It’s simple and inexpensive to collect rainwater from our roof and use it to water our lawn or garden.  Here are a couple of set-ups our neighbor Frank McComb installed.  First he got some rain barrels.

stacked 275 gallon totes

50 gallon barrel

Frank uses totes and barrels that had been previously been used to transport juices and concentrates.  He paid $50 each for the 275 gallon totes on the left and $10 for the 50 gallon barrels on the right.

Slotted Inlet w/ Mosquito Screen

Flex pipe from downspout to barrel

A few feet of flex pipe connects the downspout to the top of the barrel.  A simple slotted leaf barrier  with a piece of screening below it keeps unwanted stuff out of the barrel.

Spigot

The last piece of the puzzle is a spigot.  A lot of totes come with a spigot or a threaded outlet where one can be added.

The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper newsletter announced that Headwaters Outreach Manager Bonny Putney, who is certified in rain water collection, hosts a series of rain barrel workshops over the course of the year, and kicks off 2012 with workshops on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and again on March 7 at the City of Atlanta Water Works Lodge (655 Green St., Atlanta, GA 30318). New this year: The $40 fee not only includes a rain barrel, installation kit and instructions, but also is good for a one-year UCR membership. Workshops start at 6 p.m. Register:

https://www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=RAIN12E

measuring the number of gpm

If it’s a gallon (4 quarts) or more we can install aerators that only allow a half gallon of flow per minute.  They cost less than $4.00 at building supply or hardware stores.  The flow rate is marked on the aerator.

Low Flow .5 gpm Aerator

Unscrew your old aerator from the faucet tip and take it with you to get the low flow one (there are a number of tread types and we need to match the new one with the old).

We can make the same measurement with our shower heads.  Low flow ones are 1.5 gallon per minute (gpm).

The other measurement we need to make is the time it takes for water to get hot.  We already found out how much water is used in one minute (gpm) so all we need to do is multiple the time for the water to get hot enough by the gpm rate and we will know how many gallons of water are wasted.

A simple $7.00 wand-like device called an Instant-off Water Saver (available on-line or at Home Depot) saves water by shutting off immediately after you brush your teeth or fill a water glass.  The other thing it does is to allow hot water to circulate through the  pipes so hot water comes on more quickly.

Instant-Off Water Saver in on position

Instant-Off Water Saver in "off" Mode

These are things to do without changing behavior.  If we want to get real about saving water and money we can take shorter showers.  And we can prompt ourselves to do so by installing a shut-off valve on the shower head.  This means wetting down, shutting off the water with the valve, soaping up, and then switching on the valve to rinse off.

Shutoff Valve

The biggest water waster is our toilets.  Unless we have a new dual flush toilet we are needlessly wasting hundreds of dollars of water every year.  A new dual flush toilet will pay for itself in 18 months.  But first check out the dual flush kits you can get on-line or at the local hardware or home improvement store for around $25.

dual flush kit

If we install these inexpensive devices we can easily our cut our indoor water bills in half.

]]> http://greeningneighborhoods.com/2012/01/30/how-to-stop-wating-water/feed/ 0 http://greeningneighborhoods.com/2012/01/10/the-whole-bag/ http://greeningneighborhoods.com/2012/01/10/the-whole-bag/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:30:26 +0000 george http://greeningneighborhoods.com/?p=1709 I thought it would be a good idea, being that we are beginning a new year, to review the categories of conservation that Greening Neighborhoods recommends for saving money, reducing unnecessary waste of our natural resources, and lowering our carbon footprint.

1)  First on the list, and the best way to save money, is by using alternative transportation.

 Take public transportation, ride our bikes for errands, car pool, and when we buy a new car get one  that  gets good mileage.  The average American drives 36 miles a day to and from  work.  By ride sharing with one other person we can save over $4,000 a year  on wear and  fuel.   We would reduce our yearly carbon footprint by 3,600 pounds of CO2.  Resource: Clean Air Campaign

2)  Reduce heating and cooling bills by insulating our attic, cutting off air leaks at doors, windows and pipe holes in the walls.

 Many contractors recommend 16 inches of fiberglass insulation, or R 50.  There are a number of  rebates  available for adding insulation.  Most neighbors who have added at least R 30 insulation  and have sealed air leaks have reported savings from 40 to 60% on their gas and electric bills.  Resource:  NRG SVRS  Resource:  Energy Conservation Solutions

3)  Reduce water consumption.  This is easy and inexpensive to do.

Low flow faucets and shower heads are inexpensive and can cut water use by 1/2 when they are installed.

For $20.00 kits are available at hardware and building supply stores to convert older toilets to water saving duel flush toilets.

 The 300 gallon water container in the background costs around $75 and will capture  roof  runoff for watering our gardens and lawns.  Most homes that water lawns and  gardens  using treated municipal water will double their water bills in summer months.  This water  is free.

An added bonus is by collecting rain water we reduce storm water runoff that enters our  sewers and causes  flooding and pollution.  Resource: lew@greeningneighborhoods.com

4)  We can lower our electric bills by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs or LED lights.

 We can get into the habit of switching off lights when we leave the room.  If that technique  fails we can buy an inexpensive motion detector that does it for you.

We can set the water heater temperature to a lower level.  We can buy Energy Star  appliances that have the best ratings.

5)  Improve indoor air quality.

