If you are comfortable doing basic household plumbing and carpentry, then this DIY kit is an excellent choice as a retrofit to reduce the energy consumption in your home and I cannot recommend Butler Sun Solutions highly enough.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Tankless water heater annual maintenance - flushing with vinegar!
Like all equipment, this device does require minimal preventive maintenance. Most people never think to do maintenance on their water heaters but doing so can dramatically extend their life and replacing a water heater is always an expensive proposition. Recently I blogged about replacing the anode rod in my solar storage tank which is actually an electric water heater that is disconnected electrically. This has the potential to more than double the working life of that tank by preventing the walls of the tank from rusting through.
Maintenance for a tankless heater is a little different. You need to take a gallon or so of virgin food grade white vinegar, and pump it through the heat exchanger to dissolve scale build up inside of it. (Rinnai recommends using 4 gallons of vinegar but I think this is more than is necessary). While the warranty from my heater is 12 years for the heat exchanger and five years for parts, I believe firmly in doing routine maintenance like this on an annual basis. My Rinnai heater has valves and hose connections to simplify the process of flushing heat exchanger.
Here are the valves with the fill/drain caps removed:
The flushing procedure involves putting vinegar in a 5 gallon bucket and using a small electric pump to pump water from the bucket through the heat exchanger and back down into the bucket. I already had a pump and several short lengths of clear garden hose that I use to drain and fill my solar heating systems annually. I made up the hoses by purchasing clear plastic hose and adding standard hose male and female connectors to the ends so that I can see the fluid moving through them.
Here I have connected the hoses and reversed all of the valves to isolate the heater from the building water supply and switch everything over so that the vinegar passes directly through the heat exchanger and does not enter the building's plumbing:
The image below shows the complete set up:
Here's a picture showing two bottles of vinegar, the one on the right contains the vinegar I used for the flushing process so you can clearly see the change in color:
By the way, the other use I have for white vinegar is as a natural weed killer. I use a small spray bottle of 100% vinegar and spray it onto broad leaved weeds in the middle of a sunny dry day. When the plants are thirsty they try to ingest the vinegar and it kills them quite effectively. I plan to reuse the flushed vinegar as weedkiller which is why I saved it back in the original bottle.
I am aware that I make this procedure seemed rather simple, but it does involve some experience and special equipment. So if you are not DIY inclined, and you have a tankless water heater, you may wish to hire a plumber every year to perform the flushing procedure to ensure your investment is protected. Tankless water heaters are significantly more expensive than a tank style heater so there is real value in this relatively affordable maintenance.
From a sustainability standpoint, maintaining equipment like this extends its life - keeping it from the landfill. When my heater eventually fails, I intend to responsibly recycle as much of it as possible. The heat exchanger itself contains a significant amount of valuable copper which can be recycled for instance.
If you are looking to buy a tankless water heater, here's a good review of current models: https://www.reviews.com/tankless-water-heater/
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
My solar lawn mower - still going strong
UPDATE 2022 - I "retired" this mower and purchased a new Greenworks mower performs really well! Back when I built this mower, cordless electric ones were not available and now there are dozens of models. I was able to sell the huge motor for $200 and recycled the lead-acid battery.
Over eight years ago years ago I was inspired by a small article in Home Power magazine in which a guy named Al Latham described how he had converted his standard 22 inch gas powered lawnmower to use an electric motor and battery that he charges from solar. I decided to make my own conversion and have been using it consistently to cut tall grass and weeds in our so-called lawn ever since.
At this time of year I transition from charging the mower from a standard automobile battery charger to using a couple of small solar panels on the south facing roof of my storage shed. These panels combine to a total of 40 W which is enough to charge the mower in one day of clear sunlight. The 10 amp automotive charger can charge it up in a few hours.
Gauges on the handlebar show battery Voltage and Amps drawn when the motor is running. As you can see it draws up to 30 A and can sustain this for 20 minutes or so which gives me enough time to mow a large section of our quarter acre lawn.
In the middle of the summer 20 minutes is about as much as I can handle because this mower is quite heavy with the very large motor and lead acid battery and it becomes sweaty work. Nonetheless, it is a delightful mower to use because it is very quiet and powerful enough to cut through tall weeds.
