Most of the buzz these days is about the renewable potential of localized solar and wind applications. These renewables will reduce global air pollution from power plants. Now we hear about the need for batteries to store that energy to get through the not so sunny days and nighttime and calm winds that occur on a regular basis. So what will happen to the batteries as they lose there shelf life. We are learning about the unfunded decommissioning of nuclear power plants. What is with the batteries.
If the sun and wind power production replaces the fossil and nuclear sources, just how are we going to rearrange the infrastructure to transmit that power back to the grid. Don't hear much about that. Con Edison and New York State Electricity Research and Development Authority, proposes having local energy solar and wind fields which will send electricity into the cities to submerged battery plant, which will supply electricity to buildings. Heating fuels will be supplied by gas, if not electricity. That will take at least 100 years. What about the deteriorating gas pipe infrastructure, which is leaking now and needs replacement. All this will be accomplished before we enjoy major coastline rising, and massive relocation of those put out of homes.
And then we have to consider the uses for that energy. Will there ever be enough to serve the cities. It's ok to boast about the Zero energy home out in the woods that meets all the highest energy standards, with no trees around it , bulletproof insulation, and radiant heating. But does this progress for the energy efficient building codes warrant the attention for the real value it has to the total problem? The attention to Leed standards are having a tough time justifying themselves compared with the focused attention. We need to turn our attention to the major problem. How do we reduce the pollution from what we live in, and where we live. It may be nice to see a house on your street with solar electric panels on the sunny side of the house. Home owners tell neighbors the energy recover is great. With the help of you and your neighbors who paid for the system, and the tax credits it all seems to be payable over the next 10 years. How is that going to work for the rest of the neighborhood, that has to chop down their trees and put on a new roof. Does that system run your heating needs, both hot water and comfort system. Oh you had to buy a heat pump. "We are all out during the day so we sell the energy back to the grid. It reduces our energy bill quite a bit."
Folks do not kid your self. Now let's look bit further. Let's say you live in an urban area where the average building is three to five stories with three to ten families. We won't go near the 25-60 family buildings. Local solar is unavailable and never will be. If they put it on the roof, the electricity provided will be insignificant. You will probably need a new roof. The wiring will be a nightmare. Uncle Sam can't pay for it. So that puts solar in competition with other methods to conserve energy, reduce air pollution, and keeping folks comfortable.
"So John, what is your proposal?"
After spending many years in the field I have recognized many things that point toward the identification of the problem.
Landlords do not care about energy conservation. They simply seek to avoid complaints to the housing authorities. Why do you think we have housing complaint hot lines. Landlords are not even aware of the needs to reduce the pollution coming from their non maintained boilers and chimneys. No one is looking. Why? Landlords own the authorities. Landlords are not long term owners, as is more profitable to roll it over after the accelerated depreciation schedule is depleted. Sell the building, buy another building and restart the depreciation schedule on the new building. Boiler maintenance is not that important because they are insured. The best way to get a new boiler is to let the older one fail. Boiler companies and fuel suppliers will sell the biggest boiler you are able to pay for. Bigger is better. Folks never complain about too much heat Yet who do we call when the boiler fails? The guy who is taking care of it. His answer," Things break." Trust me he loves changing boilers. It is expensive and he lives off it. Most of the time it is his fault for not doing proper maintenance and testing each year. A properly maintained and operated boiler system should never fail, unless perhaps it was improperly installed. That should never happen, as the proper installation and sizing is all in the manufacturers available handbook right next to the boiler in the basement. AAA plumbing on the side of the truck does not certify him as an expert. It means he knows something about sanitary water supply and sewer codes, enough to pass the county license test.
The oil men want to sell as much oil as they can to keep maximum profits. So does the gas company. You will never hear these folks make energy conservation a topic, unless you want to pay them to convert to gas or put in a new boiler. Either way, nothing will be said about how to save energy. They will never mention the obvious unnecessary heat loss your building is wasting.
So what is needed. What is the solution. Every person in this nation must get involved at all levels to raise the demand for real conservation of heating in every shelter and factory. Folks need to spend more time educating them selves about their personal situation, their personal carbon footprint. You need to put pressure on your landlord to begin a program to reduce the building heat loss, and reduce the air pollution from your chimney. The city can beat them with a stick and tickets. But the residents need to beat the landlord with the truth. Before you can do that you need to educate your self as to what the truth is. You need as a family to get the computer knowledgeable folks in the family to chip in for the truth about what we can all do to conserve energy (money from bills).
Solutions:
Have your current boiler maintained and running in good order as efficiently as possible.
Insulate the pipes for the heating so it goes to the residents and not the out doors or the basement.
Minimize fuel use with modern controls to set boiler outputs to just the heat that is needed distributed evenly throuought the occupied space.( My pitch for www.exqheat.com)
Service radiators and piping annually to remove settled debris which restricts steam and hot water supply to radiators Make sure your radiator vents are in good condition. You can get new ones at the hardware store.
Repair door ways so hallways are not being exposed to cold air drafts.What comes in the front door goes into your living quarters. Close the door when you come in and out. If you cannot fix it call the landlord.
Get Political so that municipalities have standards to inspect all buildings for proper boiler maintenance, insulation on piping, proper radiator maintenance and windows and doorways for drafts.
Insist on suitable windows so the rooms are evenly comfortable. Drafts are a waste of energy and make buildings impossible to heat. Are we heating the outdoors. Who is made comfortable out there.
Tenants need to care. They need to care about their families comfort. It is doable, you know. But , only if you educate your self. It is famous for lawyers to exclaim," Never ask a question that, you do not already know the answer." You need to do this before you talk to your landlord, and municipal officials. Don' t just scream on the phone. Ask them for a meeting and tell them what they need to do to get it all done.
