Cut Your Electric Bills

Duration : 0:0:0

Read more »

Feng Shui, which was initially popular as a Chinese art, has now started gaining popularity all over the world. In fact, Feng Shui is a term composed of two Chinese terms: ‘feng’ means wind and ’shui’ means water.

Thus, it is obvious from the meaning itself, that wind and water are the two elements that are required for the survival of human being. These two natural elements move, flow and circulate everywhere on Earth.

Everybody of us appreciates the benefits of a beautiful and a comfortable living environment. Now, Feng Shui examines the how the placement of things and objects within our house affects the energy flow and also how these objects interact and influence our personal energy flow.

Thus, you can use the principles of feng shui to position your furniture and interior decor in such a manner that it maximizes the positive influences and minimizes the negative ones. The harmony and balance within the home should be maintained by using the right color and light so that things work out perfectly fine.

It should however be remembered that the left side of a room is the powerful dragon and the right is the sleeping tiger. Things which are of constant use like clocks, electrical equipments etc, should be placed in the left side which is the symbol of power. The opposite half, belonging to the sleeping tiger should be kept calm, quite and static.

As per the feng shui rules,
1.The main entrance of a house should never face the south as it is considered very inauspicious.

2.It is always advisable to avoid having staircases facing the main entrance as it attracts the negative energy.

3.The door should open with a lot of rooms in front of you which is known to have a positive effect.

4.A wall in front of you at the time of leaving the house is very inauspicious.

5.A toilet facing your main door, as you go out, will adversely affect your business and career.

6.A toilet facing the main door, as you come in, will drain out all your wealth.

7.Three doors in a row are considered unlucky.

8.Always avoid a house facing hospitals, cemetery, police stations, jails and morgues which are known to invite disasters to your life and family.

Houses, flats, shops and other business premises, like human beings are always imperfect. So it is always advisable not to ‘try out’ feng shui on your homes. Taking the advice of a feng shui consultant is always a wise move.

Are you worried about how to design your place as per the feng shui principles? Well, then be on the look out for our next segment where we will be discussing about how to design your living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, study and other important rooms of your house.

Abhishek Lodha
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/exploring-the-energy-of-feng-shui-126297.html

Unfortunately, a traditional urban home is not really all that well suited to wind power.

To get real efficiency, you need fairly strong winds. Strong winds usually means having a very tall tower for the wind turbine.

Tall towers need permits and often are not suitable for, or allowed in, residential areas with small lot sizes.

Duration : 0:0:0

Read more »

Many people design their landscapes for a single use – but if children or disabled individuals are present, care must be taken to make the landscape beautiful to them as well.

Landscaping one’s lawn – both front and back – is one of the most popular hobbies around. No matter how out-of-control people feel in their business lives, they can always come home and impose their will on their flowers, plants, trees and grasses.

Not only must the owner like his or her landscaping, but so must the people who use it, from children to the visually impaired to the disabled.

Construct a windbreak

Wind can be quite fierce at times, blowing steadily and unrelentingly throughout the landscape…and stunting the growth of your newly planted elements. One day to prevent this is to erect a windbreak – a wooden barrier that will break up the wind and provide welcome relief to your plants. Some people erect solid wood barriers, but a “permeable” windbreak is best – one that is half solid and half holes. A windbreak should be at least six feet high.

Earthworms are for soil, not fish

It’s a childhood ritual….dad helps kids dig worms out of the garden, and then use them as bait when they go fishing. This is a pity, because earthworms are essential to your landscaping – they break down organic matter so that it can be ingested by plants, and by their tunneling they mix the soil and improve drainage

Small tools for tiny tots

If you have small children, try to instill in them a love of nature by having them start a small garden of their own. Let them choose the plants for their garden, and let them care for those plants using tools specially designed for them. Set aside an area for a playground, and teach your kids that all toys belong in that area and not in the rest of the lawn. And if you’ve got small children, be especially wary of those small plastic pools you can buy. Even a couple of inches of water can be dangerous – never let tots play in a pool without adult supervision.

Disabled designing

The years take their toll on everyone, but creative desires remain strong. If you’re wheelchair bound or simply don’t have the strength in your hands that you used to, you will find that there are many solutions to the new way you must find of doing things.

Make paths as ample as possible to accommodate walkers or wheelchairs. And make a lot more paths than normal. Wide, shallow steps – slip resistant – can be used for those who have difficulty lifting their feet very high, and ramps can be constructed for wheelchairs. Raised beds can be expensive, but they make it a lot easier to garden when you don’t have to bend over all the time.

Power tools are available that can be used with only one hand. Lightweight tools exist for those who have little strength in their hands. Wind chimes, or changes in texture on a path, will alert visually impaired people and allow them to orientate themselves. They’ll want to grow scented and aromatic plants – and even plants with contrasting textures so they can “see” them with their fingers.

Mr.Andrew Caxton
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/a-potpourri-of-landscaping-advice-127063.html

Well, I don’t know much about wind power and I was wondering if I could go completely off the grid with wind power, or do I need to have a backup like solar? How much would it cost to buy a wind turbine and have it installed? Since I’d be making electricity on my own land, would it be free? Can I use wind power for heating my home?

Sorry it’s so many questions.
I meant once I install it, would I get electricity free?