Maintenance involves sharpening the blade every year and replacing the battery every 2 to 3 years at a cost of $60-$80. So this is definitely more expensive to operate than a gasoline lawnmower, but it has zero emissions and may last significantly longer than one of its gas cousins.
If you want to learn more about the construction of my solar mower, I have a detailed blog on my website with clear instructions on how to build your own.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Firewood: it warms you twice
wood pile and my workshop building |
Each year I set a goal of cutting 1 cord of firewood from our 2 acre woodlot behind our house. This is just enough to augment the solar/propane heating system for my super insulated workshop,and it is great exercise. As they say; "Firewood warms you twice, first when you cut and split it, and then when you burn it".
woods behind our house in Maine |
As a sustainable guy, I cannot countenance using smelly fossil fuel powered chainsaws so I have two electric chainsaws. One is a 14" lithium battery powered cordless saw made by Oregon:
Oregon CS250 cordless chainsaw |
I also have a Poulan 3.5 hp electric chainsaw that I run on a long extension cord:
Poulan PLN3516F 3.5 hp chainsaw |
bucking logs in to 16 inch lengths photo: Rebekah Younger |
splitting a log photo: Rebekah Younger |
about 1/2 cord cut and stacked |
Fortunately, the weather on the days I have been working has been pleasant and in the 60s. As the weather gets warmer it becomes less enjoyable to work, so I try to get as much cut as I can before the warm weather. When the heating season starts in late September, I enjoy reminiscing about the specific trees that I cut and split as I put them in the wood stove. There is also a layer of satisfaction of knowing that I harvested all of the wood myself. For the house where we use 2 to 3 cords of wood a year, I capitulate and purchase pre-cut firewood that we have delivered. There is still some sweat equity involved in stacking this wood though!
From a sustainability standpoint modest use of responsibly harvested firewood is essentially carbon neutral since I am simply shortening the carbon cycle of trees that would naturally fall and decay thus releasing their carbon. By giving precedence to dead or dying trees, I'm reducing my impact on the natural cycle.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Replacing the anode rod in my hot water tank to extend its life
It is clearly visible at the top of the water heater tank as the only large nut on the top.
Below is a picture of a brand-new rod, and below it what was left of the one that I replaced:
New anode rod |
worn out anode rod |
This water tank has been in service for six years as my solar hot water storage tank, and another six years prior to that it was my primary source of hot water. This should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone with a water heater tank. It is a lot less expensive to replace the anode rod than it is the entire water heater!
Note: due to the low ceiling height clearance, I installed a flexible rod like the one below.
Generally they are straight and measure 24″ to 36″ long, and some are even longer. Your anode rod needs to be sized to match your tank. Here's a link to the one I bought. (as an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
This is part of my ongoing series that deals with the concept of repairing rather than replacing as a way of living sustainably. One can argue that living sustainably can save you a great deal of money over the long term, and this has certainly been true for my lifestyle.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Understanding solar insolation
If you live on the equator you do not see significant seasonal variations in insolation, but where I live at 44° latitude, it varies considerably throughout the year and it is important to understand this in order to correctly predict how much energy one can extract from the sun.
There is a very helpful web calculator produced by PVeducation.org that produces charts of available solar energy (insolation) for given locations. I use this tool to create the animation below that shows the available solar energy in Watts/square meter in 10 day increments for the year at my location of 44° latitude North.
This clearly demonstrates how the available sun hours per day varies significantly at my latitude. The chart below shows the predicted versus actual solar energy produced by my solar array and clearly shows the seasonal variations. The predicted energy was charted using the calculator from National Renewable Energy Labs called PVwatts which takes into account both seasonal variations and local weather conditions. The actual data came from monthly energy production reports from my solar array.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Repairing - not replacing our microwave oven
Microwave oven with replacement magnetron |
security bit set |
Having removed the cover, it was easy to identify the magnetron inside:
microwave oven inside with replacement magnetron |
magnetron secured with Phillips head screws |
In our disposable economy I realize that I am somewhat heretical in that I firmly believe things should be repaired and not replaced without a thought. I hope that anyone reading this will consider repairing a broken appliance themselves. Not only is it very satisfying to repair something, but it also saved over $100 on the replacement cost of a new microwave oven.
