Home & Garden » Home Improvement

Step by Step Instructions for Organizing your Garage

Phil Rogers — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:06:19 +0000

Organizing a garage efficiently can be a difficult task when not handled well. Maintaining that organization on a daily basis, however, can be even more challenging.. There are a few sure fire steps to take when it comes to getting your garage cleaned

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How to Get your Backyard Ready for Summer Fun

Phil Rogers — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:06:31 +0000

Summer is just around the corner, and if you want to be ready to host your friends and family with that perfect barbecue, you should get started soon! There are many ways to get your backyard ready, and when it comes to prioritizing them, your persona

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Top Garage Organizational Products

Phil Rogers — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:06:44 +0000

No two garages are exactly the same, but most garage owners tend to face similar problems when it comes to storing items in the garage, and keeping the space clean and well-organized. Whether your garage is large or small, it is likely that you will fi

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How To Clean Your Stove Top

Phil Rogers — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:06:59 +0000

Throw away all those stove top cleaners. Stop wasting your money on products that do not work. I’ll tell you how to get your smooth top stove clean again.

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Barbeques Must be Planned and Carefully Prepared for the Ultimate BBQ Experience

Phil Rogers — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:06:44 +0000

Ready, set, barbeque! No, no, no! You can’t just start barbequeing. You have to plan it carefully.

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Clean Up that Messy Yard with these Outdoor Organizers

Phil Rogers — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:06:54 +0000

Getting the inside of your home organized is one thing, but making the great outdoors a tidy place is an entirely different situation.Keeping your patio furniture safe provides a wholly different set of challenges. While most furniture is durable, yea

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10 Benefits Of Kitchen Granite Countertops – Colors And Cost A Remodeling Boon

Phil Rogers — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:09:03 +0000

Kitchen granite countertops in tiles or slabs provide a unique and long-term home remodeling solution. This remains one of the toughest, most sophisticated natural stone choices on the market. Best of all, no two slabs are alike – you will …

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10 Home Decorating Ideas To Quickly Update Any Room

Phil Rogers — Tue, 27 May 2008 00:05:22 +0000

Not all home decorating ideas require a heavy investment of time and money. If you’re looking for a few affordable home interior decorating ideas to freshen up a room over a weekend, try these ten:1. Rearrange The Furniture- Pull your f…

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10 Easy Tips To Refresh Your Space For Spring And Summer 2006

Phil Rogers — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:05:43 +0000

It’s the time of the season, friends!1.Time to paint those bland winter walls! Neutral tones are just fine, but add in some of the cool blues and greens that are making a statement this Spring. Pastels and Ultra Brights are the spring a…

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Recovering wasted energy

Phil Rogers — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:42:06 +0000

You often hear statistics about showers being more efficient than baths. A bath usually uses a lot more water than a shower, so you’re not only using a lot more fresh water, you’re using a lot more energy to heat that extra water.

But consider what happens when you take a shower. The incoming water might be 10 degrees Celsius (50 F). The temperature is then raised to say, 43 degrees Celsius (110 F). The water cascades over your body and then goes down the drain.

It is estimated that about 95% of the energy used to heat the water to a comfortable temperature is simply going down the plughole.

If you have an electric shower unit, you could actually recover some of that energy.
An electric shower connects directly to the cold water supply. A very powerful heating element (typically 8 or 9 kW) then rapidly heats the water to produce an almost instant supply of hot water.
In the winter time, incoming water may be colder than in the summer time, so you need to use more energy to heat the water to the required temperature.

So how can we recover the wasted energy?
The answer is a simple heat exchanger, which transfers the heat from the waste water to the incoming water supply.

Basically what happens is this: the cold water supply runs through a pipe that either coils around the waste pipe, or runs through the inside of the waste pipe.
As the shower starts to flow and hot water goes down the waste pipe, it starts to heat up the cold water inlet pipe. Heat has been transferred from the waste to the cold supply.
The supply water is now several degrees warmer than it was before, so the shower unit needs to use less electricity to heat the water up.

Heat exchangers of this type are commercially available, but it wouldn’t be beyond the capabililties of a competent DIY enthusiast to make one for himself.

You would need to ensure that the cold water supply had a check-valve to stop warmed water going back to the cold supply.

Your shower unit would also need to be thermostatically controlled. A standard shower unit would simply apply the same amount of energy to the warmer water, resulting in scaldingly hot water output. You might end up having to adjust the temperature manually several times during a shower to compensate for the changes in temperature.