Hey Piper, Kristen is quite right on the numbers. We power our entire home with wind and solar power, and we have made plenty of mistakes. If you want to run everything, you will need a herculean sized wind plant, maybe something on the order of 10 kilowatts or more. Ours is a 1kw, but the solar does most of the work here, even though it is more expensive. The question you have to answer first is am I trying to save money, or do I want to get rid of the power company entirely. To cut down your energy bill, I would suggest a wind turbine direct to grid tie system. The wind plant produces whatever power it can and dumps it in your home, if it’s more than you need, it sends the rest out the grid line, and your meter spins backwards. Problem is, if the grid goes down, your wind plant shuts down too, it has to have someplace to go all the time. If you want your own source, you have to have battery storage, and a larger plant, then you are spending more money up front for equipment, but if the power goes out, you probably won’t be aware of it. We have the latter system, and twice last year it provided us with power when the entire county was without, hard to put a price tag on that.

My suggestion is you do some reading for a while, start with Home Power Magazine, then check out the library. Our home was actually featured in Home Power twice in the past, use their search engine and look for, "small system first." You might decide not to get involved, and that’s fine too, but at least you will be well informed. Take care, Rudydoo

Duration : 0:0:0

Read more »

According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a total of 751,051 “green jobs” were created or maintained in 2006. Of those jobs, almost 127,500 of them related to renewable power generation. The majority of the jobs in question, approximately 85% were located within metropolitan areas. However, with the increasing popularity of renewable energy in today’s market, the potential for employment in these areas can increase greatly. Santa Cruz Ca, real estate benefits when people improve their home with energy efficient products.

Projected Renewable Energy Jobs and Industries

The Energy Information Administration estimates that the electric power sector generated just over 4 trillion kilowatt hours. Of that, just about 8% was generated from renewable sources. Hydroelectric power is perhaps the largest contributor to the generation of electricity, and has been a significant creator of jobs in both manufacturing and operation of various hydroelectric jobs around the country. Since hydroelectricity has been a part of the infrastructure for a number of decades, the workforce is becoming older, and the need for an influx of skilled workers will undoubtedly increase in the coming years.

One of the most promising sources for alternative energy is wind. Geographically speaking, the areas with the highest potential for employment generation with a new energy infrastructure are in the northern and western parts of the country. In considering Santa Cruz real estate for wind potential, a survey of the area winds is helpful to determine the suitability of the site. If wind energy is pursued, the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Texas would be the most likely places for wind energy generation farms, and the associated employment opportunities. They are estimated to have a total potential power generation of approximately 4,500 billion kilowatt hours, which is more then enough to power the entire United States for at least 9 months. In addition, states such as Maine, New York, and Michigan also provide many opportunities for wind generation. If wind is actively pursued as a source of alternative energy, a substantial amount of jobs can be created and maintained. Potential jobs could include construction and maintenance of the wind generation farms, construction and maintenance of new transformers for electricity transportation, and jobs to regulate the flow and amount of electricity geographically. The American Wind Energy Association is a great place to find more information at awea.org.

Another potential powerhouse when it comes to alternative energy is solar power. Solar power has the potential to generate a significant amount of jobs, as well as decrease our national reliance on fossil fuels. The basic technology has been around for years, but the widespread adoption has not occurred basically due to the higher cost of power generation compared to fossil fuels. However, with the increasing cost of using fossil fuels, as well as advancements in solar panel technology, the cost difference is becoming smaller everyday.

Solar power generation supports many additional manufacturing jobs, as the final product producers make use of raw materials and intermediate goods from suppliers. There is not only potential job creation within the solar panel industry, but all the industries that supply materials needed for production.

A third source of alternative energy that could create new jobs is that of geothermal energy. The technology used in geothermal energy uses the heat and steam within the ground, and either uses them directly or indirectly to generate electricity. Unlike solar and wind generation, which so far has contributed little to the country’s energy infrastructure, geothermal energy has been a part of it since the early 1970’s. In fact, between the years of 1970 and 1980, the net generation of electricity by geothermal methods have increased by a factor of ten, and tripled by the early 1990s. However, a plateau was reached, and in 2007 geothermal energy produced approximately 14.9 billion kilowatt hours of power to 1.3 million homes. This equals approximately 4.7% of the all renewable power generation, leaving a significant room for expansion. In fact, the U.S. Geological survey has indicated that the geothermal potential might be as much as ten times higher than what is currently utilized.

Each of these renewable energy sources, if pursued has the potential to create a number of new jobs in the production of raw materials, construction of the equipment need for power generation, and the operation of the new infrastructure. In addition, since the technology is fairly new, how they impact the environment and the population is relatively undetermined at this time. This lack of information can also lead to jobs created in order to regulate and study the energy generated from these sources.

Creating a new energy infrastructure will be a daunting undertaking, and the need for skilled workers cannot be overly stressed. By understanding which industries affect and are affected by renewable resources, the areas of potential job growth can be easily seen.

Gregg- Camp
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/potential-jobs-in-creating-a-new-energy-infrastructure-1109522.html

Which would produce safer energy?

Why not both?

it usually has to do with offshore drilling or the oil in the middle east…why isn’t this technology being developed more?

Oil companies have politicians in their MySpace. They’re friends with benefits. Lots and lots of benefits.