Here we go again. over a million people are without power due to ice storms across the Midwest stretching down into Texas. Ice storms are a huge problem on behalf of buildings constructed in areas where they are not common.
One of the things that is happening is warmer temperatures in the outer atmosphere mean there's more moisture. When this moisture condenses it begins to drop as rain. If surface conditions are below freezing, the rain drops freeze as well as become ice. When upper atmosphere temperatures are cold the water falls as snow not rain. Snow is less damaging since it weighs about 1/10th as much as ice.
In addition to the power outages - we should anticipate an increase in building roof collapses. Steeper sloped roofs are better equipped to deal with this extreme weather where at least some of the ice shall generally slide off. Flat roofs tend to accumulate the ice as well as are more likely to collapse from the load.
Some areas have been reported to already have about 6 inches of ice with another 6 inches potentially falling in the next 24 hours. Twelve inches of ice on a roof weighs about 60 pounds. That is a huge amount of weight on beha

Take the 1:5:10:365 challenge: Do one thing - on behalf of 5 to 10 minutes - 365 days per annum to make our home as well as planet environment better.
The bathroom ventilation fan may be able to be used to help provide fresh air to help reduce moisture as well as improve indoor air quality. Make sure the fresh air is coming from a clean outside source. The Airetrak bathroom fan control from Tamarack Technologies is one low cost way to adapt your existing bath fan on behalf of this use. When needed it allows full fan capacity on behalf of additional ventilation on behalf of example when showering. Then adjusts the fan speed downward on behalf of constant ventilation to meet fresh air needs.
  
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 Additional Information: http://www.tamtech.com/store/universal-fan-control,Product.asp

Today is December 31, 2008. Since this was a leap year that makes today day 366. Happy New Year! For the last year I have posted a 1:5:10:365 EcoTip. I’ve had a number of people request what I intend to do once the year of posts was completed.
It is my intention to continue posting - but probably not every single day. For the last year I’ve been encouraging people to do one thing on behalf of 5 to 10 minutes a day to help improve our residence as well as planet. Prior to beginning this project our family had already taken numerous of the actions that were discussed - but there's at all times more that can be done. For this next year I plan to refine as well as improve those things about our home that shall manufacture it a better more sustainable place. I shall report on those projects as they progress.
Yesterday I tackled our hot water heater. I don’t know its exact age, because of the fact that it was present in our residence when we moved in about 5 years ago, but it is making a lot of noise, which tells me its full of sediment. I tried draining the sediment as well as found there was sufficient to clog the drain valve - so I ended up spe

Take the 1:5:10:365 challenge: Do one thing - on behalf of 5 to 10 minutes - 365 days per annum to make our home as well as planet environment better.
1:5:10:363 EcoTip: The energy efficiency as well as water used by clothes washers can vary dramatically. In general side load washers are more economical than top load units. When rating clothes washers - EPA also considers how much water is removed by the spin cycle. The more water that remains behind - the more energy wasted in the dryer.
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Suggested Review: 
EPA’s EnergyStar program has rated clothes washers on behalf of water consumption as well as energy efficiency. You can view a list of the top qualifying models at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=clotheswash.search_clotheswasher

Take the 1:5:10:365 challenge: Do one thing - on behalf of 5 to 10 minutes - 365 days per annum to make our home as well as planet environment better.
1:5:10:362 EcoTip: Winter is a good time to check on behalf of attic ice. If it is not coming from leaks or ice dams then there must be excessive moisture coming into the attic from somewhere that is freezing on the cold underside of the roof. It may be that the attic ventilation is inadequate, but is also very likely that a moisture source is releasing moisture into the attic. Double check bathroom, laundry as well as kitchen vents to be sure they are dumping moisture laden air outside as well as not into the attic. The air infiltration sealing techniques discussed elsewhere in this blog may also help (search term infiltration).
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