Monthly Archive: January 2018

T Bone or T Boone Pickens Energy Plan?

Author: foolspace January 30, 2018 0 Comments

A lot of people are confused by the name. Is it T Bone Pickens or T Boone Pickens? Well of course his name is not as important as his plan. But just to clear up the confusion, it is T Boone Pickens! You can call him what ever you like, as long as you take the time to look at The Pickens Plan!

The Problems and The Pickens Plan

Everyone knows that America is in a tough time, in more ways than one. There are major threats to our economy, national security, and environment. And at the center of these major issues there runs a common thread: Foreign Oil. Since 1970 America’s oil imports have risen from 24% to nearly 70%. Of all of the oil in the world, America uses about 25%. Yet it only has 3% of the oil reserves and only 4% of the world’s population.

Billions of dollars are being put into foreign economies each and every month to satisfy our oil needs. This is money that could be spent right here in our own country, creating jobs, cleaner power, and a better environment for future generations.

The Pickens Plan is on track to within 10 years produce 22% of our electricity needs from wind power. That is in addition the the power we already have and will have from solar power. Build a 21st century backbone electrical grid. We must have a plan to get the power to all of the people. Conserve the amount of energy that we are using. Provide incentives to people for using energy saving measures. Replace the imported oil transportation fuel with natural gas.

The Man: T Boone (T Bone) Pickens

I have read some stupid comments about Pickens being in this for the money. Yea right. He is worth over 3 billion dollars. He has donated millions and millions to charity. And continues to do so. He is 80 years old. Just what could he do with the money? He can’t even spend the money that he has now! He is doing this for our children and future generations. It can no longer be a question of when, but rather why isn’t it done yet. Who is going to do it if it isn’t us? There is no one else. It will be too late if we leave it for the next generation!

And so what if he does make some money. Will he be the first man who came up with an idea and made a profit? If not, he is joining a very long list of evil men and women who changed the world for the better and made some money!

Other Arguments on The Pickens Plan

Just when you thought you had heard it all. The birds. Yes I am sure that birds are being killed. But I have 2 or 3 birds every year die at my house because they tried to fly into one of my windows. So I think that windows should be outlawed. People die in auto accidents everyday because they are even more stupid than birds. They are texting, talking on cell phones, reading newspapers, shaving, and eating. I think that cars should be outlawed. No. Maybe we should sue the auto manufacturers because they don’t have warnings on the dash that warn you that driving takes a lot of attention.

Ice flying off of the blades. Come on now. If that is a problem, I am sure that it can be solved. But I have seen lethal sized icicles fall from my house. I am not sure that there is a lot that can be done about that. Well maybe promote global warming so there will be no more ice?

Wind farms are ugly. Well that is certainly a matter of opinion. Personally I love them. Man is at his best and inventing again! Imagine what the first people to see a car thought.

They take up a lot of space. The nice thing about them is that you can still farm the land under them. Of course the bad thing is that the farmers have to dodge the flying ice and dead birds!

Appliances

Energy Efficient Lights

Author: foolspace January 30, 2018 0 Comments

Energy efficient lights have many advantages over the old fashioned incandescent lights. Your home can pollute the environment more than your car if you are using them! The average American home is responsible for twice as many greenhouse emissions as their car.

Lighting consumes approximately 22% of the electrical power generated in the United States. Energy efficient lights are good for you and good for the environment.

Depending upon the application and type of your energy efficient lights, they could last up to 16 times longer than conventional bulbs. And they use about 75% less electricity. They are safer, cooler, and produce even lighting.

Why if every American replaced 5 heavily used lights in their home with energy efficient lights we could save around 8 billion dollars a year in energy costs! Typically the most used lights are in the family room, living room, kitchen, and the outdoor lights. Yes, replace those porch and post lights with energy efficient lights.

Energy efficient lights have come a long way. They are available in cool white, soft white, daylight, and dimming, just to name a few. A word of caution on fixtures with dimming capabilities. Regular energy efficient lights will not work in them. You would have to buy a special bulb made for that application, and even then there is no guarantee that they will work. Save your receipt and check the store’s return policy before purchasing.

How many energy efficient lights does it take to make a difference?

Appliances

Solar Power Information : Do It Yourself

Author: foolspace January 30, 2018 0 Comments

Looking for solar power information? Solar panels came and died down and are now making a return! Many people are enjoying huge savings in their energy bills because of this renewable energy source.

However, the large companies and power companies would have you believe that this solar power information is of no use to you. They would have you believe that it only applies to big companies and rich people.

