I am pleased to say that I am now able to resume posting on this site, and I shall be switching off the RSS syndications.  Additionally, posting by third parties will now be closed unless they have a good track-record of writing interesting, topical posts.

I shall be clearing out a lot of posts – especially syndicated ones, so you’ll be seeing a lot of changes here.

Alternative Energy One of my most recent [Read more...]]]> Due to other commitments, I found it difficult to maintain momentum with this site, and had to put it on the back-burner for a while.  During that time, I took the lazy route and set up a few syndications of RSS feeds from other sites, just to keep the site updated and fresh.  This was far from satisfactory as the site would show just article snippets and then link back to the source sites, taking visitors away from this site.

I am pleased to say that I am now able to resume posting on this site, and I shall be switching off the RSS syndications.  Additionally, posting by third parties will now be closed unless they have a good track-record of writing interesting, topical posts.

I shall be clearing out a lot of posts – especially syndicated ones, so you’ll be seeing a lot of changes here.

Alternative Energy
One of my most recent interests has been that of alternative energy. There is a huge market in this field growing around us, with thousands of companies willing to take your hard-earned cash for alternative energy systems. As a scientist with the necessary skills to tackle various constructional projects, I am quite averse to paying for something that I can design and build myself. My first project is going to be a solar water heater, which I estimate that I can make for a few hundred pounds (certainly well under 1,000). The cheapest equivalent system that I have seen for sale commercially starts at around £7,500.

I’ll be logging and blogging my progress as I construct the water heater, so stay tuned if you are interested in building your own, too. After all, why pay thousands for a money-saving system that takes years to pay for itself? That’s not saving money!

It is becoming a popular craze these days to generate your own energy to cut your power bills.

Solar, wind, and other sources can supplement your energy supply in whole or in part.  But, wouldn’t it be great if you were able to do something that would allow you to get the same amount of benefit for a fraction of the cost or time required to install these other energy sources?

Of course you would!  For example, it may cost you $10,000 for a certain amount of solar equipment to give you a certain amount of benefit.  But what if you were able to get the same benefit for $1000?

How?  This is the question that many people are asking because everyone is programmed to believe that turning down the thermostat so that you [Read more...]]]> by Peter Lindemann

It is becoming a popular craze these days to generate your own energy to cut your power bills.

Solar, wind, and other sources can supplement your energy supply in whole or in part.  But, wouldn’t it be great if you were able to do something that would allow you to get the same amount of benefit for a fraction of the cost or time required to install these other energy sources?

Of course you would!  For example, it may cost you $10,000 for a certain amount of solar equipment to give you a certain amount of benefit.  But what if you were able to get the same benefit for $1000?

How?  This is the question that many people are asking because everyone is programmed to believe that turning down the thermostat so that you freeze in your own home and throwing a thin little bit of insulation around your water heater are the smart things to do!

Most people are also becoming programmed to believe that making your own electricity at home is also the answer.  But I’m not interested in anything that takes a lot of time, money or effort.

If you want to know what the power companies, the green builders, and other so-called green thinkers aren’t telling you wouldn’t that be worth a few minutes of your time to find out?

Check out Save On Home Energy.

Join the growing number of people who are Saving on Home Energy costs right now.

Peter Lindemann has been educating thousands of people over the years in various renewable energy technologies and sciences.  He also has the #1 searched website on Free Energy in the world.

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 [Read more...]]]> 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.

Personally, I didn’t know it was Energy Saving Day until I read about it on the BBC News website at lunchtime – half-way into the day. I asked my colleagues if they knew if it was Energy Saving Day, and they didn’t know either.

We weren’t alone in our ignorance – comments on the BBC’s website indicated that other people didn’t know about it either.

Looks like the publicity department of the organisation that thought up this idea took the concept to heart and consumed no energy whatsoever in telling people about it.

More: continued here

Artex.  I hate it.  It’s definitely not Arty, but it is Textured.

The previous owners of my house applied Artex to most of the ceilings. They probably did it to cover the fact that some of the ceilings were cracked or sagging.