If you are on a tight budget and happen to see an appliance that someone has put out with their garbage, you might want to consider it an opportunity to acquire an affordable appliance with a little repair work. If you are even more enterprising, you could do the repair and then donate the appliance to a worthy cause! All of this is something to consider in the spirit of keeping things out of the landfill.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Interior storm windows - thermal study
I have installed these interior storms throughout my workshop because the original windows were cheap, single pane, double hung units that are very leaky. When I first closed in the building from being an open barn to a heated space I purchased commercial interior storms, and more recently have added my own handmade ones as well. For every trapped layer of air, an R-value of one is added. So starting with a single pane of glass, by adding a double pane interior storm there are two trapped air layers creating and R-value of two, and by adding a second interior storm I am upgrading my original windows by an R-value of 4 which is very significant.
Fluke VT04 Visual IR Thermometer |
Then I proceeded to take thermal images of the window itself, followed by each of the additional interior storm windows:
By adding my homemade interior storm window I gained 3.6°F and then adding the commercial aluminum framed interior storm window I gained an additional 1.8°F for a total improvement of 5.4°F. While I adjusted my thermal camera to compensate for the low emissivity of the reflective surfaces, I cannot be sure these readings are entirely accurate, but they certainly convey the concept.
My homemade window is framed with 1X2" primed pine lumber with 3/4" spacing between the panes, while the commercial one is framed in aluminum with only 1/4" between the panes. Additionally, the air gap between the glass and my window is between one and 2 inches, while the air gap between my window and the commercial one mounted to the surface of the window framing is around 4 inches. Larger air gaps are less efficient because they can function as a heat pump as cold air flows down at the colder surface and warm air flows up the warm surface creating a circulation.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Solar collectors and panels explained
A solar collector is a device that absorbs heat from the sun which is then used directly or stored in a tank inside the home. Collectors can be used for both building heating and domestic hot water heating. Here is a very basic diagram showing how it works.
The principle is similar to leaving a garden hose out on your lawn on a sunny day - the water will come out warm. Collectors are much more efficient and sophisticated version of this.
There are essentially two types of collectors. Flat plate collectors are often confused for solar panels because they are large rectangular devices with glazing on the front. Inside there are sheets of black metal heat absorber material coupled to copper plumbing.
The other type of collector is an evacuated tube collector like this:
These collectors have a heat absorber pipe inside something that is similar to a glass thermos bottle. Heat is transferred to the plumbing manifold header at the top. The vacuum glass tube prevents heat loss and improves efficiency.
On my property I use flat plate collectors on my house to heat water, and on my workshop building to heat the building via radiant floor and radiators. Both systems also use small solar panels to provide electricity for the circulation pumps that pump the antifreeze fluid through the collector to the storage tank. Due to the lower cost compared to solar electric panels, both of these systems generally have had a much shorter return on investment than solar electric systems.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
How I eliminated junk mail
Several years ago, I decided to tackle my junk mail issue. My mailbox was filled with catalogs and other junk mail every day and I realize this amounted to an enormous amount of waste despite the fact that I recycled everything. The idea of cutting down trees, printing catalogs and mailing them to a recipient who immediately disposes of them is the epitome of an unsustainable reality and I wanted no part of it.
I took several approaches to eliminating junk mail. First, I subscribed to the TrustedID - one of several direct mail preference services and entered my preferences on their website. This organization effectively handles the rest for you, here is what they say on their webpage:
We act on your behalf to protect your consumer rights and get your opt-outs processed. You can keep track of your opt-outs, and if you receive the mail again, we will follow up. We work with over 8,000 companies — and the largest data brokers — to honor your choices and protect your privacy. We have processed over 25 million opt-outs by over 1.7 million account holders.
The direct mail industry also offers another option known as the National Do Not Mail List. Both are good examples of an industry policing themselves in order to reduce their own costs. Here is how they explain their service:
As direct marketers ourselves, we know that mail-order companies don't want to waste their money sending mail to people who don't want to receive it.