And, this very well might have been the case, 15 or more years ago. But man has out done himself again in this do it yourself society and shown that you can make your own solar power and save yourself up to 80% in energy bills. And there is information that shows that it can be done for less than $200.00 in most cases.

Solar Power Information : Required Supplies

A cheap solar panel (which you can find online on eBay)
A battery and battery holder
A DC input and/or an AC inverter

That’s basically it! The problem is not really the parts, but the information on how to put it all together and how to connect numerous solar panels together. For most homes, more than one panel is required to provide solar power. Each cell produces a small amount of electricity but put together they can generate enough electricity for household needs.

There is a best selling plan that gives you all of the information needed to make your own solar power and even information on how to find the needed supplies cheap. You should be able to build a system for less than $200.00

I recommend using this inexpensive guide: Earth4Energy, to get started as you’ll get cheaper parts, get the job done quicker and you’ll also be able to build wind turbines for additional energy sources around the home too. Either way, this guide shows you everything you need to know to be able to generate enough power for your entire home and can have your own solar energy generators installed within a couple of days

Repairs & Maintenance

Reducing My Energy Consumption: I’m From the Government and I am Here to Help You

Author: foolspace January 30, 2018 0 Comments

I live it the first state. Delaware. So I thought that since I was going to reduce my energy consumption, maybe I could get some help from the government. After all I am helping the planet. So we have this great program called Energize Delaware. It is made to reduce energy consumption. So you first have an auditor come to your home and do an energy audit. He makes recommendations, and you get a check from Delaware based on what you do. Sounds easy and I am about to get something for free! NOT!

The very first thing is for me to pick an auditor from the “approved” list. They range in price from free to $450. So I started making phone calls. What a bunch of losers I talked with. I finally found one that sounded smart. And they were doing the audit for FREE! OK, this is looking good. Well when the auditor got here it didn’t take me long to figure out that he had an agenda. And it did not include doing me any favors or getting me into the Energize Delaware program. He wanted to “seal” the leaks in my home at the tune of $4,000. A whole lot of baseless promises on all of this money I would save by reducing my energy consumption. Sorry, I am not buying. I am thinking that I may not live long enough to see that $4,000 save me that much in reduced energy consumption!

And if I was to get a check from the program I had to use an “approved” contractor to install my system. The problem was that the “approved” contractors were twice as much as the one that I used. So a $10,000 system would have been $20,000 and I would have received a check for $4,000 from the program. Ummmmm, not sure if I want to participate. So here I am back at square one and with no help from the government. (I will actually get some tax credits on next years taxes)

Repairs & Maintenance

The importance to have an annual boiler service

Author: foolspace January 28, 2018 0 Comments

It is very important to keep the boiler in a good condition to stay away from any failure or incident. The most efficient solution to get this done is by servicing the boiler on a regular basis. Experts and manufacturers suggest to service at your home at least once in a year. Annual service would certainly improve the overall performance of the boiler. The life expectancy of the boiler seemingly increases when they are maintained properly. Servicing a boiler once a year seems to be costly, but over time, it will save you from more expensive repair costs.

The common practice is to service a boiler annually. Nevertheless you will find exceptions to this guide and they are listed below:

It is important to service the boilers when relocating into a new home which previously has a boiler installed. It is because you are unsure the boiler previous serviced.
The other situation in which you will need to service the boiler is after you have taken a long vacation and the boiler is left unused through this period. You need to service an inactive boiler prior to starting using it.
As stated before, it is not only after you travel for a vacation, it is advisable to service the boilers once you have not used it a long time. It is because there are possibilities that the pipes could be clogged or there would be some damaged parts that can be identified and repaired by an expert.

The right Time for servicing

The right time to perform a boiler service is between august to October. That is because these are the calendar months before which winter start and you would not have utilized the boiler throughout the summer season. One more reason why this is the ideal time is simply because that this can be the off season , the technicians will not be in demand as much and they will give good attention to the boiler service and maintenance . By doing this, it can save you on the cost of maintenance of the boiler . Also, your boiler will be in excellent condition throughout the long winters; this is the time when you would want it the most.

Selecting the best service Provider

I usually choose the boiler service near me to maintain boiler to prevent any upcoming issues. The boiler service that I choose must be good and qualified under the following requirements: good working experience, track record and certified. You can find specialists out there, so you must ensure that you are hiring the best one to maintain your boiler. The most important thing that you should consider a boiler service is their license. The company must be licensed by the gas safety authorities. Unlicensed companies will attract you by providing big discounts but it is advisable to keep away from them. You will also get the help from families and friends or even from the boiler manufacturers to find the best boiler service near you.

Repairs & Maintenance