 We have abundant opportunities to buy toxic chemicals used in commercial cleaning  products, home repair building materials, and even cosmetics.  Federal labeling is  improving so we can see what’s in the products we buy.  To make sure we know what’s in  the  products we use, we can always make our own products like the window cleaner shown  here,  which is made from water, vinegar and a bit of liquid soap.  The benefits are not  immediate  savings, but future savings through lower health costs.  Resource:  Greening Neighborhoods

6)  Buy local, plant a garden.

 Meats and produce bought from farmers’ market are fresher, shipped locally, and the  money we spend stays in the local economy.

And, if the farmer markets are near by, we can walk to market.

Resource: Farmers Markets

7)  Recycle

 Recycling paper, plastic, metal waste means that is not waste at all, but raw material to be  used again.  It means that tons of materials are kept out of landfills reducing the release of  methane gas, a contributor to green house gases and global warming.

Resource: City of Atlanta

 Control solar heat gain

This can be done in a number of ways.  The least expensive is by adding a high quality film on the inside window face.  If it is in your budget replacement windows can be triple pane with the sun blocking film within the glazing itself.

When it time to replace shingles we need to get the kind that reflect sunlight (and heat) so we don’t have to spend extra money cooling the heat absorbed by dark colored shingles.  Resource: Greening Neighborhoods  Resource: Cool Roof Calculator

Greening Neighborhoods wishes you a healthy, prosperous, green new year.

Many of us like to sleep in cooler conditions, so by setting our thermostats back 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours we will be rewarded with a good night’s sleep and savings of 10% on our yearly bill.  It is a common misconception that energy is wasted by turning down the thermostat that much and then heating the house back up to normal.  Not so.

To get accustomed to living a little cooler than what we’re used to, try backing into cooler living by lowering the temperature 1 degree for a week.  This will  give ourselves time to adjust to a new “normal” temperature.  Then try doing it again for the following week.

Fortunately, these fixes are inexpensive and easy to put in place.

1. Disconnect your hose from your outside faucet.
2. If you have a shutoff valve inside the house for the outside spigot, turn it off and then open the outside spigot to drain the water.
3. Go to your favorite hardware store and buy faucet covers and install them on all your outside spigots. They cost $1.00 at most stores.

LED’s come in every configuration imaginable, use 15% of the electricity of incandescent lights, and last a life time.  For those of us who want to save even more electricity we can now get solar powered LED lights.  Our neighbor, Betty Hanacek, got a couple of strings and reports that even on the north side of her house there is enough solar energy to light her front yard display from dusk until bed time.

Another green reminder is to recycle cardboard boxes and wrapping paper.  Better yet, reuse the wrapping paper next year and save some trees.

Have a Happy Holiday!

There are two common ways to reduce those costs by insulation — Fiberglass batt insulation and closed cell spray insulation.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

Fiberglass is less expensive, but you need twice the thickness of fiberglass to get the same insulating value as spray insulation.

Fiberglass insulation can be put in place easier than closed cell spray insulation and, with a little care, can be a do-it-yourself project .  It can be laid between the ceiling joists in the attic.

The foam insulation is a two part process where two chemicals are mixed and sprayed on with special equipment.  There are do-it-yourself kits, but if it were me I’d hire a professional.

6 inches of spray insulation being applied

The foam insulation, when applied correctly, seals air leaks and is a vapor barrier.  It can be applied under the roof sheathing leaving the attic space insulated and usable for an additional room.  (Fiberglass insulation can be used to insulate between roof rafters rather than being laid between the ceiling joists, but it has only half the resistance to heat loss than spray.)

Six inches of spray insulation or 12 inches of fiberglass insulation will give us an R36 insulation value.  Either way our energy savings will be noticeable and we can feel good about reducing green house gas emissions.

Find out about Atlanta’s SHINE rebate program.

Find out about Decatur’s Wise rebate program.

Insufficient Insulation

If there is less than 6 inches of insulation in your attic – and 6 inches is the minimum – you are paying more for winter heating than you should.  Many energy conscious builders are now recommending 16 inches of fiber glass batt insulation.

Last winter three of our neighbors insulated their attics and compared their February 2011 energy bills with those of February 2010.  Their savings were significant.

In Carolyn’s case a hole in her wall was discovered behind her refrigerator that was letting heat escape.  With the hole repaired and insulation added, her heating bill was reduced by 2/3.  For Jane and Dave, their bills were reduced by 1/3.

There are still rebates available for adding insulation.  In Atalanta check out the SHINE program http://www.atlantaga.gov/mayor/shine_080410.aspx.  In Decatur go to Decatur Wise http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=595.

George

Greening Neighborhoods encourages everyone to exchange traditional incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent lamps or LED’s because of the savings in the amount of electricity they use.  The one drawback in using fluorescent lamps is that the phosphorus lamp coating contains traces of mercury.  The amount of mercury is small, about 1/100 of that contained in the old mercury thermometers we used to have.  Still, indoor air quality is threatened if the lamps break and proper cleanup procedures aren’t followed.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends the following:

Before Cleanup

• Have people and pets leave the room.
• Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
• Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
• Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb (Don’t vacuum):
• stiff paper or cardboard;
• sticky tape;
• damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
• a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

During Cleanup

• Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
• Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

After Cleanup

• Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
• If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

Getting Rid of Burned out Bulbs

Burned out lamps that are not broken should be taken to a recycling center.  Home Depot and Lowes have disposal bins for the old lamps.

Learn more about CFL’s and indoor air quality: http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflhg.html  and http://greeningneighborhoods.com/category/save-money/indoor-air-quality/

George