Posts Tagged ‘energy efficiency’
Whether or not you agree with the urgency of a solution for recycling electronics, our e-waste, statistics show that Americans are producing over 250 million tons of trash each year. That’s a lot of waste filling up landfills across the world. Find out what the challenges are to getting more people involved in recycling their unused and outdated electronics.
With Americans producing over 250 million tons of trash each year, it is easy to focus on recycling everyday items such as cans and bottles. But what about recycling electronics? Face it, we love our gadgets. And with lightening-speed advances in technology we can easily replace our brand new phone, computer, laptop, or iPod before the packaging has even started to decompose. With this additional burden of a different kind of waste to our national and international landfills, it’s no wonder that the government and large corporations are working to devise an effective way to get rid of of our old toys.
The first challenge of implementing an effective program for recycling electronics is to change consumer behavior. Buyers may see a cardboard bin for their old phone placed in locations where they purchase a new phone. However, many of those old phones remain in drawers at home. The inconvenience of remembering to bring the phone, or the prospect of going home and returning with the device, deters many would-be recyclers from participating.
One solution may be incentives, such as dollars saved, when bringing their old electronic devices. The office supply store, Staples, recently offered such a program for paper shredders. Customers who purchased a new shredder received a discount when they recycled their older shredder. Since more people are using paper shredders at home to protect mis-use of their personal information, many homeowners may go through several machines before they find one that will handle their personal paper loads.
Another challenge is with educating the public on how and where to go for recycling electronics. Many communities offer special events throughout the year so people can bring their electronics for recycling to a local location. This requires that the community participants put that date on their calendar and then find the time to bring the item to the location. The success of the event relies on the personal desires and motivations of the community to participate in recycling electronics. In some cases it may still be too much of an inconvenience for our hectic lifestyles. A system more conducive to a successful program may be to allow consumers to place old electronics curb-side for trash pickup along with their everyday trash items. In a system such as this, even the seven percent of Americans who state that they are not concerned with e-waste may even participate, keeping our landfills a little less filled.
As with most issues that affect the larger community as a whole, voluntary and incentivized programs for recycling electronics may soon be joined by legislation from the U.S. government to compel compliance. Whether or not an E-waste bill will come into law, environmental groups and electronic manufacturers such as Dell and Apple support the idea of recycling old electronics. And since the majority of consumers polled say that recycling electronics is just not convenient, perhaps more effective ways to accomplish this goal within the communities will push us to solve this trash problem on our own.
So you’ve decided to install radiant barrier in your home, yes? Good move. I installed EcoFoil in my home this summer and can’t wait to see (and feel!) the difference in my heating bill this winter.
The experts at EcoFoil knew folks like us needed some tips before we got started with our projects. Here’s another of their great videos, this one reviewing the steps involved just prior to installation:
- how to measure
- tools needed
- safety precautions
Energy efficiency is a hot topic, and there are a ton of resources available to help you improve things around your home. One economical product I’ve found is radiant barrier which is installed in attics and used in conjunction with mass insulation products to greatly minimize the transfer of radiant heat. I called several companies to learn more, but this video from the folks at EcoFoil was really handy at getting the big picture about radiant barrier. Take a look below.
EcoFoil Radiant Barrier
It’s that time of year again, when the sun’s heat comes beating down and my air conditioner works 24/7. I’m researching options to help make my HVAC run more efficiently. One product I’m interested in is called radiant barrier, a type of attic insulation. Here’s a little video that explains some about how all that heat gets into your house to start with:
Feels like we have done a dive bomb straight from winter into summer this year. Spring? What spring? We skipped right over that season and have gone from using our furnaces to turning on the air conditioning in just a couple short weeks. Too warm in the evening to open windows and the days have been pushing 90 degrees already.
Here in Iowa we were spoiled last year, we had an extremely seasonal summer, several evenings we were in jackets or under blankets watching the kids play ball. Windows remained open and our energy bills reflected the lack of using our air conditioning. This year is going to be quite the opposite. We’ve not completed May and we’re running the air-conditioning non-stop. I cringe to see this month’s electric bill.
It might be easier to swallow if the second story in my two-story home were actually cool. The difference in temperatures from the first level to the second is quite disappointing. This being said I have begun the pursuit of a remedy without closing the downstairs vents and turning the temperature even colder. When I “Googled” my situation, I began reading about insulation in my attic (which I had blown in when it was built and there is more than the “recommended” amount). What I have found is a lot of information about radiant barrier insulation and attic foil. This is the process by which energy (heat) is reflected rather than absorbed by insulation. I’m still learning about emissivity and wavelengths. Seems as though NASA has been using this technology since 1954 and it is just now that it is becoming available to civilians.
I am still in the process of measuring my square footage, investigating the scientific concepts behind the process, and deciding upon the correct product. The enticing factor is a cooler second story without the pain of the out of control electric bill both in the summer with reflecting the summer’s heat in the attic and the increased warmth in the winter when it would be another barrier from allowing my heat to permeate through the attic keeping my second story warmer. As I continue to ponder the decision between the initial investment of the barrier and the double seasonal use of winter and summer worth versus continually increasing energy bills my decision is beginning to weigh in the direction of installing the barrier. I know we can install it ourselves in a weekend and hopefully, according to the testimonials I have read, enjoy the lower electric bills and increased comfort in our home.