Super Insulation Products
In order to be efficient and able to utilize the various “free” and typically “wasted” forms of energy we first have to concentrate on conserving these energies. The typical residential structure has such a huge loss of energy that an extraordinary amount of energy measured in British Thermal Units (BTU’s) is require to replenish this loss. Over the past 50 years heating plants in residential structures typically has been some form of heating device utilizing fossil fuels. At one time, these fuels were considered inexpensive and it made sense to use them for this purpose. As we have progressed with atmospheric sciences we have now found out that burning these fuels in mass has placed our planet in peril. The burning of these fuels gives off many by-products, particularly carbon dioxide. For this reason we have finally come to realize the we must greatly decrease the use of fossil fuels for the purpose of heating and propelling our automobiles.
As it turns out, the burning of such fuel produced abundant BTU’s. Since it was cheap and abundant, then we paid very little attention to conservation of the BTU loss. Now we are finding that the alternative clean fuels do not produce BTU’s in such huge amounts in a large degree because they are not breaking down the earth based carbons. Other forms of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydro, which are safe, clean and renewable yield vast amounts of energy but still have to be harnessed and conserved. For the task of conserving that energy we have to look toward new forms of super insulation and related techniques in applying that product.
As you can well imagine, there are many types of insulations and applications. Some are feasible at this time and some others are not. EWT has done research and has developed a listing of the various forms of insulation, there benefits, detriments and summarized what is the easiest course of action to take in a given situation.
Humidity and Heat loss Products
The control of humidity, both inside and outside of the home is one of the more important aspects of an efficient living environment. It has been widely accepted that individuals feel more comfortable at a lower temperature in a higher humidity level. At 65 deg F you might feel cool with a 5% relative humidity. By increasing that humidity level to 25 or 30% a person may feel much more comfortable. So, as you can see, by retaining the moisture in a home envelope you can reduce the heating requirements. Further, you save energy by not having to reheat moisture. As your home loses more moisture you are forced to reheat replacement moisture. This requires a considerable amount of energy.
Also, we have found that proper sealing of windows and doors to make the structure “air tight” can make a huge difference in the amount of energy required to temper the living environment. You should strive to install the best energy efficient windows and doors that are on the market.
EWT tries to focus on these areas of concern by insulating with a rigid foam insulation that is covered on both sides with vapor and reflective barrier of foil. We also seal all foam joints with a special hermitically sealed foil tape. By implementing these insulating details we gain valuable R ratings plus control the escape and entrance of moisture into the living environment.
There is also a multitude of new products especially designed for weather sealing on the market, with new ones being introduced daily. Our team of specialist try to stay abreast of these new products as they are developed.
Photovoltaics
Probably one of the most talked about new renewable energy sources is that of Photovoltaics. In most cases individuals are generating some of their electrical power through photovoltaic panels and selling the rest of the excess generation back to the grid. In some cases, the individuals store the energy generated from the PV modules into a battery storage bank. They then use the energy from the battery system for the supply of energy back to their home. A battery Tie-in system is more expensive than a straight grid tie-in PV system since you have to purchase the batteries and controllers to make the system operational. In some cases, individuals have designed a combination system of batteries and still are tied to the grid. This is convenient of course when the grid goes down.
Regardless of the specific system, Photvoltaics is becoming more and more excepted as each day goes by. A great stimulus of the interest is of course the rising cost of standard electricity and other forms of energy created from fossil fuels. Nuclear power does show some promise – but is relatively expensive and has some genuine health concerns for storage of the waste products.
Photovoltaics does have a rather large start-up cost. We are finding however, that with state and federal incentives plus tax rebate and exemptions that are beginning to appear in the marketplace that photovoltaics is becoming more feasible. It would be smart to consider photovoltaic concepts in a new home under design today for the simple reason that you can package the costs of the system into your mortgage and in most cases you will get a return on the investment that offsets some or all of your extraneous costs of the mortgage such as interest, closing costs and inspection fees. The savings on electrical energy makes this possible.
A good planner can compute the initial costs and the turn around time for payback on such a system.
Passive Solar
We don’t hear as much about passive solar as we do about photovoltaics. Passive solar is much less expensive and without doubt has a much shorter payback period. We can take advantage of passive solar design in all new homes. Also, passive solar lends itself well to existing homes. The principle behind passive solar energy hinges on deriving energy from the sun through the heating of objects within your home using the radiate energy generated by the sun. Although this form of energy collection is much less efficient and concentrated that collection of the sun’s energy through solar panels, it is very practical and can be applied for small investments by practically anyone.
The key to being successful while employing passive solar is of course both orientation of the windows and doors of the home with respect to their glass surfaces. The south glass must be maximized and the north glass must be minimized. Also, the structure envelope must be well insulated (R30 +) and should have a means of heat storage incorporated within the home. This storage medium is know as the “heat storage battery” and can be as big or small as one deems necessary and affordable. The heat energy battery tempers the highs and lows of the heating cycle as a result of sun’s radiant heat input. If left unchecked a home can overheat during the daytime and cool beyond a comfortable living temperature in the night time hours. So, storage of the excess daytime heat and shuttering of the windows in the night time hours is a must for passive solar heated homes.
