By Horlando L. at Judy's Book August 16, 2005
Mesilla Valley Pro Music has been an old time favorite for local and abroad musicians in the south valley for their wide selection of electric and acoustic guitars, amps, drums and accessories. But Mesilla Valley Pro Music now offers the mo... ...read more
Is Solar right? Well the answer to that question is, "YES". However, it may not be the first option when it comes to saving energy and ultimately saving money. In this article we'll explore some options of energy savings and how to best use your financial resources to achieve both financial and energy savings. First of all you need to make a plan, and the best way to do that is to find out where you need to improve. It's best to locate a company that can perform a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) test. This test will consist of a blower door test (to test the leakiness of the house) and a duct test (to test the leakiness of the air ducts). Also to use might be a thermal scan, which can be done in the winter and/or the summer to pinpoint locations that need improvement. And finally an electrical energy audit. This can be done by listing the wattage every appliance, light bulb (fixture), and anything else that uses electricity and documenting the time of use. This may not be an easy task as many appliances are not listed in wattage but instead are listed in amperes and horse-power. In this case a device call a "Watt Stopper" can be used by plugging the Watt Stopper into the electrical wall outlet and then plugging the appliance into it, it can record the kilo-watt usage of each appliance. Once you compile the wattage information, you can see where you are using the most energy. A couple of examples of this are: a 60 watt bulb will have to stay on for 16 hours and 40 minutes to consume 1 kilo-watt hour (Kwh) of electricity (16.6 X 60 = 1000 watts), a 1500 watt hair dryer will have to stay on for 40 minutes to consume 1Kwh (.6 X 1500 = 1000 watts). Once you've completed an energy audit, you can then get a better picture as to where you need to improve. The first place that you may want to look at is what we call the "low hanging fruit". These are the items that can be improved upon with the smallest financial investment and the biggest return per dollar, or in other words how fast will a particular energy saving investment pay itself off. Usually lighting is the easiest to change with the quickest return on investment. Most lighting upgrades can pay for themselves in as little as 2 years. With the advances in fluorescent and LED lights not only can you save on your lighting bill but you can also save in your cooling bill as these types of fixtures do not produce the amount of heat that the old incandescent type bulbs do (see note below). Another big change in your lighting is by installing solar tubes in interior or low light rooms. During the daylight hours these modified sky lights can sufficiently illuminate a room equal to or better than the existing lighting. Other energy efficient changes to your home could also include weather stripping around doors and windows, calking around windows and other openings to the exterior, added insulation in the attic, insulated siding on the exterior, new windows, window tinting and even landscaping. Most of these changes can pay for themselves in as little as a few years depending on the degree of energy waste. Whenever the need arises to replace an appliance or anything else electrical be sure to check the annual energy usage before making your purchase, and do some research to see what other consumers have to say about it. A good example of this is in my own home, we bought a new vacuum cleaner rated at 18 amps, but found that it didn't clean as well as our old vacuum cleaner rated at 12 amps. After calculating our weekly vacuuming schedule, we determined that we were saving $24.00 a year using the older/better vacuum. Also be mindful of phantom loads. These are devices or appliances that consume energy even though they are not on. Examples of this would be phone chargers that are plugged into the wall outlet but not charging a phone, night lights that are in unoccupied rooms, even TV's that are turned off can still consume energy. Adding solar can be one of the best things you can do to help save energy and the environment. Solar PV (photovoltaic) can return an investment anywhere between 8 to 10 years. The best overall option is to make the other changes first, and by so doing you might be able to purchase a smaller less expensive solar system to achieve the same results. No matter what you do… Be sure to do your research first, and spend your dollars wisely. NOTE: As per the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Federal law will effectively ban the manufacture of standard incandescent bulbs, starting with the 100-watt bulb in 2012 on down to the 40-watt bulb in 2014. Michael D. Gray (owner) Beehive Technical Services ...read more
By Beehive Electric LLC April 22, 2014
Wall lights add a beautiful and delicate decorative touch to homes. Homeowners who would love to add a great ambiance to their home may be interested in getting interior wall lights installed. Here are some instructions on installing these particular wall lights for your home. ...read more