Please add to the discussion. The tides are rising. The storms are more severe. The water is declining in quality. The dry periods are more severe and burning us down.
If you and all of us do nothing. Expect Nothing.
If the sun and wind power production replaces the fossil and nuclear sources, just how are we going to rearrange the infrastructure to transmit that power back to the grid. Don't hear much about that. Con Edison and New York State Electricity Research and Development Authority, proposes having local energy solar and wind fields which will send electricity into the cities to submerged battery plant, which will supply electricity to buildings. Heating fuels will be supplied by gas, if not electricity. That will take at least 100 years. What about the deteriorating gas pipe infrastructure, which is leaking now and needs replacement. All this will be accomplished before we enjoy major coastline rising, and massive relocation of those put out of homes.
And then we have to consider the uses for that energy. Will there ever be enough to serve the cities. It's ok to boast about the Zero energy home out in the woods that meets all the highest energy standards, with no trees around it , bulletproof insulation, and radiant heating. But does this progress for the energy efficient building codes warrant the attention for the real value it has to the total problem? The attention to Leed standards are having a tough time justifying themselves compared with the focused attention. We need to turn our attention to the major problem. How do we reduce the pollution from what we live in, and where we live. It may be nice to see a house on your street with solar electric panels on the sunny side of the house. Home owners tell neighbors the energy recover is great. With the help of you and your neighbors who paid for the system, and the tax credits it all seems to be payable over the next 10 years. How is that going to work for the rest of the neighborhood, that has to chop down their trees and put on a new roof. Does that system run your heating needs, both hot water and comfort system. Oh you had to buy a heat pump. "We are all out during the day so we sell the energy back to the grid. It reduces our energy bill quite a bit."
Folks do not kid your self. Now let's look bit further. Let's say you live in an urban area where the average building is three to five stories with three to ten families. We won't go near the 25-60 family buildings. Local solar is unavailable and never will be. If they put it on the roof, the electricity provided will be insignificant. You will probably need a new roof. The wiring will be a nightmare. Uncle Sam can't pay for it. So that puts solar in competition with other methods to conserve energy, reduce air pollution, and keeping folks comfortable.
"So John, what is your proposal?"
After spending many years in the field I have recognized many things that point toward the identification of the problem.
Landlords do not care about energy conservation. They simply seek to avoid complaints to the housing authorities. Why do you think we have housing complaint hot lines. Landlords are not even aware of the needs to reduce the pollution coming from their non maintained boilers and chimneys. No one is looking. Why? Landlords own the authorities. Landlords are not long term owners, as is more profitable to roll it over after the accelerated depreciation schedule is depleted. Sell the building, buy another building and restart the depreciation schedule on the new building. Boiler maintenance is not that important because they are insured. The best way to get a new boiler is to let the older one fail. Boiler companies and fuel suppliers will sell the biggest boiler you are able to pay for. Bigger is better. Folks never complain about too much heat Yet who do we call when the boiler fails? The guy who is taking care of it. His answer," Things break." Trust me he loves changing boilers. It is expensive and he lives off it. Most of the time it is his fault for not doing proper maintenance and testing each year. A properly maintained and operated boiler system should never fail, unless perhaps it was improperly installed. That should never happen, as the proper installation and sizing is all in the manufacturers available handbook right next to the boiler in the basement. AAA plumbing on the side of the truck does not certify him as an expert. It means he knows something about sanitary water supply and sewer codes, enough to pass the county license test.
The oil men want to sell as much oil as they can to keep maximum profits. So does the gas company. You will never hear these folks make energy conservation a topic, unless you want to pay them to convert to gas or put in a new boiler. Either way, nothing will be said about how to save energy. They will never mention the obvious unnecessary heat loss your building is wasting.
So what is needed. What is the solution. Every person in this nation must get involved at all levels to raise the demand for real conservation of heating in every shelter and factory. Folks need to spend more time educating them selves about their personal situation, their personal carbon footprint. You need to put pressure on your landlord to begin a program to reduce the building heat loss, and reduce the air pollution from your chimney. The city can beat them with a stick and tickets. But the residents need to beat the landlord with the truth. Before you can do that you need to educate your self as to what the truth is. You need as a family to get the computer knowledgeable folks in the family to chip in for the truth about what we can all do to conserve energy (money from bills).
Solutions:
Have your current boiler maintained and running in good order as efficiently as possible.
Insulate the pipes for the heating so it goes to the residents and not the out doors or the basement.
Minimize fuel use with modern controls to set boiler outputs to just the heat that is needed distributed evenly throuought the occupied space.( My pitch for www.exqheat.com)
Service radiators and piping annually to remove settled debris which restricts steam and hot water supply to radiators Make sure your radiator vents are in good condition. You can get new ones at the hardware store.
Repair door ways so hallways are not being exposed to cold air drafts.What comes in the front door goes into your living quarters. Close the door when you come in and out. If you cannot fix it call the landlord.
Get Political so that municipalities have standards to inspect all buildings for proper boiler maintenance, insulation on piping, proper radiator maintenance and windows and doorways for drafts.
Insist on suitable windows so the rooms are evenly comfortable. Drafts are a waste of energy and make buildings impossible to heat. Are we heating the outdoors. Who is made comfortable out there.
Tenants need to care. They need to care about their families comfort. It is doable, you know. But , only if you educate your self. It is famous for lawyers to exclaim," Never ask a question that, you do not already know the answer." You need to do this before you talk to your landlord, and municipal officials. Don' t just scream on the phone. Ask them for a meeting and tell them what they need to do to get it all done.
Please add to the discussion. The tides are rising. The storms are more severe. The water is declining in quality. The dry periods are more severe and burning us down.
If you and all of us do nothing. Expect Nothing.