Keep in mind that mass energy storage can consist of any item in your home that has any substantial mass. An example of a good mass storage device might be a bar bell set. Since it comprised of iron and steel it can store energy rather effectively. Mass storage and insulation are the exact opposites in the scientific world. Something that is a good insulator is a poor storage device and likewise, a mass material object is a poor insulator. The key is to combine these two materials in a way that they can work for you. EWT can help you with that process. Passive solar heating is being employed in many places in the northeast and can work for you with a little thought and modest investments in insulation, high efficient windows and some form of mass storage and air circulation.
Thermal Hot Water
Thermal hot water systems are something that has been around for a long time. Actually, they got their start in the late 1800’s. Thermal hot water simply means that water is heated by some energy form through either combustion of carbon based products, renewable energy sources such as wood or corn or the water can be heated by the sun through radiation. When heated by the sun, the thermal hot water system is generally known as solar hot water systems.
There are many types of systems and or course many practical uses for this type of system. The typical system that we all are familiar with is the circulating hot water baseboard heating systems that are common in so many homes today. The fuel to heat the water is generally oil, natural gas, propane or wood energy. These systems seem to work rather effectively but do have the drawback of wasting a substantial amount of energy through heat loss and of course in most cases they are emitting CO2 into the atmosphere. Because of this we are gradually beginning to steer away from these types of fuels. As any homeowner can attest to, the standard fuels being used in the world at this time do cost money and are only getting more expensive. It appears that there is a strong drive to rid ourselves of the dependence on fossil fuels and also to clean up our atmosphere. Solar hot water systems give us that opportunity.
The return of British Thermal Units (BTU’s) from solar hot water heating is substantial. In fact, a solar hot water heating system will generally gain you more energy for less investment than a Photovoltaic system. Water (mixed in most cases with an anti-freeze) is a terrific heating medium. It has substantial mass and therefore can store significant amounts of energy which can be directed to the source to be heated. It truly tends to be the most efficient way to retrieve energy from the sun and deliver it to our life environment. There are, however, some disadvantages to thermal solar hot water heating methods. The principle problem that one encounters is the fact that we can not sell excess energy back to our provider (the grid) at this time. So that means that whatever you generate through this means has to be either used or stored on site. With this limitation many people tend to steer away from solar hot water systems.
We feel at EWT that thermal solar hot water systems have their place in our energy design programs. Surely the heating of domestic hot water and the thermal mass system are an area that this circulating hot water is very practical. The amount of BTU retrieval per dollar can not be matched by any other solar heating system. Through analysis of your lifestyle and building design EWT can demonstrate the best choice of renewable energy generating devices for you.
Wind
Wind power has been around for a long time. Many European countries have harnessed the winds energy effectively and it has become a mainstay of their complementary power generation. Obviously, the United States is behind many of the other countries of the world with the implementation of wind energy. It appears that with the increasing cost of energy through fossil fuel generation that people will be looking much more seriously at wind energy comprised of windmills, wave action and other atmospheric wind movement phenomeum.
Of course, it is obvious that not all sites are suitable for wind energy generation. Only a certain percentage of the northern continent of America lends itself to successful wind generation criteria. For this reason, it is important that the correct assessment of the site be undertaken prior to engaging in the purchase of wind energy equipment. In many cases, height restrictions pertaining to zoning in communities could stifle ones ability to install a windmill at the proper height in order to receive the necessary wind to make it function efficiently. Hopefully, zoning laws can be amended in the future to allow this valuable source of energy to be put to work. Prior to purchasing windmill equipment insure that you do a proper site analysis to insure that the system will operate at an efficient level to justify your investment.
Geothermal
Geothermal energy is retrieved through the extraction of heat from ground water. In many cases, the water is that found in your typical drilled well that was installed when your home was constructed. In some situations, the actual ground water may be found extruding out of the ground. In many parts of the world, this is the case. Many times we term this type of well “artesian” – meaning it flows freely out of the earth under the pressure provided by the pressurized aquifer within the earth’s crust.
The are several techniques for utilizing this groundwater. Principally, however, we find that the most common approach to extracting energy from the water source is to simply remove the BTU’s from the water as it exits from the ground. The amount of BTU’s gains usually is dependent upon the actual temperature of the water coming out of the ground. If the water temperature was 50 deg. F. at the head of the well in question as it came out then it would be safe to say that we could remove the amount of energy to reduce the temperature of the water to approximately 40 deg F. before returning into the ground for either use of reheating from the earth’s heat. A special low temperature heat pump is installed in the line to extract the heat from the water. The latent heat stored in this water is usually the BTU retrieval of the amount stored between the ground water temperature and 32 Deg. It would, however, be a significant amount of heat gain.
Mini-Hydro Generation
Mini-hydro generation pertains to the generation of DC electricity utilizing a small generator which is powered by a small stream or released from a water storage source such as a pond. Generally speaking, the amount of current generated is relatively small, however, over a period of time, the actual results of this type of generation can be quite substantial. In most cases, the energy supplied by a Mini-Hydro generator is stored in a battery bank and used during operating periods or at a later time to power DC devices. In some cases, given that a sufficient amount of electricity is being produced, an inverter may be installed in conjunction with the system and that energy generated could be sold back to the utilities grid.