Category: Garden Maintenance Dublin

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You ve grown tired of paying monstrous electric bills and have decided to go solar. Solar panels, however, aren t exactly your taste. Don t worry, you can go solar without them.

solar, home improvements, solar panels, direct gain, windows, fans, circulate, electricity

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You ve grown tired of paying monstrous electric bills and have decided to go solar. Solar panels, however, aren t exactly your taste. Don t worry, you can go solar without them.

Solar panels are used to convert sunlight into electricity, which can be used to light and heat a home. They are not, however, the only method for accomplishing these goals with the sun. A simple experiment you can try in your driveway will show you why.

Park your car in a sunny spot on your driveway. Get in, mark the time, close the vents and roll up the windows. It starts getting pretty warm pretty quick, eh? You ve just experience a concept known as direct gain energy. The power of the sun is more than sufficient to create heating and lighting if it is manipulated to hit your home in the right way.

Direct gain is a concept that has existed for thousands of years. Before electricity was in abundant supply, ancient societies planned entire structures around the concept. You can learn from their experience.

The first rule of direct gain is to focus on the south facing side of your home. In the Northern Hemisphere, the south side of any structure will receive the most sunlight during the year. If the sun is not striking the south side of your home, you re going to need to move some trees and what not. Failing to do so will kill any direct gain heating options you have available to you. The sun must have a clear path to the south side of your structure or you can stop reading this article.

Once gardening issues are resolved, you need to take a close look at the surface areas. Much like a car, it is important that the sun has a method for penetrating the exterior of the home. The primary issue concerns windows. Are there any and, if so, how big are they?

The easiest method to generate solar heat in your home is by placing large windows on the south side of the home. Home Depot, here we come. To truly maximize the effect, you should also have two additional components.

The first is a fan system that will help circulate air out into the rest of the home. The temperature differences from room to room will eventually equalize, but a few ceiling fans can help.

The second issue to consider is your flooring. Windows are great and all, but what happens when the sun goes down? No more sunlight and no more heat. To overcome this problem, you can make improvements to the flooring below the windows. Yank up the carpet and put in some material that soaks up the sunlight. Certain ceramic and masonry products will hold significant amounts of heat. As the sun beats down on them, they slowly heat up during the day. Once the sun sets, they start giving off heat which allows you to maximize your passive solar system.

While this strategy will not replace your traditional heating costs, it can act as a supplemental system to take care of heating issues during the day and early evening. Break out your hammer and you can cut a chunk out of your utility bill!

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Going solar is all the rage these days with massive financial incentives fueling the fire. Here s a little trick to write off an additional part of your solar system purchase.

solar, improvements, tax deduction, tax credit, net metering, eem, energy efficient mortgages, irs

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Going solar is all the rage these days with massive financial incentives fueling the fire. Here s a little trick to write off an additional part of your solar system purchase.

Financing Your Solar Improvements

Improving your home with a solar panel system is financially advantageous these days. The federal government, most states and even cities throw financial breaks at you to promote going solar. With the federal government, you are going to get a $2,000 tax credit, a figure that is subtracted from the amount of tax you owe the IRS at the end of the year. States pursue a variety of plans, but most offer rebates wherein they actually pay for part of your new system. Cities also offer rebates, often by discounting your property taxes.

On top of all of this, you can take advantage of net metering laws in a majority of states. Net metering simply means you can sell your solar electricity to the local utility when you aren t using it. Known as being on the grid, nothing is more satisfying than watching your utility meter run BACKWARDS during the day! As you might imagine, this has a nice impact on your utility bill at the end of the month.

There is one additional financial trick many people fail to take advantage of when it comes to writing off solar panels and such financing. Even if you have the cash in your hot little hand, you should consider taking a home equity loans or refinancing your home to pull out cash to pay for the system. Why? The mortgage interest deduction! Improvements to your home are deductible if they are incorporated into your mortgage payment.

Now, you might be rolling your eyes contemplating regarding going through the refinancing process. Don t. Many federal mortgage institutions are required to write financing for people wanting to improve their home with solar systems. Even better, most of the loans are written at interest rates well below current mortgage rates.

If you are considering doing a solar-based improvement to your home, talk to your lender about financing options. Take advantage of this strategy and you ll be getting a mortgage tax deduction, tax credit, rebate, property tax discount and selling power to the utility company when you go solar. With so many financial incentives, you have to ask yourself whether you can afford not to go solar.