They'll gladly take your name off their lists when they're asked to do so. But with countless mail-order companies doing business today, you just can't contact enough of them on your own to make a difference. The postage alone would cost a fortune!
A similar option is available from DMAchoice.org which also offers an option for reducing junk email.
Incidentally, if you have not already signed up with the National Do Not Call Registry - a service of the Federal Trade Commission, you can reduce the number of telemarketing phone calls that way. I have signed up for that service, but still get solicitation phone calls. The way to eliminate these is to refer to their caller ID and call them back, many of them offer an option of "press 1 to be removed from our calling list", and if not some of them will connect to an actual person who will remove you from their list if you ask nicely. I feel that is important to be polite when asking to be removed - the person you are talking to is not the bad guy here, just an employee.
Finally, when all else fails I made a simple rubber stamp that prints the following:
Of course you can also write this on their subscription form. This is particularly useful when they provide you with a postage free return envelope. All I do is remove the return section, stamp it next to my address and stick it in their envelope. They get the message eventually!
I also reduce mail in general by paying all my bills electronically either through direct debit or paying through the company's web portal.
At this point I can honestly say that I rarely get any junk mail whatsoever. I still do get a few catalogs and mailings from companies I do business with.
According to another junk mail reducing web site: www.41pounds.org: "The average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year of which 44% goes to the landfill unopened" (or hopefully it is recycled). They have more statistics that make the idea of reducing this waste very compelling. They have a $35.00 one-time fee and use $10 to support effective non-profits like Habitat for Humanity.
If more of us took this simple action, we could have a significant impact.
On a slightly different topic, I have also subscribed to Incogni - a service that removes all of your personal information from the Internet. From their website:
Data brokers collect your personal information and profit off it at the
expense of your privacy. Let Incogni help you take back control of your
data, reduce spam, and prevent scam attacks by opting you out of their
databases automatically.
A one month or two months subscription should take care of everything, just be sure to cancel your subscription after two months. After this it is largely unnecessary.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Conserving water with a circulation pump
The principle is that a pump is installed under the sink that pulls hot water up to the pump, and returns it back down the cold water pipe to the water heater at the press of a button. The 54 Watt pump shuts off as soon as sufficiently hot water is present. Each time you need hot water you just press a button and wait half a minute while the water is sent back to the water heater tank instead of down the drain. The pump shuts off at a pre-set temperature.
This system differs from other designs that constantly circulate hot water through the plumbing to keep it available at all the faucets constantly. I don't recommend that type of system as it actually wastes energy, both at the pump and due to radiated heat loss from the plumbing which acts as a defacto radiator in the walls of your house.
The D'Mand system reduces waste and saves energy in 3 ways:
- reduces the use of our 1500 Watt 240Volt well pump.
- reduces the need to heat water that would just go to waste down the drain.
- reduces waste water entering our septic system.
The installation of the pump is quite simple. After shutting off the water supply and draining the lines to the sink, the faucet shut offs are removed. A tee is inserted, and the shut-off is replaced. Then the 2 flexible lines to the pump are installed onto the new tee thread. This took me about 20 minutes.
I am an experienced plumber so I had no trouble installing the pump. Any plumber would also find this a simple installation.
The challenging part is that an electric outlet is required under the sink. The nearest outlet in our bathroom is off to the right. So I made a run to the hardware store to get a bunch of Wiremold (surface wiring conduit) parts. Then I added a breakout box on top of the existing outlet and ran Wiremold channel across and down into the space under the sink where I installed a new outlet for the pump. This part took over 3 hours!
I also made an attractive circular white acrylic switch plate, and used a stainless steel push button.
Once the button is pressed the pump turns on immediately and shuts off automatically as soon as it senses hot water at the pump. This saves several gallons of water that would otherwise run down the drain, and reduces the usage of our tankless water heater. In our home the cold line returns to the bottom our solar storage tank where the sun heats it up for free.
Before the pump was installed it would take 80 seconds for the hot water to arrive, now the pump brings it up in about 50 seconds after pressing the button, and the water runs hot from the faucet within a few seconds. They also make a motion sensor that will turn the pump on automatically when you enter the bathroom (or kitchen). Here is the accessories page.