Nov 16 2007
New furnace technology reduces homeowners’ carbon footprint
(NC)-Canadian homeowners are doing more to lessen their impact on the environment. With new technologies and innovations becoming available, the opportunities are endless - even extending to home furnaces.
“It’s important to evaluate how much or how little your home heating system is contributing to your environmental impact,” says Mark Deneau, marketing representative of ECR International, an Ontario-based manufacturer of high-efficiency heating and air conditioning products. “New heating technology is allowing us all to make positive choices for the environment.”
Innovations such as two-stage design, higher-efficiency operation and variable speed blower motors give a homeowner the opportunity to reduce their furnace’s fuel and energy consumption, and lessen its carbon emissions.
. For much of the year a conventional single-stage furnace runs at a high stage only - no matter what the heating needs - and consumes the greatest amount of fuel. The new two-stage design allows a furnace to run on two levels: the high-stage level on bitterly cold days (only 20 per cent of the year), and the low-stage level for the rest of the time, consuming less fuel and reducing carbon emissions.
. A furnace’s efficiency is measured by its Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating. The higher a furnace’s AFUE, the less fuel it uses, resulting in lower bills and fewer environmentally-harmful emissions. Many furnaces that are 25 years old or more have an efficiency rating of only 55 to 65 per cent. By replacing a 55 per cent AFUE furnace with a 95 per cent AFUE model like ECR’s Olsen UltraComfort G95V (www.olsenhvac.com), homeowners could realize significant savings over the life of the furnace.
. A furnace that uses a variable speed blower motor has lower electrical costs than conventional models. A variable speed motor consumes, on average, only 240 watts of electricity on low-stage heat whereas a conventional motor can consume 600 watts.
“All Canadians have to heat their homes, but they can do it in a way that reduces their fuel consumption, carbon emissions and energy use while allowing them to enjoy lower heating bills.”
Credit: www.newscanada.com
Campaign Urges Restaurants to Take Marlin Off the Menu
(ARA) - The next time you’re in a restaurant and see marlin on the menu, “just say no.” That’s the message of a new, nationwide campaign called “Take Marlin Off the Menu,” which is urging consumers to stop eating marlin, and restaurants to take marlin and other [...]
By Pegah Aarabi
(NC)—The holiday party season doesn’t have to be strenuous for you or the environment. Add a “green” theme to your party to liven things up and do your part. Here are six ways to turn your next holiday event into a “greeny” good time.
1. Serve organic drinks and foods. Offer organic fruits, vegetables, [...]
How A Forest Products Company is Making a Real Environmental Impact
(ARA) – With the growing popularity of green building practices, more companies are incorporating environmental and sustainability policies. These are all positive steps toward reducing the impact of global warming and caring for our earth. But what do you really know about a product you [...]
To help take money out of the gas tank this fall and put it back into the classroom, school districts across the country are switching to propane-fueled buses as a means of coping with swelling diesel costs. And the lesson that families and schools are learning is more than simple economics. While it’s cheaper than [...]
The green building and remodeling movement puts great emphasis on natural lighting, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency. Moving air through our homes and distributing light can be, and usually is, accomplished by a combination of mechanical and passive means, with a fan and an open window for example. But, in today’s technical world, what’s [...]