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Using the power of the sun to provide heat or light in your home can be done a couple of ways. In this article, we look to lizards for a basic solar lesson.

house, home, residence, property, solar, lizard, sun, sunlight, heating

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Using the power of the sun to provide heat or light in your home can be done a couple of ways. In this article, we look to lizards for a basic solar lesson.

Solar For Your House: Learn The Lizard Lesson

Nature is a funny thing. If we pay close attention to it, we can often find the answer to many questions. Solar is no different. In this case, we are going to look at lizards for guidance.

Undoubtedly, you have seen lizards sunning themselves on rocks if you have ever gone hiking or even just sat outside. If you gave it any thought, you realized the lizard was using solar power to warm itself. It positioned itself to maximize the exposure to the sun by determining where it was going to get the maximum warmth. As odd as it may sound, using the sun to heat your house involves the same approach.

The goal of natural solar heating for a house is to maximize the exposure to the sun throughout the year. The more surface area that is exposed, the more energy you can convert. Get it wrong, and your results will be very disappointing.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the south side of your house will always receive the most sunlight. As a practical matter, this means the longest side of your house should face south. This side should also contain the most windows to convert the energy. While facing south is important, there is an additional step.

The Earth tilts through different degrees throughout the year, one of the factors that gives us seasons. You need to realize this and position your house for the appropriate time of the year. You are probably not going to need heating during the summer. As a result, you should not orient your home to the path of sun during this period of time. Instead, you should determine the path of the sun during the winter, to wit, the angle at which it strikes your property. You will be surprised how much of a difference there is, but will be glad you take it into account since this is when you need to the most heating.

Much like a reptile changes places on a rock throughout the day, you need to gauge the best position for your house to take advantage of the power of the sun.

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Solar energy is one of the energy sources that is gaining in interest. Uses of solar energy has steadily been growing. Today solar energy is widely used in the US and the advantages are numerous. Our solar energy source, the sun, its life span is estimated to be another 4.5 billion years. It is fair to say that this energy source is almost endless. Find out the facts that count….

facts Solar Energy, facts solar power, solar power, solar energy, uses solar power

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Most power plants in the United States and all over world are using fossil fuels to operate and generate electricity. Fossil fuel has been used as an energy source as long as man has learned to generate power. Fossil fuel has been around for ages and when man started using this energy sources no one though about the consequences. Fossil fuels will run out and there will be a shortage of it in near future. This shortage in fossil fuel will have its affect on our daily live and various industries. Today we see some of these affects already, fossil fuel prizes are raising and electricity is becoming more expensive. Although fossil fuels are more scares, to need for fossil fuels will still be here and will not decrease in near future. To solve this shortage of fossil fuels we will need to look for other possibilities for our energy demand.

Fortunately, alternative energy sources are growing in interest. For instance, locations with high water falls are experimenting on building a hydro-electric power plant, which turns out to be successful. Other locations with high wind speed make use of a power wind mills that can convert wind power into electricity. Also thermal and tidal powers are good alternatives.

Solar energy is also one of the energy sources that is gaining in interest. Solar energy has steadily been growing. Today solar energy is widely used in the US and the advantages are numerous. Our solar energy source, the sun, its life span is estimated to be another 4.5 billion years. It is fair to say that this energy source is almost endless.

Rate of Energy from the Sun

The sun s radiation reaches a certain unit of area in space in the region of the Earth s orbit and is estimated to be at 1,400 watts per square meter. Out of this, photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells) can capture 19 to 56 watts per square meter (for 15% efficiency) or an equivalent of 0.45 to 1.35 kilowatt per hour (kWh) in an annual day and night average.

Therefore, if there would be more area that will be covered by several solar panels, these panels can produce slightly more energy in the form of electricity than what is currently available from oil, gas, and other sources of energy combined (assuming 8% solar cell efficiency).

Conversion of Solar Energy

There are two ways of conversion of solar energy. First is the direct solar energy which involves only one conversion into a usable form. For instance:

Sunlight hits the solar cell, converting it into electricity.
Sunlight hits the absorber surface of a solar thermal collector, converting into thermal energy which can be used to heat homes during cold season.

The second is the indirect solar energy which involves more than one conversion to reach a usable form. For instance:

Plants use photosynthesis to transform solar energy to chemical energy, which can be burned later as fuel to generate electricity (also known as bio-fuel technology).
Hydroelectric dams and wind turbines are indirectly supplied by solar energy through its interaction with the Earth s atmosphere.

Pros and Cons of Solar Energy

Just like any other types of energy resources, solar energy has its ins and outs.