Somehow it doesn’t work in a Victorian house that I am trying to restore back to its former glory.

Here are the methods that I have tried to return the ceilings back to their original form.

Remove the Artex with a sander

One word of advice: Don’t!

Your house will be filled with dust and you’ll get through loads of face masks.

It also takes forever - that stuff is tough!  You’ll soon get tired arms doing this job.

Remove the Artex with a steamer Amazingly, those steam strippers used for removing wallpaper will also remove Artex. The steam softens the Artex and you can scrape it off. It’s still a lot of effort though. Beware – hot, melted Artex sticks to the skin and it’s hot. Wear thick gloves and other protection if you use this method.

Cover the Artex with a skim-coat The makers of Artex sell a product, Smooth-It, which is designed for covering up textured surfaces. It galls me that Artex are making money twice – once for the Artex and once for the Smooth-It. You can buy this [Read more...]]]> There are four ways that I know of to smooth over textured ceilings and I’ve tried them all.  If you want to do the same, take my advice…

Artex.  I hate it.  It’s definitely not Arty, but it is Textured.

The previous owners of my house applied Artex to most of the ceilings.
They probably did it to cover the fact that some of the ceilings
were cracked or sagging.

Somehow it doesn’t work in a Victorian house that I am trying to restore back to its former glory.

Here are the methods that I have tried to return the ceilings back to their original form.

Remove the Artex with a sander

One word of advice: Don’t!

Your house will be filled with dust and you’ll get through loads of face masks.

It also takes forever - that stuff is tough!  You’ll soon get tired arms doing this job.

Remove the Artex with a steamer
Amazingly, those steam strippers used for removing wallpaper will also remove Artex. The steam softens the Artex and you can scrape it off. It’s still a lot of effort though.
Beware – hot, melted Artex sticks to the skin and it’s hot. Wear thick gloves and other protection if you use this method.

Cover the Artex with a skim-coat
The makers of Artex sell a product, Smooth-It, which is designed for covering up textured surfaces. It galls me that Artex are making money twice – once for the Artex and once for the Smooth-It.
You can buy this ready mixed in large tubs, or as sacks of dry powder. Buy the powder – it’s considerably cheaper and you can mix it to the consistency that suits you.
I would only recommend this if you are reasonably handy at plastering.
If the texture is very deep, knock off the largest protruding pieces first otherwise you’ll be applying a lot of skim coat – probably requiring as many as 3 applications. Your arms are going to get sore!

Start again
Remove the ceiling entirely and put up a new one. Again, this is only practical if you are good at plastering. However, if your ceiling has cornices (or coving), it might be the only solution. Using a skim-coat to cover the Artex means that the cornice will “sink” into the ceiling by the depth of the coat.
If you have a period house as I do, you might be reluctant to do this. My ceilings are made from lath and plaster rather than the modern plasterboard. I want to retain as much of the original house as possible during the renovation.

In the home, saving energy means saving money, and one of the quickest and easiest ways to save is in lighting.

Most homes use incandescent bulbs for their lighting.  These are the standard bulb with a coiled filament that glows when you apply electricity to it.

But did you know that these have an energy efficiency of only about 2%?  That means for all the energy you feed into it, only one fiftieth of that energy is converted to light energy.  The rest is mainly heat.  That’s why light bulbs get so hot.

The new Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) on the other hand have an energy efficiency of between 7% and 10%.  That still doesn’t sound very good, but what it does mean is that to get the same amount of light out of it, you only need to supply it with between one quarter [Read more...]]]> Everyone is talking about saving energy, and quite rightly too.

In the home, saving energy means saving money, and one of the quickest and easiest ways to save is in lighting.

Most homes use incandescent bulbs for their lighting.  These are the standard bulb with a coiled filament that glows when you apply electricity to it.

But did you know that these have an energy efficiency of only about 2%?  That means for all the energy you feed into it, only one fiftieth of that energy is converted to light energy.  The rest is mainly heat.  That’s why light bulbs get so hot.

