In a training session for my home sustainability work one of my classmates brought up how people used to be resistant to putting solar panels on their roofs because they thought it spoiled the look of their houses.
But now, having something solar on the roof is a status symbol. He called it “roof-bling”.
We recently “blinged” our roof, and just yesterday we got our new front-load energy- and water-efficient clothes washer. Our other big and very “public-statement” economizer is our Prius (bought used a year ago).
So, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Show us your “bling”.
ADDING: Since I am a certified Home Sustainability Assessor, if you have any questions about making your home more energy and/or water efficient (or about how to decrease your “carbon footprint”), feel free to ask me. I got loads of tips, and all that technical stuff as well.
We got a Apricus 30-tube evacuated tube solar collector with a 250 liter hot water cylinder.
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It’s been up about two weeks.
See your 30 Apricus evacuated tubes, and raise you 10:
We installed 40 Hills Endless Solar tubes driving a 315 litre tank with instant gas boosting about two years back. I went for the 40-tube 315 litres rather than 30-tube 250 litre size on the grounds that I have two sub-teen daughters. I figure there will be lots of veryyyyyyy long showers and big baths during the teen years…
This was a Rolls Royce system – the economics are a little dubious as it will only pay for itself over 14 or 15 years plus. But we feel better every time we step into the shower…
Yay, and good for you.
The we opted for the thirty tube system, which is actually more than the two of us need, because I intend to uses the excess heat generated as hydronic heat for the house.
I ran the pipes to the collectors through the wall in the living room with the idea that I can tap into them and attach a radiator.
The radiator idea sounds interesting. I guess it may be a bit of an experiment – or have you been able to find data on the rate at which heat is transferred?
Bosch washer
2005 Prius
Not to mention your solar clothes dryer in the background. 🙂
That’s a fine Australian invention called the Hills Hoist. No respectable Ozzie household would be without one.
I remember that from my three week stay there. Fun stuff! That and the cockatoos flying everywhere, as common as robins here in America. Oh – and the sound of a kookaburra – strange laugh indeed!
We have a pair of kookaburras that heckle us daily. It may just be coincidence, but it seems like they laugh whenever you do something really stupid.
Like having your own personal peanut gallery. Who needs that?
IMHO, everyone needs that! 😀
The front-load high-efficiency washer is high on my priority list. Hopefully this fall.
We’re on tank water so we’ve been talking about upgrading to a front loader ever since we moved in. But, as with most things, we didn’t get around to it until the old top-loader started acting up. It died completely about three days before the new one arrived. We’re fortunate it gave us a warning period because we had to get the new one shipped from the mainland.
The selling point for this particular model was the 1200rmp spin speed. Since we dry our clothes outside, anything that gets them drier sooner cuts back on the chance they’ll get rained on (our weather really is that variable). During extended rainy periods we dry our clothes on a rack by the woodstove, which will also benefit from the clothes being drier to start with.
Also, it’s amazing how much you can stuff into a front loader. Ours has a 6.5kg/14lbs capacity. For the first load I actually weighed the clothes (I know, I’m a big nerd), which is why I kept stuffing them in when I otherwise would have thought I was overfilling it.
Here’s another solar clothes dryer: our extendaline drying family towels earlier today.
It was a glorious Spring day in Canberra today – 14.4 degrees Celsius (58 degrees Fahrenheit) – which doesn’t sound much, but it was fantastic standing in the sun watching the last soccer game of the season.
We’re also having fine weather. With a whopping 16C forecast for today.
Hector, fueled entirely by home-grown grass and greens, and sunlight.
he probably doubles as an optional winter bed warmer??
Alas, Hector loss bed privileges when he took to peeing on it. Besides, he’s awake most of the night – which is why he has his own room.
Wish I had the money to buy the eco-bling to help me save more money (and the environment). Right now?
All I have are fluorescent bulbs – which I will replace with LEDs when they burn out because it turns out that fluorescents aren’t all that eco friendly either.
The important thing is that you are doing what you can and keeping up with new developments. Yep, the mercury in the base of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s) is problematic. Make sure you dispose of them properly.
I’m looking forward to getting some LED lighting as well. The prices are definitely coming down. There was a new process announced earlier this year that replaced synthetic sapphire wafers with silicon ones, which is expected to bring down the cost dramatically.
I wonder how hard those solar panels are to install yourself…
The flat hot water panels are heavy, and you’d need several friends to hep you get one on the roof. Also, you’d have to have a good understanding of your houses structure in order to make sure that you attached it where it can handle the load.
That’s one of the reasons I like the evacuated tubes. It only took tow of use to get the frame and header onto the roof. Then I was able to hand up the tubes one at a time. The final connections probably do need to be done by a plumber.