Pros:

Pollution-free.
Solar facilities can be run with little extra input or maintenance.
It is abundant. As mentioned earlier, most of the inhabited areas here on Earth can be reached by sunlight.

Cons:

Although it is abundant, non-tropical locations can receive little sunlight. Thus, power that will be produced in these locations is a minimum.
Only during daytime thus not available during night time.
Photovoltaic cell technologies generate direct current (DC) power which needs to be converted to alternating current (AC) power used in distribution grids.

Once massive development of the use of solar energy is materialized, expect that every household or industry in the world will now be powered by solar energy. It is not just a dream, it will be a dream come true.

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If you have a pool, you know how much heating it can crank up your utility bill. Solar energy systems for pools offer an alternative method that will not devastate your bank account.

solar, solar energy, solar power, pool, pools, swimming, systems, heat, heating, utility

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If you have a pool, you know how much heating it can crank up your utility bill. Solar energy systems for pools offer an alternative method that will not devastate your bank account.

Solar Energy Systems for Pools

When most people think of solar energy systems, they think of the large crystalline structures that are meant to collect a lot of solar energy in order to convert it into solar power. However, there are other uses for solar energy systems. One of the more ingenious uses for this technology is the use of solar energy systems for heating pools. By using solar power to heat your swimming pool, you can be sure that your morning swim will always be nice, comfortable and cheap.

Everyone has to heat their pool unless they are living in a tropical climate where the temperature doesn t drop at night. Some people choose to purchase a pool cover, but these only work to limit heat loss versus actually heating up the water. Gas heaters work well, but the operating cost of a gas heater can really add up. A low initial cost can draw pool owners to gas heaters, but the charges over the life of the use of the pool can be appalling.

Using solar energy systems for heating pools, however, can solve all of the problems of the above methods. Usually, solar energy systems are installed on the roof of your house, where much sunlight hits. These solar energy systems collect heat, which is transmitted to water stored in hoses behind the solar collectors. This warms the water, which is then circulated through the pool. This method of heating a swimming pool does cost more initially than any other heating system, but the solar collectors and other accessories pay for themselves within a few years. If you plan to live in the home for some time, the cost will be a fraction of any other heating method. If you plan to sell the house in the near future, the solar energy systems will add to the value of the house since they are considered energy savers over time.

The use of solar energy systems for heating pools is a time tested strategy. If you live in an area where lots of homes have pools, you should take a walk around the neighborhood. You will notice lots of homes with pools have solar energy systems. The only downside to this approach is the government does not offer any financial incentives for heating your pool with solar. Given the utility savings, it really doesn t matter. It is still a no brainer to use solar energy systems for heating pools.

Solar energy systems are a great choice for heating your swimming pool. As well as being the most cost effective heating system, solar energy systems are the most eco-friendly as well. Choosing solar energy for your swimming pool heating means that everyone wins!

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No doubt you ve heard plenty about solar power but always thought it was too expensive, aside from minor uses in the now popular garden lighting systems. However, with fuel prices climbing and solar cells becoming more reasonable, adding solar power to your home is a great, long term solution to high energy bills.

solar power, solar energy, environment, home improvement

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No doubt you ve heard plenty about solar power but always thought it was too expensive, aside from minor uses in the now popular garden lighting systems. However, with fuel prices climbing and solar cells becoming more reasonable, adding solar power to your home is a great, long term solution to high energy bills.

That isn t to say they re cheap. Before rebates, it typically takes 12 or more years for a homeowner to make their investment in solar panels back. That s much longer than the average person is willing to wait. However, many states now offer rebates, so the final cost to the homeowner is much less than it use to be. The rebates vary from state to state, so it s impossible to say how much of an impact they have overall. There may also be federal incentives.

Solar panels are also steadily becoming more efficient. They produce more energy than they used to. They require relatively little maintenance, many of which you may be able to do yourself. This helps to make them very cost effective.

Solar energy isn t just for making electricity. You can use it heat the water for your swimming pool or heat your home. There are many options available for those who are interesting in building an energy efficient home without sacrificing comfort.

Solar power is much, much cheaper than it used to be, as prices have fallen by 90% since the 1970s. That doesn t make it cheap – yet! – to install enough photovoltaic cells to power a house, but in some areas the incentives given to install solar cells cuts the overall cost to the homeowner about in half.

To decide if solar energy is right for you, take some basic figures into consideration.

Check your energy consumption. You need to know how big a system you will need to power your home. Make sure you consider your highest consumption levels and the possibility that it will grow somewhat.

Find out how much a photovoltaic system to meet your need will cost you. The size will depend both on your energy need and on the available sunlight (solar resource) in your area.