The new Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) on the other hand have an energy efficiency of between 7% and 10%.  That still doesn’t sound very good, but what it does mean is that to get the same amount of light out of it, you only need to supply it with between one quarter and one fifth of the energy.

Now that we’ve established that they use a lot less energy, what about the cost?

The prices of CFLs has come down rapidly in the last year or so, and they are now about 3 times the price of conventional incandescent bulbs.  Furthermore, they last about 10 times longer, so you don’t need to replace them quite as often.  So in real terms, they actually cost about one third of the price of conventional bulbs.

Consider that in the winter, you might leave a light on from 4pm to 11pm (7 hours).  Let’s say that it costs 1 penny (UK) to run a 100 Watt incandescent bulb for 1 hour.

In 1 month, it will have cost about £2.97 to run that light bulb.  For the four months November to February, that would come to £11.88.

A CFL of the same light output uses just 22 Watts.  Over the same period, that would cost £2.62, a saving of £9.26.  That’s enough to buy 3 CFLs.

Now that’s for just one lightbulb.  How many more do you use in your house?  You could easily save up to £100 a year by switching.

Don’t wait until your incandescent bulbs have blown before replacing them with CFLs - it’s cheaper to throw away your incandescent bulbs now!

In the UK, incandescent bulbs will be withdrawn from sale in 2012.  You don’t need to wait until then to switch over.  Do it now and save some money.

Some of these were moulded in-place by master craftsmen, using plaster of Paris. Others are moulded in lengths and attached to the walls afterwards.

In modern houses, this is also known as coving and is generally a simple, concave moulding made from plasterboard – moulded gypsum covered in paper.

If you want to install your own coving or cornice, beware! Plasterboard coving is very heavy. It will require at least two people to install it and once fitted, you will need a series of props to hold it in place. Alternatively, battens temporarily nailed or screwed to the wall and ceiling can be used. The holes can be filled later.

Considerably easier alternatives are polystyrene foam and polyurethane mouldings. These are very lightweight and much easier to handle.

The polystyrene ones are available moulded [Read more...]]]> A common feature in many older houses is a decorative cornice.  That’s the moulded decorative border that is fitted at the corner where the walls meet the ceiling.

Some of these were moulded in-place by master craftsmen, using plaster of Paris. Others are moulded in lengths and attached to the walls afterwards.

In modern houses, this is also known as coving and is generally a
simple, concave moulding made from plasterboard – moulded gypsum covered in paper.

If you want to install your own coving or cornice, beware! Plasterboard coving is very heavy. It will require at least two people to install it and once fitted, you will need a series of props to hold it in place. Alternatively, battens temporarily nailed or screwed to the wall and ceiling can be used. The holes can be filled later.

Considerably easier alternatives are polystyrene foam and polyurethane mouldings. These are very lightweight and much easier to handle.

The polystyrene ones are available moulded into several decorative patterns, which is ideal for period houses. They can be fitted by one person, using a specially designed adhesive which is strong enough to hold the pieces in place while it sets.
Gaps between the cornice and wall or ceiling can be filled with ordinary filler, as can any gaps between the sections.
Once all the gaps are filled, they can be painted using normal emulsion paint. I found that it needed two or three coats, but once done, it was impossible to tell that they were made of polystyrene.

The polyurethane ones tend to be smooth mouldings similar to the plasterboard ones as they are covered in paper to make it easier to paint using standard emulsion paint.
They are slightly heavier than the polystyrene ones, but come in longer lengths, meaning fewer joins.
Again, these can be attached using an adhesive. Being slightly heavier, they might need a little extra support – a few small masonry nails hammered into the wall under the bottom edge, and a few more into the ceiling will do the trick. Once the adhesive is dry, remove the nails and fill the holes with a standard filler.
Being covered in paper, paint adheres well to these mouldings, although you might need two or three coats.

If your rooms don’t already have cornices or coving, you’ll be amazed at what a difference it makes to the appearance – especially if you have high ceilings and use patterned mouldings.