Saving Energy

Low Flow Toilets, Do they Really Work?

The federal government decided that after 1994 toilets shouldn’t use any more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Manufacturers had to comply, but by most accounts their early efforts were a flop.

That was a decade and a half ago. The redesigned low-flow models that followed work as well or better than older models that used as much as 7 gallons of water per flush. There is, in fact, a joint U.S.-Canadian evaluation program called Maximum Performance (or MaP) that uses soybean paste encased in latex to see just how well these low-flow toilets work. And most of them work very well. Test results are easily accessible on the Internet.

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50 Thing You May Not Have Know You Can Recycle

1. Old bricks, worthless? No, those bricks can be recycled, and are very valuable to some people!

2. Use reclaimed wood for your next project at home. Use your own, or find some on freecycle, Craigslist, at your local transfer station, or recycle.net.

3. There are many places you can exchange or recylce your old electronics.

4. Sell off or post an ad for free metal scrap to be recycled.

5. If you have enough, your old VHS tapes can be recycled

6. Packing tape and stickers cannot be recycled, so use these sparingly in the first place.

7. Tools are very valuable items on eBay. Try selling them in lots to save time, shipping waste, and energy.

8. Empty propane tanks may be able to be taken as scrap metal, or properly disposed of at hazardous waste facilities. Reuse these whenever you can!

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New Years Resolution, Go Green

You may have a New Year’s resolution to get fit or stop smoking, but if your resolution is to go green this year, one Springfield couple makes a great example.
Many of us recycle, but Rick Scarlett and Gloria Johnson have done much more to reduce their energy use, shrink their carbon footprint, or simply go green in the past year. “I’m amazed at what we’ve done in a year,” says Gloria Johnson.

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Is A Tankless Water Heater A Good Idea For My Auburn, Ca Home?

I’ve been installing and servicing tankless water heater for over 12 years. People ask me questions all the time like, is a tankless a good idea for my Grass Valley, or Auburn Ca, home, do they work for the whole house, etc. It really depends on the application. If you want to save energy, and have endless hot water they’re great. If you want to save money, it gets a little more complicated. If you have a large water heater like a 75 gallon or larger, a large family, or family that come to visit often, they will save you money.

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15 Energy Conservation Tips

1) Turn down the heat

Electricity consumption differs dramatically in households around the world, but energy efficiency is universal. Figures from Greenpeace state that the average household in Europe consumes 4,667 kWh, in Japan 5,945 kWh per year, whereas the typical American household consumes 11,209 kWh.

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