Find out what rebates and incentives are available to you to help decrease your costs.

Consider whether your system will be on the grid or off. On the grid has the advantage that you can sell when you have an excess and buy electricity when you don t have enough, while with an off the grid system you have a battery to store your excess.

Consider what the environmental benefits are worth to you. This is a personal factor rather than a direct economic one. It won t save you money, but knowing that you re contributing a little less to pollution might change how you feel about the expense.

Choosing to use solar power in your home is an investment you can appreciate on many levels. Over a number of years it will save you money as you generate environmentally friendly energy. It s not cheap to get started, but when you combine the environmental benefits with decreasing your reliance on fuel costs you can certainly appreciate the possibilities.

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The words solar cooling sure sound like a contradiction, but it s nonetheless true that the same solar energy that provides heat in winter can also give a lot of cooling in the summer months.

air conditioners, air conditioning, central air unit

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The words solar cooling sure sound like a contradiction, but it s nonetheless true that the same solar energy that provides heat in winter can also give a lot of cooling in the summer months.

There have been quite a number of passive cooling systems developed and tested in recent times. They function quite simply there is a coolant that absorbs heat and then dispels it outside. Even a water tank or water-contained trough on the roof can act as a coolant, absorbing heat from the house and then dissipating it while it automatically evaporates under the sun.

Apart from these simple methods, there are also some passive solar cooling systems which are more sophisticated and a bit more complex. They have a solar collector which remains shaded through the day. And the storage medium in it gathers all the heat during daytime to release it later after sundown. At night, the shade of the solar collector is removed to bring it in direct contact with the cool night air and thus enabling it to dispel the collected heat.

For shading the solar collector, a retractile sunblind can be put up or an extended shade can be hung over. As this arrangement isn t permanent and will change to just the opposite in the winter season, it is imperative that you keep the shade in a way that will help you to expose the collector easily to the sun as and when required.

For operating the conventional air conditioners, solar panels can be one fine option. As you perhaps already know, days when the heat remains the highest, are the best times for producing electricity by means of photovoltaic cells. So if you use solar panels to yield enough electricity, you can use your air conditioner totally free of cost.

Yet another highly potential option is solar cooling which does not depend on technology. History holds it that the Romans had a fine system of using running water to cool the walls of their houses. As you can guess, the water evaporates under the sun, thereby dissipating heat and soothing the inner temperatures. This same arrangement can be put up at your house on the walls and even on rooftops.

To the majority of households, cooling and heating are two primary concerns in their yearly expenses. Hence the usage of solar energy to both heat and cool the house can really help your budget breathe and can be ecological too. It is always a positive move to stop using fossil fuels for heating and cooling, because these are deterrent to a clean and healthy environment.

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Furnishing and decorating rooms is a very important task. Owners want to be assured their guests are comfortable.

soft goods upholstered furniture, upholstered chairs, upholstered lounge chairs, upholstered sofas

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For any hotel or resort owner, furnishing and decorating rooms is a very important task. Owners want to be assured they are receiving the best quality furniture at the best price. It is also important that they purchase all the necessary furnishings to guarantee a pleasant stay for their guests.

Soft goods upholstered furniture comes in many different styles. Depending on the atmosphere of the individual hotel or resort, the type of furniture chosen can greatly vary. Owners can choose from traditional upholstered furniture in traditional floral fabric patterns. A more modern or tropical type resort may go for rattan style furniture with contemporary fabrics.

To properly furnish a resort or hotel room, there are several essential pieces. There are of course the beds, but it is important to also furnish rooms with an upholstered sleeper sofa to accommodate extra guests. Rooms also need to be furnished with coordinating upholstered chairs and tables. These can all be ordered together, and in bulk, to ensure receiving a matching set from the same dye block.

Another great piece to include in a resort or hotel room is an upholstered lounge chair. These take up more space, so they are ideal for large condos or larger rooms, such as the lobby or lounge.

Purchasing quality commercial upholstered furniture is a excellent way to assure guests enjoy their stay at any resort or hotel.

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This article explores the function and form of the sofa through the contemporary age and beyond. Sofas have many uses as we mould them to our intent as well as to our backsides. And it largely is a we and not just an I . Sofas are for groups, and sofas define a group. We are the ones who use, and abuse, that sofa.

Furniture, Sofa, sofas, Design, sofa, Modern furniture, furniture, home

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This article explores the function and form of the sofa through the contemporary age and beyond. Sofas have many uses as we mould them to our intent as well as to our backsides. And it largely is a we and not just an I . Sofas are for groups, and sofas define a group. We are the ones who use, and abuse, that sofa.

