Excessive condensation is an issue in bathrooms, particularly those with showers. The Dewstop Fan Switch by GTR Technologies is designed to prevent this problem. Code requires that all new bathrooms have exhaust fans. Often the fan does not get turned on when it is needed. Conversely, it may get left on and forgotten. The old solutions to this problem are motion sensors and timers, but neither of those solutions actually run the fan for the correct amount of time.
The Dewstop switch has a “Condensation Sentry” which detects condensation on nearby surfaces and automatically activates the exhaust fan, airing out the room until it reaches an acceptable humidity level. The fan then automatically shuts off. This means that the fan runs the correct amount of time and doesn’t waste energy by running too long and doesn’t risk moisture problems by not running long enough. That makes this a green solution to the problem.
The fan can be activated manually as well, so it can be run at other times as well. It is also available in a Fan/Light combination.
What’s missing here is a timer or motion sensor for the light switch. This would make it truly hands-free device. That would enhance it as a green device as well. Possibly that’s something that will be coming down the pike.
I attended an Energizing Indiana Seminar on Tuesday in South Bend presented by the Indiana Energy Association. In our area, the partners that we work with are NIPSCO and AEP. (Marshall County REMC has programs as well, but opted out of IURC (Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission) due to what they felt were onerous reporting and oversight requirements and the associated costs.) There are quite a few incentive programs available to businesses and residential customers as well. Unlike some of the tax incentive programs such as EPAct, these programs provide checks directly from the Utility Companies which means municipalities and other tax exempt entities should be able to take advantage of them as well.
Many of these programs encourage renovations that will pay savings dividends on their own. (Green That Saves Green!) The incentives are there to give the extra kick to encourage implementing them now. I am planning on researching this further and I will include details here, but if you’re interested in pursuing this, please contact us and we can look into your specific situation now!
A company in England has come up with a paving tile that harvests the energy from footsteps. Pavgen has developed technology that converts the kinetic energy from foot steps into electricity that can be stored and used for a variety of applications. The tiles are designed to compress 5 millimeters in order to collect the energy.
Pavgen pavers will be installed in the mall at the 2012 London Olympics and are expected to provide enough energy to power half the mall lights. (See CNN story here.)
* Image borrowed from CNN.com
I have been interested to watch the various happenings regarding the wind farm proposed by NextEra in southern Marshall County. My position on the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) Board has given me the opportunity to be aware of this from early on.
I must say that I have been impressed by the way Marshall County officials have approached this. I have not necessarily been pleased with the county position that we should remain an agricultural based county, but using the wind farm model as one way of promoting that is effective. They did their due diligence on the issue before creating the zoning ordinance changes that allowed these farms. Marshall County officials met with county officials from counties with wind farms to review their ordinances and discuss what they thought they did right and what they did wrong. Our new county ordinance section that covers wind farms is an amalgamation and improvement on the ordinances of other counties that preceded it. I think they have done a good job.
Again from my interactions with MCEDC, I know that there are at least three wind farm companies considering sites in Marshall County. For months now I have known the name of one of them. (I just heard the name of one of the others for the first time last week.) I have seen announcements and attended presentations by one of them. I only know one of them that has tried to educate the public. In all cases that is NextEra. I am in no position to vouch for them and what they are doing other than to say that they are the only company that is being open about it. To the best of my knowledge, they are the only one that is an American company too.
I went to the presentation by the Concerned Citizen’s of Southern Marshall County (See their website here) that was held at the Culver Elementary School Gymnasium. While most of the information was interesting, I was disappointed where exaggerations were made. Unfortunately those exaggerations made all of the information suspect. An example of this was the discussion of the heights. The statements made at the gymnasium meeting were as follows: The proposed windmills are to be 450′ tall. That is equal to a 45 story building. That is taller than the skyline of Indianapolis which you can see from over ten miles away. It didn’t take much of an Internet search (here) to find that the tallest building in Indianapolis is the Chase Tower. It is 48 stories tall. It is 810′ tall. I don’t question that 450′ is a damned tall structure that will be seen from miles away, but why exaggerate it.
As many of you probably know, I am a board member on the Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Fund (LMEF). I have been on the Fund board for over ten years and have served on the council for six. Because of my position on the MCEDC board, some felt that I had a conflict of interest in this issue, so I have chosen to recuse myself from LMEF votes on this issue. That has not particularly mattered since the votes passed unanimously sans my vote. I have participated in the discussion and have been disturbed by the turn it has taken. To my knowledge this is the first time that the Environmental Fund or Council has taken a position such as this without doing due diligence back up with independent consultants such as J.F. New & Associates. I was particularly disturbed by the recent email that went out from the fund stating that “we must not knowingly cause harm to any living thing.” Really? We have always promoted being good stewards of Lake Maxinkuckee as a resource, but statements like that cause us to drift dangerously towards the environmental whacko fringe.
I have taken a position through MCEDC that wind energy is a positive economic resource for Marshall County to use. As a member of LMEF, it appears that I am on the other side of this issue. Before the LMEF meeting I drove to White County and trespassed, walking right up to the base of one of the windmills. I was unmoved…
I really have no personal stake in this issue. I don’t find the the windmills visually objectionable, but I completely understand the position of those that do. I have to question some of the other things being dragged in and exaggerated to bolster their point though. I will continue to read the information from both sides with interest.
Credits to xkcd web comics for the wind turbine comic at the top of the page.
We were recently commissioned to renovate an old garage in Culver. There is nothing more “green” than repurposing an existing structure. Plus in this case the existing structure sits on the property line, so to maintain the current access and location, it had to be remodeled rather than be rebuilt. The existing structure had two walls bowed to the point of being nearly off the foundation. The entire structure was out of plumb in at least two directions, one by approximately 5″ in 7′! It was a rather sad structure. In its pre-renovation condition the local squirrels were getting more use out of it than the property owner. New concrete walks, aprons and a new concrete floor were completed in conjunction with our work by another contractor.
This structure was not the best built in Culver when we arrived at the site. It appears that it was not originally built “square”. We tackled it with the intention of making the best of what was available. We started by grouting the block cores full in the foundation wall where the bottom plate had moved. The allowed us to pull the wall back into position and anchor the wall to the foundation in the correct position. We then reconnected the tie rafters to square the top of the wall. We were only able to partially achieve this goal as shelving had been added which held the wall slighly out of plumb.
At the corners we pushed and pulled them back to as close to plumb as possible. Sheets of OSB sheathing were installed on the inside of the walls at the corners to provide diaphragm framing. This diaphragm framing held the studs in place at their corrected locations.
The existing windows had been installed without headers. We reconstuctioned these openings with headers and installed new windows. The existing entry door was replaced with a standard door size. The existing sliding doors were replaced with sectional overhead doors. We also added new electrical wiring, replacing the old knob & tube wiring. Electrical wiring was brought underground from the house connecting to the existing electrical panel. GFI duplexes (inside and outside), interior lights and exterior wall sconces were added.
To finish out the exterior cosmetic changes we installed new siding, new soffit, new fascia and new architectural shingles. The resulting facelift was a phenominal improvement. Our client should take up a collection! I think the whole neighborhood has been improved by this renovation.
The owner is pleased and christened the renewed structure by camping out in it with her children the first night it was complete.