i am looking for somewhere that sell water powered exhaust fans that will fit onto the shower cubicle. i remember seeing a story on one in the soft tech magazine years ago and cant find what issue it was in. also i have got my wife ( just married) interested in installing renewable energy devices ( solar power/heating, ect...)any ideas on reducing our "carbon footprint" are welcome.
water powered exhaust fans
(7 posts) (6 voices)-
Sunshine
MemberSoongi, I found one of the water powered exhaust fans. They are available at http://www.rpc.com.au/catalog/extraction-water-powered-p-629.html
Problem is they require a flow rate of 13l/min, which is higher than modern shower roses which are less than 9l/min. You will be better off installing an electric one as it will save you water and hot water (at least 16 litres of water per 4 minute shower).As far as reducing your "carbon footprint", I would recommend by starting with picking the low hanging fruit (cheap, easy devices), and gradually as your budget allows buy the bigger ticket items.
This is how I went about reducing my "carbon footprint" in my home. I have been that successful with the project, that now my home is carbon negative rather than carbon positive.
1. For under $35, you can purchase an eco-button which almost eliminates power consumption on your PC, whilst leaving it on a hot standby so it is kept at an "at ready" state. This is handy if you like leaving your PC on for hours, but don't like shutting it down and waiting for it to boot up.2. For around $20 each, you can purchase master/slave powerboards which eliminate standby power on your TV/Video, DVD, surround system, Foxtel, STB, games console etc etc.
3. I would look at insulating your house. It did it myself for around $500, but you need to do it in winter, otherwise let the professionals do it, price probably upwards of $1000.
4. Installing solar hot water system. This will cost from upwards of $2000 to $5000 depending on system size/type, and what rebates are available. I went from storage gas to Hills solar evacuated tube with electric boost. Price $4809 (after rebates) installed for a 30 tube/315l stainless steel tank. I haven't needed to use electric boost yet, even after a fortnight of cloudy weather. Gas connection to house is now disconnected.
5. Install solar PV system. I paid around $21,000 after rebates for a 3kW system, generating around 15kW/h per day in Brisbane.
By doing the steps 1 to 3 above, I was able to reduce my daily electricity usage from 10.5kw/h to 8.5kw/h per day. As I generate more power than what I use in the house, I am paid a feed-in tariff of 44c/kwh for the surplus power which I generate.
Not only is the house now carbon negative, it also generates a small tax free income upwards of $1500 per year.
Additionally, as appliances need to be replaced, ensure that you purchase energy efficient appliances. In particular, choose an efficient fridge and inverter reverse cycle air conditioner will save you lots in running costs.Posted Monday 19 Jan 2009 @ 11:53:21 am from IP # -
LanceTurner
Key MasterDon't bother with gimmicks like the eco-button, windows has these inbuilt features already (the eco-button just triggers them off), just turn on hibernation if it isn't enabled already. You can also program the sleep button on your keyboard (most keyboards have these now) to put the machine in hibernate mode (or sleep or standby, your choice).
The other obvious thing is turn things off at the wall. If you can't get to the switches, install remote switches, such as http://www.rockby.com.au/searchres.cfm?searchkey=remote&imageField.x=0&imageField.y=0&offset=31&stock_no=35397 and http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MS6144
Posted Thursday 18 Mar 2010 @ 1:58:36 am from IP #
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