So far, so good. Sofas have come so far and sofas are so so good. We can t get enough of them, especially at Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Hogmanay, or whatever your cultural group fest. Guaranteed delivery by whenever you want implies the multimedia advertisements.

Sofas are definitive: they define who we are and they define who we want to be. The quickest way to lift a living room is to buy it a new sofa. It changes group dynamics. It changes groups. Your pack is defined afresh. Sofas make a design statement in the reception area of a customer-focussed company. The statement is of futuristic opulence: buy from us and this is the comfort you will be able to afford. You re worth it.

Sofas have iconic status in western culture. Move over the Keeler chair with the naked model posed elegantly on view: that was the observer mode. Sofas are participation mode: we sit together. Sofas provide furniture for the post-modernist age, where responsibility for each other within the pack is key. We relate therefore I am is a reframed descartian idiom. Nonetheless, if you still ache after observer status, there are the sofa s little sisters available: tub chairs or cubes where you can be cocooned or perch by yourself.

Pre-eminently, sofas receive each and every one of us as we return to base camp. Sofas know and celebrate who has membership of the group. This is the mission of the Simpsons as the series intro transcends the message of the episode to come. The Groening sofa has many guises, but it s always there for the Simpsons pack. Sofas are for members of the family or extended family pack. There are many to choose from. Strangers used to be consigned to the parlour, now they are given, or choose, the solitary chair.

Group members return at evening from their various daily activities. This may be the hunter-gather mode of profession, business, retail therapy or job seeking. Sofas are the place for the recovery/reflection mode as we renew our energies for the tomorrow. Sofas prepare us for the next foray into action hero mode, hunter gatherer mode, or whatever your pack animals are into.

Sofas slow you down. This is a serious function in our frenetic time-stretched lives. You climb into a sofa and finally out of it. As the sports car gets you low slung before speeding away and reviving your engine, the sofa slows you down and gets you low slung before relaxing your engine. Both sports car and sofa require grace as you consent to their embrace. The sofa may succeed of course in relaxing you completely such that sleep takes hold of you. If so, then let s hope it s a bongo couch you re on.

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Soapstone countertops may be just the thing you re looking for in a decorator s dream of a kitchen! Not only do these type countertops look wonderful, they re also one of the most durable and maintenance-free countertops you can choose. Read on to find out more about soapstone countertops and what makes them so wonderfully appealing.

kitchen renovation,bathroom remodeling,countertops,home decorating

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Soapstone countertops may be just the thing you re looking for in a decorator s dream of a kitchen! Not only do these type countertops look wonderful, they re also one of the most durable and maintenance-free countertops you can choose. Read on to find out more about soapstone countertops and what makes them so wonderfully appealing.

The mineral used to make soapstone countertops, steatite, comes from metamorphic rock. This non-porous material offers an ideal medium for applications such as kitchen countertops because it does not absorb liquids. Unlike other materials often used for kitchen countertops, including granite, soapstone countertops do not stain because of this unusual characteristic.

Another exceptional quality about soapstone countertops lies in its unique thermal properties. Nearly heatproof, placing a hot pot or pan directly from the stovetop or oven on it causes no damage whatsoever. Because of its excellent ability to withstand heat, this mineral is used not only in soapstone countertops, but also in a number of other applications including laboratory counters, oven interiors, grills, and many more.

One of the most remarkable and attractive properties of soapstone countertops stems from its upkeep. Maintaining soapstone countertops means nothing more than regularly applying mineral oil to it with a rag. By keeping the same rag sealed in a zip-locked plastic bag and reusing it, one maintains the beauty and luster of soapstone countertops indefinitely. The oiling of soapstone countertops also creates the added benefit of it darkening over time to a dark gray and eventually to a rich, deep black color. Sometimes soapstone countertops develop deep green markings that come from natural-occurring shadings of the stone.

Scratches or marring inevitably occurs in soapstone countertops that receive heavy use. To remedy this, first sand with 120-grit sandpaper, then go over the mark with 220-grit sandpaper and water. Rub mineral oil into the area, wait a few hours and apply more mineral oil. Continue to apply mineral oil over the course of several days until the soapstone that has been repaired matches its surrounding areas.

Now that you know more about soapstone countertops, why not do some research yourself? You may find this unusually appropriate material just the thing for which you ve been looking in a kitchen countertop. You ll never know, though, til you check it out. The wave of the future in kitchen design may very well be soapstone countertops. Don t miss out!